Privateer Issue 7 - in the flesh

We've just had our first delivery of Privateer issue 7, and even if we do say so ourselves, it looks great!
Collecting race numbers is trait unique to mountain biking and even in South America, riders decorate their walls with the memories of earlier races, as Mike Chick discovered when he interviewed mechanics and guides in Peru and Bolivia.
Inside the magazine we kick off with Rich Rothwell's attempt to ride the West Highland Way double in one go. Faced with brutal, mind and bike breaking conditions, he came up short on the day, but that doesn't make it any less of a story. If you want an insight into the mind of a true endurance maniac, this is one of the best you'll find.

Back in the 90's magazines were creating their own legend, and the main way they did it was through annual winter roadtrip to sunnier climes. Pick a bunch of shit-hot young riders, throw in Rob Warner and a camera-toting Steve Behr, and hey-presto, you have a recipe for disaster/high-jinx/legend-making. Here, Steve Behr recounts those early years, recalling the old adage that you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.

Next up, Tym Manley visits Conitinental tyres in Germany and finds a tiny company fighting for its right to keep manufacturing in Europe whilst under the wing of a massive corporation. It's a fascinating story, and a reminder that even a gigantic companies like Conti are staffed by real people with real personalities.

In issue 6 of Privateer we publsihed Mike Davis' first piece on bike geometry. With that piece as the primer, in issue 7 we take an in depth look at what has happened to bike geometry over the years and discover that after 35 years, we're pretty much back to where we started.

Back at the end of the 90's Dafydd Davis, at the time a Recreation Ranger for Forestry Commission in North Wales, came up with the idea of installing some purpose-built mountain bike trails at Coed Y Brenin. Little could he have known at the time that those miles of handmade singletrack would spark the trail centre revolution we saw trough the noughties. The trails have changed since Dafydd's time, but Coed Y Brenin still remains one of, if not the best trail centres in the UK. We visited in October and rediscovered a trail network that is unique in the way it integrates with the landscape. Coed Y is king, and long may it be so.

To finish, one of the singlespeed movement's original movers and shakers, Biff Bacon, wonders if he's falling out of love with all the "stuff and nonsense" that has become part and parcel of the one-gear world champs.

Subscribers should begin receiving their copies from the beginning of January. Non-susbcribers will have to wait until January 20 to get their hands on a copy, but trust us, it's worth the wait!

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If you've missed out on the first six issues of Privateer, you can catch up with our collectable 1-6 Box Set.