It feels like 1×11 drivetrains have been around forever (go on, take a guess. No Googling mind. Answer* at the bottom of the review). I don’t think it would be…
March 2019
Mental Health | What if I want to die every day of my life?
I’ve asked Singletrack to withhold my real name and publish this piece under a pseudonym. Why you might ask? Whether you suffer from poor mental health or not, starting up…
More multi-tools than bikes! Plus a trail toad | Fresh Goods Friday 441
There are various things that can slow you down on natural trials. A dog you need to pet, walkers, rearranged rocks, a fallen tree… Well here in Calderdale we have…
Burgtec releases The Bartender Pro Greg Minnaar signature grip
Greg Minnaar’s reputation for being a ‘fussy’ rider hasn’t stopped the Burgtec crew designing and releasing his signature Bartender Pro grip. Grips, one of the most affordable parts on your…
Cycling UK wants you to nominate your top 100 Women in Cycling
Cycling UK have announced details of its 2019 Women’s Festival of Cycling. Now in its third year, the Festival will take place throughout the UK in July with cycling groups…
Newsdesk 5: YT Decoy, RockShox 35, Gee Atherton, SICK and more!
Andi returns to Newsdesk this week with new product news from YT, RockShox, Orange, Motion Ride, Intend and more news from Atherton Bikes and Cedric Gracia! As always you can…
First Look | New SRAM G2 Brakes – New Pads, Lower Price, Same Feel
Today, SRAM launches its G2 range of brakes, which replaces the former Guide brakes. They’re still a four piston brake, and our brief rides out on them suggest they’re still…
The New 2020 Orange Five: Many small changes make a big difference.
The 2020 Orange Five is incredibly the ‘Mark 12’ version of this iconic, British-made full suspension bike from Orange Bikes. It’s no small thing that the Orange Five is doubtless…
Review | Vibration-Killing Pro Series RevGrips
£99 for a pair of mountain bike grips? You read that correctly. But as David Hayward found out, the RevGrips ain’t no ordinary lock-on grips Vibration is a well known…
Cotic has a new full suspension bike! Say hello to the Longshot Flare
Brand new from Cotic Bikes is the completely redesigned Flare The Flare is Cotic’s 27.5in full suspension trail bike, and is now the fourth and final full suspension model from…
Video | The Unsung Heroes of Brendog & Olly Wilkins
Yes, it’s an advert. But it’s an advert with Brendog and Olly Wilkins in it, so that’s a plus. And they do crank flips, and a ridiculous gap jump, so…
The 2019 Cape Epic onslaught is over. Maybe.
The Cape Epic is known as one of the toughest MTB races in the world. Although not the techiest of riding, the heat and unforgiving terrain make the eight day…
Crankbrothers Synthesis Tuned XC Wheels Launched With Industry Nine Hydra Hubs
Crankbrothers launched its tuned carbon wheels for the hard hitting end of the market back in October last year. ‘Reinventing the wheel’ headlines abound, with the news that the rims…
Race Face announces Next SL Crankset with Shimano 1×12 compatibility
Race Face has just furnished us with the details of it’s latest (greatest?) carbon fibre chainset aimed at XC and trail riders, the all-new Race Face Next SL Crankset. Shopping…
Review | Nukeproof ARD Tubeless Inserts
Tubeless tyre inserts claim to offer additional protection for your mountain bike rim, so you can run lower tyre pressures for improved traction. Nukeproof’s Advanced Rim Defence (ARD) system is…
Review | Shimano goes for mega bearing durability with the tough-as Saint M828 flat pedals
For over a quarter of a century, Shimano has held an unwavering reputation for producing some of the most functional and durable clip-in mountain bike pedals on the market. Curiously,…
Gallery | NAHBS Brings Out The Freaks And The Geeks
It’s been the North American Handmade Bike Show this week. Sadly we’re not able to fly out there and fondle the bikes, so we’re left to rely on the official…
Skinny Dipping #003: British mud, South African dust and Brazilian firsts
From the mud of northern and middle England to the dust of South Africa and Brazil, we’ve got it here in this month’s round-up of XC and endurance news. Rain…
FGF 440 – The Magazine Is At The Printers, We’re Hungover Edition. With Added SRAM AXS!
Yep, the magazine is safely off to our printers, Warners in Bourne, Lincolnshire. And, so it seemed only logical that a couple of evening beers were consumed. Perhaps that after-midnight…
Matt Stuttard and Sophie Tyas Join The Hunt Wheels Racing Squad
Hunt Wheels announces sponsorship of Matt Stuttard and Sophie Tyas for 2019 read the full press release and details below. “Race season. As riders it gets us excited; signalling the…
Interview | Monē Bikes Reveals US Made Fillet Brazed Steel Full Suspension Bike
Some people think social media is a waste of time, that it’s a vortex into which your soul and time will rapidly disappear. It depends what you’re looking at –…
Singletrack Newsdesk 4: New Bikes And Old Legends
Hannah runs through this week’s bike related highlights. As always you can watch the Singletrack Newsdesk video or you can skip it and read the highlights below. Orange Alpine 6…
Review | The Calibre Sentry is a wallet-friendly enduro bike
For a brand that didn’t even exist five years ago, Calibre Bikes has shot to stardom pretty darn quickly. In its short history, the company has been breaking new ground…
The new Calibre Sentry is the longest, lowest and slackest 29er we’ve seen for £2K
Calibre Bikes launches the all-new Calibre Sentry a 29er full-suspension bike with impressive geometry and components from just £2,000. Calibre Bikes, the same crew that brought us the popular Bossnut…
British Cycling Wants YOU To Shape The Sport’s Future
British Cycling got in touch specifically to ask us to run this press release, because it thinks you, Singletrack readers, can help it improve the breadth of representation on their…
The New Orange Alpine 6 Is Exactly The Same. Until You Look Closer And Realise That Everything’s Changed.
Orange Alpine 6 2020 Look once and you could be forgiven for thinking that it’s just another Alpine 6, Orange’s flagship 27.5in wheeled enduro and hard-hitting trail bike, but you’d…
Review | The Ergon SM Pro Men’s Saddle Wins A Singletrack Recommended Award
Rarely do mountain bike saddles attract the attention they truly deserve. Then again, perhaps nobody really wants to talk about saddle sores, ingrown hairs and numb genitals. I’m no advertising…
Merida Factory Team racing modified One-Twenty trail bike at Absa Cape Epic
Known as one of the hardest mountain bike stage races in the world, the 2019 Absa Cape Epic is currently being raced right now in South Africa. The Cape Epic…
Trek’s new WaveCel helmet technology finally unveiled – and it’s not what you think
Trek sent ripples throughout the internet earlier this month, after launching a vague online advertisement that included this rather cryptic message; “Cycling’s most important change in 30 years. On 20…
Mountain Mayhem 2019 Sponsors Announced
Mountain Mayhem, the longest running 24hr mountain bike endurance event in the world, has today announced their sponsors for 2019, to be held at the magnificent Marston Lodge in rural…
Santa Cruz Megatower first ride review – The big wheel Nomad we’ve been waiting for.
We ride the first Megatower in the country!
All Hail The Megatower – Santa Cruz’ Brand New Long Travel 29er Enduro Bike!
Well a long-travel 29er is THE bike that everyone has been expecting from Santa Cruz Bicycles. But did anyone expect it to be called the ‘Megatower’? Too bad if you…
Stan’s NoTubes Unveils Strongest Rim Yet – The Flow EX3
Sick of trashing rims? Then you’ll be eager to learn more about the brand new Flow EX3 from Stan’s NoTubes – a super tough alloy rim designed for enduro, downhill…
Video | Veronique Sandler ‘Vision’ Freeride Documentary Coming This Summer
All you can see for now is a sneak peek of a teeny tiny trailer, but we’re told there’s a documentary called ‘Vision’ coming this summer, and we’re pretty damned…
First Ride Review: 2019 Sonder Transmitter First Impressions
Sonder’s popular Transmitter alloy hardtail returns for 2019 with a fresh lick of paint and updated geometry, but how does it ride? We sent Andi to the woods to find…
Pipedream Cycle’s 2nd generation Moxie hardtail gets new geometry, still bonkers
Pipedream Cycles debuted its prototype long-travel steel hardtail back at the 2017 Eurobike show – in a retina-burning hot pink no less. Designed to accommodate a 140-160mm travel fork, and…
Building Our Test Bike | Stanton Switch9er FS – Full Suspension British Steel
Any new bike day is pretty exciting, even if it is a test bike that you’re going to have to bid adieu to in due course. This one, however, is…
FGF 439 | Where Have All The Good Words Gone? At Least We Have The Goods. It’s Fresh Goods Friday 439!
Where is Barney when you need him? We need words of wonder and wibble to kick this thing off here, and if you’re looking in ST Towers for them, you’re…
Goggle Grouptest | We ran 5 pairs of goggles through the winter, and this is the result
Riding in the winter can be pretty shit. So with the hope of trying to make it less so, we’ve put five pairs of goggles to the test through an…
Atherton Bikes Unveils 2nd model, a Titanium BMX with 22in wheels and disc brake!
Atherton Bikes, or more correctly, Dan Atherton has just unveiled the second Atherton Bikes prototype, a titanium BMX with disc brakes. We didn’t see this coming, but perhaps we should…
Singletrack Newsdesk 3: West Yorkshire’s New Bike Park and more
This week Andi reports on a brand new bike parking opening in West Yorkshire, fills us in on the £2500 Trust Message fork and explains how subscribing to Singletrack Magazine…
#MakingUpTheNumbers | Ae-bandoned – SDA Round 1
‘What’s your favourite season?’ MrsMakingUpTheNumbers asks.Every fibre of my being wants to respond with ‘race season’ but as I open my mouth, I think better of it. ‘Spring’. Tension has…
Trust Performance Message linkage fork goes on sale in the UK for £2500
The Trust Performance Message linkage fork is now officially available in the UK, but you’ll only be able to buy one at physical bike stores and it isn’t particularly affordable.…
Review | The Scott Prospect Goggles are about as ‘shouty’ as they come
What are the best goggles for mountain biking? We brought together five pairs from 100%, Dragon Alliance, Julbo POC, Scott, and put them in the hands of our goggle aficionado…
This 2019 Whyte S-120C RS packages enduro bike geometry into a lightweight 120mm chassis
Some bikes just seem to stand out like a sore thumb. And it would appear that Whyte has developed itself a nasty habit for producing sore thumbs. As the latest…
Review | The POC Ora Goggles surprised us with both their price and performance
What are the best goggles for mountain biking? We brought together five pairs from 100%, Dragon Alliance, Julbo POC, Scott, and put them in the hands of our goggle aficionado…
Video| Fire up this miserable Monday with a second Slice Of Ariegeoise Pie
The Commencal crew follow up their Slice of Ariegeoise Pie edit with a second helping featuring World Champ Amaury Pierron, and Commencal riders Thomas Estaque, Hugo Frixtalon, Paul Couderc, Pierrick…
Review | With photochromic lenses, the Julbo Bang NXT Goggles automatically adjust to the light – at a price
What are the best goggles for mountain biking? We brought together five pairs from 100%, Dragon Alliance, Julbo POC, Scott, and put them in the hands of our goggle aficionado…
Review | The Dragon Alliance MXV Max Goggles come with two lenses and very good ventilation
What are the best goggles for mountain biking? We brought together five pairs from 100%, Dragon Alliance, Julbo POC, Scott, and put them in the hands of our goggle aficionado…
Review | The 100% Racecraft Goggles have literally 20 options for you to choose from
What are the best goggles for mountain biking? We brought together five pairs from 100%, Dragon Alliance, Julbo POC, Scott, and put them in the hands of our goggle aficionado…
Forget Trump and Brexit: Niner Has Made A 27.5in Bike! Proof We’re Living In Different Times…
It seemed a normal day at Bike Connection Winter 2019. A day like any other, until we met with Niner. The boys at Niner started showing us the new RIP…