THE LUNATICS HAVE TAKEN OVER THE ASYLUM

Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking, I have an important announcement to make. The lunatics have taken over the asylum, we are now in control of the magazine, anybody who wants to get out may do so now. The rest of you hold on tight, we’re in for a bloody great ride. This is one small step for mountain bikes, but one giant leap for hardtails, and it will probably piss a lot of people off, and for that I am sorry, but for the rest of you brothers and sisters you’re going to bloody love it.

It’s no secret that I love the hardtail, I’ve been banging on about them for years, going from door to door trying to convert the heathens to the purity of the rigid back end (I would leave them a pamphlet with a number on it and an invitation to one of our meetings). Some came, some didn’t, some saw the light, others couldn’t find the switch. It was a hit and miss affair, but now I have been given the opportunity to spread the message of love far and wide with a bigger glossier pamphlet called Dirt.

So as the captain of this ship I’d like to welcome you aboard, show you the security exits and point out some of the highlights. What we’ve tried to do here is give you a comprehensive guide to the hardtail bicycle in all its many forms and uses. If you’ve got one already then maybe it’ll give you renewed vigour to ride, if you haven’t yet got yourself a hardtail then read on and hopefully we will inspire you to try one. You’ll find that not only are they cheap as chips and easy to maintain, but they are so much fun too. Hopefully it’ll leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling and the urge to go hardtail razzing, alternatively you might be thinking ‘for gods sake bring back the springy bikes’. Whatever you think I hope you like it, now sit tight and prepare for takeoff…whooooosh.

The Captain, Billy Trailstar