Marzocchi and FSA importers Windwave are now handling Mountain Cycle bikes in the UK, with the first batch of 50 frames arriving in February.

Mountain Cycle have been around for years, and have been responsible for loads of MTB innovations. Their original San Andreas (that’s it over there) looks pretty futuristic now, so you can imagine how far ahead of its time it was when it was launched the better part of a decade ago complete with upside-down forks and hydraulic disc brakes…

The bike was the brainchild of Robert Reisinger, now General Manager of Mountain Cycle. The company was struggling a while back, but was bought out by Kinesis, the Oregon-based frame manufacturer. You may not have heard of Kinesis, but the company builds frames for a lot of mid- to high-end US bike companies. The combination of Reisinger’s innovation and Kinesis’ production capacity means more bikes will be available and there’re some new models too. Even better, the previously rather high prices are now, while hardly bargain-basement, somewhat more affordable.

In descending order of travel, we have the new Shockwave 9point5 for DH racing and “extreme freeride” (it says here) with a remarkable 9.5in of travel from a Fifth Element rear shock for £1,830. The original Shockwave has adjustable travel between 6in and 8in for £1,450 – the rear shock’s a Fox Vanilla RC which is where most of the price difference comes from. The legendary San Andreas is available in two variants, the 6in travel DHS at £1,300 with a Vanilla RC or £1,160 with a Vanilla R. The XC version is the same only with 4in of travel from a Float RL shock at £1,300. Or you can get the same frame with an X-Fusion coil shock for £999.

Then there’s a couple more new frames, the lightweight XC-oriented Moho Slix (4in travel, Float RL, £1,100) and the Rumble hardtail, described as “strong enough for slalom/freeriding yet light enough for XC” at £585.

All of them are available in red, black or silver, mostly in small, medium or large (the San Andreas has an adjustable seat tower so comes in standard or small only). With any luck we’ll get our hands on some of them when they arrive. In the meantime, you can find out more about the bikes at www.mountaincycle.com or contact Windwave for dealer information on 02392 505323.