Dear MBT:
I’m having trouble deciding between the Intense 5.5 and the Ventana X5. I ride a lot of rocky, technical terrain with light sand in the North West. Which do you recommend?
Keith Snyder

Keith: While we haven’t logged any miles on the Intense, we can certainly give you the hookup on the Ventana X-5 as it earned our feature review spot this month. We took our test bike down some seriously technical, high speed (ski resort) singletrack and it stood and delivered. While our specific build catered to aggressive cross country riding, there is no question the frame can be built up to handle your specific terrain needs.

Dear Editors,
Thanks for providing a truly useful web-zine. You are my first and last stop every day on the web. I was wondering if you reviewed the Iron Horse Warrior Pro or Yakuza Kumicho in a past issue and if not, do you plan on reviewing these bikes?
Lonny Clienman

Lonny: Upon receiving your email, we did fire off a request to set up a Warrior Pro test, but Iron Horse’s brand manager overlooked the prospect. Apparently they do not require the product exposure. Our Associate Editor has been attempting to log some miles on a demo so that we can report the findings here but there is nothing written in stone yet as to whether or not either of these models will be appearing on our pages anytime soon.

I’m all for supporting my local bike shop, but I went to pick up a new set of pedals yesterday and they were $75 more than I could get them for online! I want to do the right thing by showing my support and all but 75 beans is 75 beans.
RacerBoy99

While we cannot tell you what to do in this situation, perhaps we can take a moment to help clarify the reasoning behind the increased prices in a brick and mortar bike shop. Running an actual store is an expensive endeavor; take a moment to consider the utility bills, operating expenses, employee payrolls, insurance dues, etc. Since ordering direct often cuts out the middle man altogether, it is logical that there are cost savings associated with doing so. The disadvantage of course is that the LBS allows its customers to check products out before purchase, can often aide in making purchase decisions, and in the case of complete bike builds, customize per the individual’s needs. These situations come down to priorities, but don’t forget that it is possible to haggle with your LBS. Print the online ad price and bring it down to the shop. A reasonable shop owner will lower his profit margin in exchange for your support.

Editor's note: We've got some more excellent paintings from Danny Lewis, whom we featured last month. Enjoy!