Singletrack 87 is here!

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Issue 87 of Singletrack magazine is in the building – and by the sounds of it, it’s also started landing on the doorsteps of subscribers and Premier Dealers across the UK.

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This issue’s cover shot is by talented local snapper Sam Needham. Believe it or not it’s a self-portrait and while the short sleeves might be a bit out of keeping with the season, it’s not ‘alf nice to see a bit of blue sky up there.

The official on-sale date is Thursday 6th February – so you should be able to pick up a print copy on the high street then. Single print issues are also available in the Singletrack Shop. Our digital editions will go live on Thursday too; check the Mag Archive for the PDF, PageFlip, ePub and Kindle editions. If you’re a digital subscriber with App access and you have notifications switched on as recommended, we’ll let you know as soon as the new App edition is ready for download. (If you’re a subscriber but haven’t yet activated your App access, read this and get it sorted!)

In the meantime here’s a quick rundown of what’s in the new issue to keep you going…

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David Martin’s first Swiss PostBus adventures appeared in issue 78. Now, he’s back. This time he’s off on a mission in search of the classic alpine singletrack those sneaky goatherds are hiding up their lederhosen…

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Classic Ride visits the iconic Pont Scethin loop in North Wales. Did we ride it the right way round? Read the story and let us know what you think.

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This issue’s grouptest is an in-depth look at six of our favourite dropper posts from Crank Brothers, Fox, Gravity Dropper, KS, RockShox and Thomson. Elsewhere in the test department Steve Worland spends some quality time with three hand-built UK lovelies from Curtis, Saffron and Shand, while the Grinder team review Trek’s Fuel EX 9.8 26, Nukeproof’s Mega TR 275 Comp and the usual assortment of softwear, hardware and everything in between.

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Elsewhere we’ve maxed out our carbon allowance to bring you a story on riding volcanoes in Ecuador…

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…and offset those air miles by staying close to home with James and Alasdair Robertson, as they ride from their doorstep to celebrate the winter solstice. All this, plus the usual heady mix of opinionated columns, crafty illustrations, stunning photography and beautiful words – if a better cure for the winter blues exists out there, we haven’t found it yet!

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Click to make bigger!

Singletrack issue 87 – out on Thursday!

Jenn Hill was the deputy editor here at Singletrack up until her untimely death from Lung Cancer in October 2015. She was and remains an inspiration to us all here at Singletrack. Jenn Hill - 1977-2015

More posts from Jenn

Comments (22)

    Mine arrived yesterday! 😉

    Why do digital premier subscribers have to wait until release date when print subscribers get it early?

    …its like that, and thats the way it issss.

    tom.nash:

    The simple reason is that producing the digital editions of every issue of Singletrack takes time, which has to be incorporated into the print edition’s existing production schedule. That’s currently proving to be a bit of a squeeze! The editions which are available in the Mag Archive are relatively simple to produce and use the existing design/editorial work from the print edition, but the App edition is much more time consuming – it is completely re-designed, with enhanced and re-flowed content, and has the added complication of using a third-party provider (Pocketmags). We aim to set all the digital editions live on the official on-sale date simply to avoid confusion.

    Print subscribers to Singletrack have always received the magazine before the on-sale date (distributor issues permitting) – it’s one of the perks we’ve been proud to offer and we’d like to offer the same to digital subscribers too. We’re working to speed things up at the moment and hopefully you’ll see a different over the next couple of issues.

    In the meantime, this issue’s sneak peek and Premier exclusive stories will be live on the site soon to keep you going while you wait for the full monty 🙂

    No subscribers copy yet, Sainsbury have theirs?

    Still waiting on mine.
    At home sick too, so was hoping it’d arrive today!

    Same here – no subscriber issue yet, but able to peruse it this morning in WH Smiths.

    Mine not arrived yet either, nor the free gift promised lol.

    Really disappointed to hear that its in the shops and mine isn’t here. That’s bad enough but remind me why I pay for a digital copy if its available AFTER I could get a copy from WHSmiths?

    As Jenn pointed out above, the digital version can only be designed after the final proofing of the copy that’s sent to the printers. We’re working hard on reducing this gap as much as possible, but there’ll always be a bit of a delay doing it this way. If you’re happy with a ‘replica’ pdf mag, then we can come out with it sooner, but we think that more people want something that’s been specifically designed for 1:1 viewing on the iPad, rather than a replica copy of the paper mag that you have to pinch and zoom-in on to view anything.

    singletrackjenn, Chipps:

    Thanks for the reply; I only download the PDF from the mag archive as the app I found far too slow and cumbersome for use but I appreciate that the re-design does take time. Could the PDF be put up when the subscribers print issues are sent out? Not that it makes much difference in the big scheme of things! Happy riding

    I too saw it in Smiths today. Not arrived today but i’m not complaining. I’m sniffing the latest copy of The Ride that arrived yesterday!

    Before the ‘on sale date’?
    Well, that’s today and I haven’t got my copy yet.
    Still annoying when that happens, and it’s not the first time in a long shot in the many years I’ve been a subscriber…..

    I’d be happy with the pdf, I use it on the PC

    any idea when subscribers copies will arrive?

    No sign of mine today either 🙁

    Still not here…. 🙁

    To those asking where their subscriber copies are: why the hurry or haste for the mag? It’s only my opinion, but a magazine doesn’t contain time critical news, so if it arrives one day or the next, it really doesn’t matter.

    If I ordered a newspaper, I’d expect it every day. It’d be pointless for it to arrive even a day late, but a bike magazine?

    Oh, and btw, mine hasn’t arrived yet either, but I’ll fill my time somehow…

    mine still has not arrived………….time sensitive yes indeed I want to read it…early reading is part of the reason is why we subscribe ???

    @GavinB

    I was off sick. Couldn’t ride. Wanted to read ST.

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