Last year I ruined Easter. I started off really well: I bought lots of chocolate eggs, and I wrote a bunch of riddles, and I carefully hid them all over…
March 2018
Review: Ortlieb Frame Pack – A truly waterproof option?
One of the great things about the increasing popularity of bikepacking is that it is no longer confined to small volume producers with long lead times. That is not to…
Shimano Apologises For Its Factory Catching Fire
Yesterday, British cycle trade news website, Cycling Industry News broke the news that local Japanese media were reporting a fire at Shimano’s Osaka main factory and company HQ. We contacted…
Review: 2018 Whyte 909 Hardtail – A contender for the one-bike shed?
When the Whyte 909 turned up at Singletrack HQ, there were two riders particularly keen on riding it. Hannah already owns a Whyte hardtail, albeit a slightly older 901 hardtail,…
Home Makeover Singletrack Style: Park Tool Workshop Wonderland
You may recall that some time back we were subject to a ram raid attempt. Nothing was taken, but the would-be raiders (never caught, by the way) did make a…
Hit The North Returns Again. Again.
The Singletrack Forum’s favourite event ever* is to return this May. Run by 24 hour racing legend and Guy Martin’s World Record-setting tandem partner Jason Miles, the event will once…
UK Exclusive First Ride Review: We test the 2019 Rocky Mountain Thunderbolt
We managed to get an exclusive first ride on Rocky Mountain's brand new Thunderbolt, a super versatile 140mm superbike
Exclusive First Look! The Ibis Ripmo Long Travel 29er
Today, Ibis Cycles has announced a (quite literally) huge bike for it – the enduro-ready, long travel trail bike, dubbed the ‘Ripmo’. The bike was quietly raced this weekend in…
Monday Morning Debrief – Spring Has Sprung Edition
What a weekend! It appears that spring has finally decided to visit (ahead of this week’s forecasted snow) and so everyone* has been out riding bikes and feeling actual warmth…
7 Ways To Beat The Riding Doldrums This Spring
Ah, winter. It can be cold, dank and wet with an absence of those super-cold days with a bright blue winter sky that make it all worthwhile. Normally I’m quite…
How does Santa Cruz build wheels? Wil goes to the factory to build his own set of Reserve Carbon wheels
According to Syd Newsom, Head Of Wheels at Santa Cruz Bicycles, “wheelbuilding is not magic. It’s a skill set that can be taught, and the goal of our training is…
The Canyon Experience – Riding bikes, touching priceless cars, meeting legends. It’s all here
This weekend sees the inaugural Canyon Experience event, taking place at Mercedes World in Brooklands motor circuit in Surrey. The combination of brand new bikes, legendary motor vehicles and equally…
The Canyon Experience – Riding bikes, touching priceless cars, meeting legends. It’s all here
This weekend sees the inaugural Canyon Experience event, taking place at Mercedes World in Brooklands motor circuit in Surrey. The combination of brand new bikes, legendary motor vehicles and equally…
Interview: NAHBS Winner Altruiste Bikes
When we received the images from the North American Hand Made Bike Show (NAHBS) we didn’t get any accompanying information. Just a massive folder full of images of many, many…
A Robot bike, Basque carbon, and a Noah’s Ark worth of kit in Fresh Goods Friday 389
Look! Do you see that? Eh? What am I supposed to be looking at? It’s spring! Can’t you see it? Right there? It’s right there! And wowee, is it beautiful!…
Review: Showers Pass Crosspoint Waterproof Knit Gloves
The Showers Pass Crosspoint Waterproof Knit gloves appear to be a fairly simple knitted pull on glove, and indeed they’re sold as ‘multi-purpose’ rather than ‘cycling specific’, so you might…
The Direct Approach: How the way we buy bikes is changing
The landscape of bicycle retail is shifting, and there are now an increasing number of companies that only sell direct to the buyers. Some of the most respected brands in…
Last Chance To Subscribe! Singletrack Issue 118
Subscribe To Singletrack from as little as £1.50 Yes, it’s that time again: Deadline Day. As we send the Spring edition of Singletrack, Issue 118, off to the printer, ready…
Review: At £15, this Love Mud Detonator track pump is perfect for T-Rex
A track pump for the tight-fisted, from the Alpkit and Sonder bikes stable
Green Brexit Could Increase Countryside Access, Reckons Cycling UK
You might have noticed our ‘Get On My Land’ story about Cycling UK’s plans to improve off road and rural access for bikes, as they launched their new strategy at…
Video Review: Is XC dead? After testing these three bikes, we don’t think so
In Issue #116 of Singletrack Magazine, Wil and the crew tested three new generation full suspension XC race bikes. Is XC dead? Or is it just a little out of fashion?…
Review: The 2018 Norco Sight C2 is ready to shreddy straight out of the box
For the past few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of soaking up some (much needed) Vitamin D during a holiday Down Under in Australia. Aside from the obligatory family and…
RockShox beams 2019 Lyrik RC2 from the future, along with a new-new DebonAir spring
We may have literally just finished off our longterm review of the 2018 RockShox Lyrik RCT3 fork, but already RockShox is ready to announce the 2019 model – in March.…
MakingUpTheNumbers – Gravity Events Round 1: The Race That Didn’t Happen
George Thompson, our regular reporter of mid pack (if he’s doing well) downhill action, is back in action. Well, sort of. He’s got a new team, a new fan club…
Crossing The Deepest Lake In The World, By Fat Bike, In Midwinter
Us UK riders often fantasise about riding holidays in places like Spain, where there is dry mud, and a warm thing in the sky, and olives taste better. It seems…
First Ride Review: Santa Cruz Highball 3 CC X01 Reserve
In a refreshing change of programming, Santa Cruz is going all-XC on us for the start of 2018. Jib-specific trail bikes and Beyonduro™ shred-sleds may still whip up the majority…
First Ride Review: Santa Cruz Blur 3 CC XX1 Reserve
It’s been about five years coming, but the Santa Cruz Blur is finally back First introduced back in 2002 alongside the V-10 downhill bike, the Blur was one of the…
Santa Cruz launches the brand new Blur 3, plus its lightest carbon hardtail ever
Today you lovely readers don’t just get to find out about one shiny new bike. No ma’am. Because you’ve been on your very best behaviour (well, close enough), today the…
Bristol BikeFest Returns! Popular South West Event Is Back By Popular Demand.
Rather quietly, this last week or so, Bristol BikeFest announced that it was well and truly back! Teased first on the page of the 2018 The Ex event, which asked…
Monday Debrief 118 – Notes from another planet
We signed up to an early deal with Elon Musk and this Monday’s Debrief comes to you from Uranus. We’ve been out exploring and the terrain is pretty hostile. Tests…
Update: Orange Factory Rider Seriously Injured At Gisburn Forest
Update: We’ve received news via the PMBA on Callum’s condition. After having surgery Callum is now able to sit up, is in good spirits and already planning for his future.…
Women’s Specific Geometry On The Canyon Spectral WMN CF SLX 9.0 – How Different Can It Be?
By Amanda Wishart, Singletrack Magazine Back in March I was fortunate enough to be one of a select group of journalists to be invited to a Canyon women’s specific bike…
Wireless Shifting Is Here! As Is Wide Rubber! Pumps! Bikes! Shoes! Glasses too! It’s Fresh Goods Friday 388!
No one ever reads this bit, but how else will they know they're missing Fresh Goods Friday 388?
Macclesfield Forest Trails Could Be Closed For Good If You Ignore This!
Forest trails have been shut after serious storm damage, with repair work currently underway.
Review: Scream if you wanna go faster! We test and review 3 carbon fibre full suspension XC race bikes
In Issue #116 of Singletrack Magazine, Wil and the crew tested three new generation full suspension XC race bikes. Read on for a short summary of each bike, along with…
Review: You may hate the Brain, but the 2018 Specialized Epic Expert is ready to prove you wrong
In Issue #116 of Singletrack Magazine, Wil and the crew tested three new generation full suspension XC race bikes. Read on for the full review of the 2018 Specialized Epic…
Singletrack Issue 118 – Sneak Peek
Subscribe to Singletrack from as little as £1.49 Hark! The twittering of birds, the bleat of lambs and the scent of daffodils on the breeze! The Spring edition of Singletrack,…
Review: Suspension tinkerers rejoice! The Formula Selva fork has all the bells & whistles
The Selva fork is the newest enduro fork from Italian motorcycle and mountain bike suspension/brake manufacturer, Formula. We got one a huge 160mm travel 29er version to test, and gave…
Video: Is carbon all that it’s cracked up to be? We test three alloy versions of popular carbon superbikes
In Issue #115 of Singletrack Magazine, our former Tech Editor, the great Mr Barney Marsh, tested and reviewed three alloy iterations of popular carbon fibre mountain bikes. These days, carbon fibre…
Review: The TwinLoc system on the 2018 Scott Spark RC 900 Team is this bike’s secret weapon
In Issue #116 of Singletrack Magazine, Wil and the crew tested three new generation full suspension XC race bikes. Read on for the full review of the 2018 Scott Spark…
Review: The 2018 Anthem Advanced Pro 29er 1 is Giant’s best full suspension XC race bike to date
In Issue #116 of Singletrack Magazine, Wil and the crew tested three new generation full suspension XC race bikes. Read on for the full review of the 2018 Giant Anthem…
Could this be the final nail in the coffin of online scammers?
Produced in association with YOTI Enter the Ejit – like Enter the Dragon with neither the Kung Fu nor the intelligence! I will hold my hands up from the start.…
Which would you choose? We spend 6 months aboard the 2018 Fox 36 Float and RockShox Lyrik RCT3 to see which comes out on top
Despite mounting opposition in the high-end mountain bike suspension market from the likes of Cane Creek, Öhlins, MRP, Formula and DVO, there is still somewhat of a duopoly when it…
Review: The new Rudy Project Sintryx is a sunglasses transformer in disguise
Ben Gerrish is one of our crash test dummies based up in the South Lakes, who also makes a regular habit of travelling further afield to embark on riding adventures…
If you like Orange Bikes & titanium, you better get in quick – there are only 15 of these worldwide
No, this isn’t breaking news. But when we’ve got all these pretty pictures to show off, do you think we give two hoots about that? Pah –Â just look at this…
World Cup XCO And Street Dual: Live on your TV this weekend!
The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup kicks off this weekend with the XCO racing from Stellenbosch. It’s an early season opener, and it’s the XCO riders kicking off the racing…
2 Frames, 3 Gifs, And Really Hilarious Jokes! ROTFL with Fresh Goods Friday 387
Erm. Well. Sorry. Wil promised you last week that this week would be a bumper edition of Fresh Goods Friday on the grounds that there were very few courier deliveries…
Review: The Shimano AM901 is good enough for Rachel Atherton, but is it good enough for regular trail riding?
If you’ve been flicking through fresh pages of the current issue of Singletrack Magazine, you may have already read our in-depth technical feature about the latest generation of platform clip-in pedals.…
Interview: Rachael Walker – bringing Hope to the masses.
We hope that STW is pretty good at featuring female riders, heroes, and contributors in the same way we do men, but there’s always more that we can do. So,…
Dropped From The Range: major retailers join boycott of bike brands for NRA connections
US and Canadian co-ops pull orders for Camelbak, Bell, Blackburn and other Vista Outdoor brands