Being just the second round of the 2018 Downhill World Cup, there are still new and prototype bikes popping up that we haven’t yet seen in the flesh, and seeing…
May 2018
Kona has a new carbon Operator downhill bike, and it’s 29er ready
Connor Fearon of the Kona Gravity Team is racing aboard a new Operator downhill prototype that features a carbon fibre frame and dual wheelsize capability. Everywhere we turned in the…
Brendog’s Prototype Scott Downhill Bike
Scott Sports has a new prototype downhill bike, which is currently being raced on by the Scott-Velosolutions team this weekend at the 2018 Fort William World Cup. First shown in…
Rachel Atherton’s Stunning Custom Painted Trek Session 9.9 Race Bike
Today marks the first official day of the 2018 Fort William World Cup – the second round of the 2018 World Cup series – with all of the teams, managers,…
Pole Machine 200 Prototype First Look
Pole, the Finnish mountain bike brand, is up at Fort William this week racing a brand spanking new prototype downhill bike. And it’s rather special indeed. We’re all pretty well…
Breaking News! Greg Minnaar Out Of 2018 Fort William World Cup
That’s right – Greg Minnaar is out of the 2018 Fort William World Cup with a broken right arm! Uh-huh. We’ve only just arrived in Fort William, Scotland, for the…
Review: Hutchinson Taipan Hardskin 29×2.25in Tyres
Hutchinson is a well-known brand in the mountain bike tyre world, but in recent years the French rubber manufacturer hasn’t exactly been at the forefront of the scene. After nabbing…
Jeff Steber Interview: Staying Intense
Chipps visited Intense Cycles in Southern California back in April 2017 for an in-depth conversation with the founder of Intense, Jeff Steber. This interview was originally published in Issue #113…
Review: This 185mm long Revive dropper post from BikeYoke is better than the original
Shortly after the original BikeYoke Revive dropper post was introduced, we tested and reviewed one. Full of promise with its super-slick action and clever IFP-free hydraulic internals, it wasn’t without…
Get A Grip! Northern Grip Festival Coming Soon!
If you love the North, Mountain Biking, Music, and a festival vibe then the Northern Grip Festival is the one place you need to be! Northern Grip returns to Lee…
Rachel wrecked two helmets to bring you this review of the sub-£100 Lazer Roller MIPS
When we sent out a Lazer Roller helmet to our resident pedal-head, Rachel Sokal, we didn’t quite expect her to ‘test’ it so comprehensively. Over to Rachel to explain further……
Site update, GDPR and being an independent media company in a perfect storm
The last 6 months have been a roller-coaster ride for us here at Singletrack. We’ve completely changed the website from the old theme that we’d been using for almost a…
Review: G-Form’s Elite knee pads are burly and flexible, but they’ll make you like ‘The Thing’
I used to detest wearing knee pads, or any other kind of body armour for that matter. Living in a warm climate was part of it, and up until a…
11 Questions With Chris Cocalis On The New Pivot Trail 429
Last week Pivot Cycles introduced its newest mountain bike called the Trail 429. Replacing the existing Mach 429 Trail, the new Trail 429 not only has a revised name, it…
Motion E18 Linkage Fork Goes On Sale 1st June
Do you ever look at the current range of excellent telescopic suspension forks on the market and just wish there was something different on the market? Sure, there’s the Lefty…
Will This Be The UK’s Ultimate Mountain Bike Festival? Malverns Classic Returns
Mention the Malvern Classic and Chipps goes a bit misty eyed. It was obviously an influential event. A recent ‘were you there, what do you remember?’ thread on his Facebook…
Does e-bike=motorbike? EC proposes compulsory insurance for e-bikes
If you’re an e-bike user, or you’re thinking of getting one, you might soon need an expensive insurance policy to ride it legally. That’s because the European Commission (EC) has…
First Look: Shimano Introduces 12-Speed With XTR M9100
They’ve only gone and done it! That’s right, Shimano has finally gone 12-speed in one of the most anticipated moves of the millennium. While SRAM has been dominating the drivetrain…
Solaris Max, MaXalami and Max Madness – It’s Fresh Goods Friday 398
Good day prized readers. It is time. Time for you to sever ties with that yoga mat supplier you once made a purchase from five years ago. Time for you…
Last Chance To Subscribe! Singletrack Magazine Issue 119
It’s off to the printers, which means that our designer, Amanda, is breathing a sigh of relief, and you have just a few days to subscribe in time to get…
Stu Taylor’s Highland Trail 550: Ready, Get Set…
Stu Taylor doesn’t just make Singletrack Beer. And he doesn’t just roast coffee (but he does that too – he’s a good man to know at any time of day).…
Longterm Review Part One: 2018 Scott Genius 900 Tuned
Scott’s popular Genius has been in the lineup for no fewer than 14 years now, occupying a position smack-bang in the middle of the range between the XC-oriented Spark, and…
Longterm Review: Shimano XC7 vs XC9 SPD Mountain Bike Shoes
At the risk of RUINING EVERYTHING, consider this a somewhat cautious announcement that summer is now finally upon us. The weather is (steadily) improving, the trails are (sort of) drying…
Interview: Ally Campbell – it’s all about the confidence
A couple of months back we started off a series of interviews about inspiring women in mountain biking by chatting to HopeTech’s Rachael Walker and then 75 year old downhill…
On Test: 3 UK-Made Full Suspension Bikes
We’ve been working on something special for the upcoming issue of Singletrack Magazine, and we think a lot of you are going to be very interested in this one. Oh…
Crankworx World Tour Arrives In Innsbruck 13th-17th June
Innsbruck is once again the home to Crankworx this time around it will be the 2nd stop in the Crankworx World Series with events kicking off on the 13th June…
SDG Tellis Dropper Post First Look Review
We’re told it’s taken two years of development, and 120 test units out in the field, but SDG is now ready to release its first ever dropper seatpost. The SDG…
National Park’s Warning Over Snowdon Access Agreement
Snowdon is one of Wales’s must-do mountains for walkers and mountain bikers alike. It’s legally accessible by bikes, with three bridleways leading to the summit, but it also receives a…
Review: Convert Your RockShox Reverb With The Wolf Tooth ReMote Sustain
We’ve already become fans of Wolf Tooth Components’ brilliant ReMote dropper post lever, though it’s now available in a kit to convert a RockShox Reverb dropper post too. To test…
Four 2.6in mountain bike tyres tested & reviewed
If a 2.4in tyre is considered ‘normal’, and a 2.8in tyre is considered ‘plus’, then where does that leave the new breed of 2.6in tyres? An emerging trend amongst modern…
Quit Your Job! Work with pushbikes instead!
This article was originally published in Issue 117 of Singletrack Magazine. Hannah interviews five people who’ve said ‘Right! That’s it! I’m leaving to go and work with pushbikes!’ Then they’ve…
Behind The Scenes On The Specialized Stumpjumper Launch
Two months ago, I had the fortune of travelling to Ainsa in Spain for the launch of the all-new Specialized Stumpjumper range. Having been there the year prior for the…
Review: Magura’s updated Vyron is the easiest dropper post in the world to install, and it’s better than the original too
Magura first announced the Vyron wireless dropper post in 2015 at Eurobike, and it’s been on the market for a couple of years now. We’d already tested the original, though…
The Boltby Bash Enduro 2018 brings dust-in-Yorkshire shocker!
Implausibly for some there was an era of mountain biking that existed before Enduro racing. Let’s call this time BE, Before Enduro. In these times gone by, not only did…
‘You could buy a car for that!’ It’s Fresh Goods Friday 397
This week, Amanda our designer has stepped in to write Fresh Goods Friday. Mostly because she has a story to tell… Two weeks ago I was on my way to…
Breaking News: Singletrack7 Event Cancelled – forestry operations destroy trails
We’ve just received the following notice from the organisers of the Singletrack7 event: It is with much regret and disappointment that we have had to make the difficult decision to…
Exclusive First Look: The New Cotic Solaris Max
Cotic’s new Solaris MAX launches today. And it’s in stock. And we’ve ridden one. It’s always an exciting day for British mountain bikers when Cotic releases a new model. And…
FINDRA’s lush, luxe, merino – now available for men too
There aren’t many brands where us women get to make the men envious. Usually us women find ourselves looking from the eight different pairs of men’s shorts, 12 jerseys in…
First Ride: 2019 Cannondale F-Si and new Lefty Ocho fork
It was obvious really that Cannondale would choose a World Cup venue and race weekend to launch its new flagship XC hardtail and super, dooper new and improved Lefty fork.…
First Look: 2019 Cannondale F-Si – skinnier, more comfortable and faster than before
This week, whilst Britain was finally getting to enjoy some glorious spring weather, Cannondale launched the 2019 F-Si XC hardtail at the Albstadt World Cup in rather wetter and muddier…
First Look: The all new Cannondale Lefty Ocho suspension fork. It’s a Lefty, but not as you know it
The historians and fans amongst us will already know that the Lefty has been around for almost 20 years. For those of you who didn’t, you probably just feel a…
5 Full Suspension Bikes That Cost £1200 Or Less
Believe it or not, we are probably at a point in mountain biking when we can pick up a very capable bike for a relatively low-price. Yes, there are superbikes…
First Ride: The All-New Trail 429 From Pivot Cycles
Setting out to redesign your most popular full suspension bike must be an incredibly daunting task. Get it right, and you can potentially turn a great bike into an even…
Smores and brews? The Solo Stove does both!
Truth be told, one of the best aspects of bikepacking or long days out on the bike in the hills is the point at which you decide to stop and…
2018 Fort William World Cup Track Course Preview
It’s less than a month to go before the World Cup circus arrives in Fort William and we’re as keen as you are to know if that dreaded forest section…
The Need For Tweed: The Scottish Valley With The Best Mountain Biking In the World?
“If you asked me where the best riding was, anywhere in the world, I’d have to say the Tweed Valley.” The man making this bold statement is Neil Dalgleish, a…
Mondraker Carbon Foxy 29er – The Most Obvious Bike Ever
Given that Mondraker has already launched a 27.5in carbon Foxy bike, the fact that it was going to launch a 29er version of the acclaimed Foxy took no great deducing.…
Cube Stereo 150 Rolls On Bigger Wheels With Enduro Geo
Cube has gone and given its EWS team a new tool to compete on and it is now available for us mere mortals to buy and ride.
Fort William: All the stars, plus #MakingUpTheNumbers – HSBC British Cycling DH Series Rd 2
Rather strangely, the story of Round 2 of the National Downhill Series begins roughly one week earlier, some 300 miles from Fort William on an uplift in Llangollen, Wales. “I…
Jennride 2018: the perfect Lake District weekend?
This weekend saw the 2018 edition of the ‘Jennride’, organised by Richard Munro, in memory of our late Deputy Editor, Jenn Hill. There were three routes available: a 50km ‘dipping…
Alutech Cycles: a drop bar enduro bike, and a bike designed by committee. Eh?
Dotted amongst the big brands’ bike livery at the Garda Bike Festival were several smaller German and Italian companies proudly showing their wares. And none caught my eye more than…