MBUK Machines are the magazine's long-term test mules – the bikes that are put through the wringer day after day loaded with products that need testing. In the video below, senior staff writer Ric McLaughlin talks us through his 2011 downhill rig, the Morewood Izimu.
"The start of the summer and the filming of this video both feel like a long time ago now," says Ric. "A lot of long days and short morning blasts aboard my Morewood Izimu have been and gone, and there have been quite a few bits changed along the way.
"The Izimu was a bit of a break from the norm for me when I first took delivery of her back at the start of the year. For a start, she’s a single-pivot minus the complexities of my old Giant Glory with its Maestro suspension platform or my much-loved Iron Horse Sunday and its DW-Link before that.
"The Sunday is an interesting case in point actually, as by the time I’d finished with it it tickled the scales at just under 39lb, which at that time was considered as light as you could safely and reliably go on a downhill bike. Unboxed and sans pedals, the complete Morewood stopped the digits at just under 37lb – pretty remarkable.
"There have been changes along the way of course, including the return of my trusty Hope Hoops downhill wheelset, an Elka Stage 4 fork cartridge and some Specialized Butcher Sam Hill Edition tyres. I’ve also gone for SDG’s I-Beam seatpost and Storm saddle. You can read more about the Morewood, along with the rest of the MBUK Machines, in issue 270 of the mag, on sale 19 October."
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