| Mountain Biking UK | |
| Editor: | James Costley-White |
| Editor Title5: | --> |
| Category: | Sports magazine |
| Frequency: | Every four weeks |
| Founded: | 1988 |
| Company: | Our Media |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Based: | Bristol |
| Language: | English |
| Issn: | 0954-8696 |
Mountain Biking UK (often shortened to MBUK) is a British mountain biking magazine published by Our Media, an Immediate Media group company. It is currently the UK's best-selling mountain bike magazine,[1] with a circulation of 23,322 (ABC: Jan – Dec 2021).[2]
MBUK was launched in 1988 by Pacificon Limited. It was edited by Tym Manley, who remained editor until 2009. Chris Turner, M.D. and Publisher, sold the title to Chris Anderson of Future Publishing in 2010 for an undisclosed amount. In 2014, former-owner Future plc sold all its sports and crafts titles to Immediate Media Company, including the MBUK title.[3] In 2021, the cycling titles were moved under the umbrella of Immediate Media-owned by Our Media Ltd. The current editor as of November 2023 is James Costley-White.[4] They currently publish 13 issues a year.
MBUK covers all mountain biking disciplines; trail riding, downhill, cross-country, dirt jumping, trials, free-riding and 4X.
Since 1989, MBUK has carried the cartoon strip, Mint Sauce, which covers the tales of a mountain-biking sheep and his friends.
The 200th issue of MBUK, published in July 2006, was guest edited by French downhill and 4x racer Cèdric Gracia. The magazine celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2008. The May issue of that year included a fold-out cover of Steve Peat.
Along with co-sponsors such as Nike, Santa Cruz, and Fox Racing, the magazine operated a professional mountain bike team from the mid-1990s until the mid-2000s. The team included riders like Steve Peat,[5] Scott Beaumont, Rob Warner,[6] and Will Longden,[7] competing in the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.