On The Pedals

By Jason Giacchino

Year in Review

And so 2006 winds down to a few remaining weeks. Unfortunately for the staff of MBT this means a lot more time spent burning our collective hours in front of a monitor than out in the saddle. From a reader perspective this isn’t necessarily a negative thing and we’re certainly in the right frame of mind to devote full attention to this digital mag; a fairly entertaining alternative to participating in the actual thing.

In fact by sheer nature of the business, we are dutifully obligated to keep the fresh material flowing despite the ever-shortening days and brutally inhumane riding conditions. With a new year that births just as Mother Nature is at her most miserable, so too are new model lines released to coincide with this event. Many of you are already well aware of the concept of snow riding and to those of you out there who are not, prepare to get a healthy dosage by living vicariously through us.

This month we took a little breather from the usual format and devoted the entire issue to product reviews. With the Holiday season fast approaching we feel obligated to share some of the gems we’ve come to love with the mountain biking community. We’re just doing our part to help you come up with an unforgettable wish list this year. Hey we’ve had our share of waiting in line to return almost the right gift. If you already know what you want, bookmark this site or “accidentally” leave it open so that friends and loved ones might get the hint. This is how we’ve come to possess many of the goods found within, but you didn’t hear that from me.

You may also notice we’ve refrained from recommending entire bikes as gift ideas. Quite frankly if you’re important enough to deserve a new bike from Santa, we should be taking advice from you! In all honesty though while we’re shooting for useful, we hope you’ll find the issue entertaining if nothing else.

Finally what good would a December issue be without some words of reflection? 2006 had its fair share of excitement some of which even spilled over into the digital pages of Mountain Bike Tales. Amanda Brunner’s Tahoe caught fire while returning from a trip up to the Allegheny Mountains to test the Ventana X-5. Like a passenger on a sinking ship who could bring only one possession into the life-boat, we fled the scene carrying the X-5 like a rigid rider approaching a rock garden. The bike, after all, did cost more than the truck.

We spent a great deal of time chatting with industry insiders: Sherwood Gibson of Ventana, Joel Smith on the return of the Tomac brand, Alan King from Chumba, Scot Nicol of Ibis, and even scored some editorial from ex Flyte bicycles main man, Matt Bell.

We witnessed technical editor Rob Manning’s foray into the weird and wonderful world of the single-speed. We hatched the wildly successful Bike Bytes feature to share our editorial team’s take on what’s hot and what’s not. We learned of Beth Trickett’s loathing of endos and managed to untrue many a wheel along the way.

Before we continue to recap what’s past, 2007 promises to continue the tradition of growth for MBT. We’ve already lined up bike tests from some of the industry’s most wanted list. We’ll be treading into the mysterious 29 inch wheel waters with the carver 96'er, down hilling with our friends from Kona, and hopefully singing the praises of carbon fiber with the Ibis Mojo. Stay tuned, it may be cold outside but the crew at MBT plans to keep the heat on.

We wish you the very best this Holiday season. In a world so caught up in the moment, a little time to relax with family and friends is therapeutic indeed.

I’ll meet you back here in January when perhaps we’ll discuss New Year’s Resolutions. In the mean time, someone point me toward the eggnog. Cheers!