This category is our traditional collection of money no object bikes, colloquially known as the Bike Porn category. Imagine if price was no longer a barrier for you, what would you choose to ride? Here our the finalists for that award for 2020. Salsa Spearfish…
2020
Best Bike Under £4500 | 2020 Singletrack Reader Awards
It’s that time of year when the best sub £4500 bikes duke it out to see which will take home the 2020 Singletrack Readers Awards. These finalists are all extremely capable machines, however which will take home the 2020 Singletrack Readers Award for best bike…
A Chat And A Video With Vali Holl
We’ve just had this interview in from YT bikes, Vali Holl’s bike sponsor about her thoughts on the past, the crazy year of 2020 and the seasons ahead. Let’s catch up with Vali Hol For Valentina Höll, 2020 was the year that would see her…
Best bike under £2k | Singletrack Reader Awards 2020
You shouldn’t have to drop thousands on a bike that will take a beating off road. Modern components are stronger and work better than they’ve ever done and increasingly the trickle down effect of the high end of the industry means we are riding bikes…
Best Hardware | 2020 Singletrack Reader Awards
Vote for your best hardware product in the 2020 Singletrack Reader Awards. Will be be Rockshox, Nukeproof or Shimano? It’s time to take on the most important vote of the year! No, it’s not between Trump and Bidden but between the mighty RockShox Zeb, Shimano…
Best Software | 2020 Singletrack Reader Awards
Software is all the stuff that goes on the rider, not the bike. It’s keeping you safe, warm, cool, dry, visible, and everything in between. We all have different requirements for our riding kit, but one thing we can all agree on is that comfort…
Hope Reopens Factory – Although It’s Not Really Been Closed
Hope Technology has been very quiet recently, and with little new stock on the shelves, it has led to customers wondering if the factory gates had closed. However, the silence has simply been due to everyone there working extra hard there, with no spare time…
Madison To Distribute Singletrack Magazine to UK Bike Shops.
When we stopped selling Singletrack on the traditional news stand there were quite a few sad faces lamenting the end of an era. It was great to casually grab a copy of Singletrack when in town. What we now needed was a plan so cunning,…
Recumbent eBikes: A niche too far?
Sanny takes a journey over to the Dark Side and attempts to leave his preconceptions at the door as he dives headfirst into the world of recumbent eBikes. Was it a match made in Heaven or a descent into niche Hell? “What in the name…
Singletrack Podcast | The why do we not stick to talking about bikes episode
Welcome to our weekly podcast. This week Hannah is back in the hosting chair and talks about the differences between plans and goals and recounts the time she went to the desert and it snowed on her. Following that Hannah has a chat with our…
Dropping In – Short Stuff You Should Know
Here’s a snack sized round up of bike news you might have missed, but probably want to know about. Formula – Where is MTB Distribution Going? With so many brands going direct to market, others selling direct to bike shops, and customers able to discuss…
Fresh Goods Friday 521 – The ‘Let’s Get Funky’ edition
Ahh, Friday, the gateway to the weekend and freedom from work. Or not, as seems the case with many of us at the moment. Wherever you are, we hope that you’re still able to get out on a bike (or at least spin some wheels…
Trash Bandits – A Half Term Excuse To Get Outside!
If you need a little extra motivation to get outside this half term, then maybe this Trash Bandit Bingo from Trash Free Trails will do the trick (or treat). Trash Free Trails encourages people to think about the products they use and how they affect…
How much should an enduro ready carbon bike cost? Vitus says from just £1999
Vitus updates the Escarpe and Sommet for 2021 with new carbon frames and pricing from just £1999! How much does a good trail or enduro bike cost these days? That’s kind of like asking how long a piece of string is isn’t it? When you…
Ling’s Bike Trip – The Pre-Ride Interview With Ling Valentine
There's no denying that Ling Valentine is quite a character. Her vividly-coloured, car-leasing website, LingsCars.com has been described as 'contract hire's RyanAir' and with a small staff and efficient practices, it has propelled her to become the UK's "biggest individual seller of new cars" -…
Save £££’s With Even More Singletrack Member Deals
If you are a full Singletrack Member, you should check this out. It’s our new members’ section, and we have been a wheelin’ and a dealin’ with a bunch of industry buddies to bring you some great discounts on cool stuff. New discounts this week:…
Video: See Stanton Bikes proto CNC and Carbon rear ends!
Want to spend a few moments checking out some curvy CNC machined goodness? Then watch Stanton’s latest video to see what they’ve been working on behind closed doors. Derbyshire based Stanton Bikes was one of the first steel frame makers to push the return of…
5 Reasons To Listen – The Downtime Podcast on Racism in MTB
Don’t just jump into the comments section – first, listen to this podcast on racism in mountain biking. Here are some reasons why we think you should. There has already been a Forum thread about this edition of the Downtime Podcast, but rather than post…
What people mean when they say cycling has a race problem
…Spoiler alert: it’s not about you. Mildred Locke examines why cycling brands’ support of the Black Lives Matter movement gets some riders in a flap. With the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, two major conversations have been sweeping through the comments sections of…
If You Want Riding On The Road to Feel Safer, Act Now
As the Government’s consultation on the revision of the Highway Code approaches its final week, you’re urged to make your voices heard by responding to it yourself. The consultation is the first wide-ranging revision of the code for a generation and closes on Tuesday 27 October.…
Neil Sutton’s 2021 Sonder Evol Dream Build
Neil Sutton, the designer of the Sonder bike range, shows off his newly built 2021 Sonder Evol boasting electronic shifting and kitchen tune suspension. For 2021 Sonder has updated the Evol to run on larger 29in wheels while also stretching the frameset out to give…
Singletrack Podcast | The who wants to be an event organiser these days episode
This week’s episode kicks off with a chat between Chipps and Amanda on what it’s been like to get away from the local trails for a bit. Then Hannah steps in with an indepth interview with TweedLove organ grinder, Neil Dalgleish about just how hard…
Ravemen PR1600 Review: One Light For All Occasions?
Singletrack's 'other' Lakeland product tester, Piers, gets out after hours in order to bring us this Raveman PR1600 review I confess that I had not heard of Raveman before the PR1600 came through my letter box. So I open box and have a play…
Eurobike’s Been Cancelled For 2020. Here’s Why We’ll Miss It.
Chipps gives us his reasons why he’s very sad to hear that Eurobike has been cancelled. And it’s not just about the shiny new bikes… Traditionally, Eurobike – to me at least – always signified the end of summer. Falling at the end of August/beginning…
Danny Hart To Join Cube?
Where is Danny Hart off to? The rumours abound… Remember when we told you that the UK’s primo DH rider was leaving team Saracen and everyone was wondering where he was going? Well we have some rumours and some industry insider secret confirmations as to…
Fresh Goods Friday 520 – The Take Us To A Quiet Space Edition
Put you left foot in, your right arm out, stick your bum into the air and shake it all about. Never mind tiers, levels, deal or no deal, or clips vs flats. Don’t breathe on anyone, wash your hands, don’t burn peat bogs, be kind,…
Feast Your Eyes On This Tour De France Gallery from Commencal
You might recall a couple of weeks back Commencal revealed its ‘Our Tour de France’ video, with Kilian Bron riding his bike all over France in some of the most spectacular drone footage we’ve seen. It turns out it wasn’t just drones at work during…
2021 Commencal Meta AM 29 Review | Thought you were fast? Wait till you ride this!
The 2021 Commencal Meta AM 29 is a proven speed demon, with sorted geo and kinematics for reduced fatigue and impressive climbing. This is a full-on EWS weapon! Let's cut to the chase, the MY21 Commencal Meta AM is nothing like the outgoing model, sure…
The Norco Shore Returns – and it’s not for racing
It’s about ten years since the Norco Shore was last given an update, and 20 years since it was first released. This new release goes big everywhere except the wheels, and has a coil shock with a high pivot Horst link and idler pulley. The…
Making Up The Numbers | Camille Balanche, David Trummer and Dan Slack – DH World Championship Review
What a weekend in Leogang! Still cleaning mud from their fingernails, ears and suspension linkages, we have three riders fresh from their DH World Championship podiums and straight into the podcast studio with George and Jack. Your new Women’s Elite World Champion, Camille Balanche, Elite…
New Nukeproof Mega V4 Launched – and yes, it has room for a water bottle!
Today sees the launch of an all new Nukeproof Mega V4. Like the bikes before it, there are still 29in and 27.5in wheeled versions and the travel is an enduro-winning 165mm or 160mm (depending on wheel size) out back with both models runnign 170mm forks.…
2021 Nukeproof Mega 275 Factory – First Ride Review
The Nukeproof Mega has been the brand's top flight, big hitting enduro bike since 2011. The original prototype was raced to 3rd place in Masters at the 2009 Megavalanche (the race it was named after) by Michael Cowan, with the first production bike being launched…
First Ride: 2021 Specialized Stumpjumper Review
Chipps reports from a day of ups and downs in the remarkably sunny Tweed Valley aboard the new Stumpjumper. Although it was only a day, there was more than enough riding to give this new 2021 Stumpjumper a first ride review.
Specialized Launches The 2021 Stumpjumper: ‘The Singletrack Flow Finder’ – With Video
At first glance, the new 2021 Stumpjumper appears pretty similar to both the model that came before it, and to the new 2021 Stumpjumper EVO that appeared a week or so ago. However, much has changed, both in where the bike sits in the range…
2021 Hope HB.130 now mullet compatible with standard hub spacing
Hope has updated us with news of the 2021 HB.130 now featuring a standard rear hub spacing and the option to run a 27.5in rear wheel. Hope insists that it isn’t a bike brand, and yet they have released an enduro bike in the past…
Fort William World Cup 2021 – Date moved to May
In a change to the original announcement by the UCI, the Fort William round of the 2021 Downhill World Cup will now take place on 22-23 May. The 22-23 May 2021 is a date change from the original UCI announcement of 12-13 June. The date…
Two New Riders for Madison Saracen – but where’s Danny Hart going?
Madison Saracen has revealed who will be on the team next year – but the surprise omission is Danny Hart. Jordan Williams joins the Factory team to ride in the junior category after two successful years as a development rider. If you’ve been following our…
Review | Orange Crush MX Pro LTD hardcore hardtail
Do the mixed wheels of the Orange Crush MX make this THE hardcore hardtail to own in 2021? Andi climbs on board to tell all. The continued evolution of the Orange Crush means that this alloy hardtail is now available in every flavour from 29er…
Dropping In | Short Stuff You Should Know
We bring you a round up of snack sized information from the big wide bike world that we think you might want to know. Road accident guidelines for reporting People who ride bikes on the road have long been frustrated by the incredible number of…
New Reynolds 309/289 XC Series Wheels – with heritage turquoise option
Reynolds today introduces a new range of XC wheels, the 309/289XC. These carbon wheels are aimed at the demands of modern XC racing, and come in four build levels to suit a range of pockets, from $1299.99 to $2099.99. The top priced limited-edition version comes…
2020 Crowns 2 New World Champs in Leogang!
After yesterday’s race, I don’t think we’re going to hear too many complaints that Leogang is a bike park track. After rain and snow, the trails looked more like a swamp than a World Championship circuit with around 90% of the field had trouble staying…
VIDEO | Reece Wilson, Cushcore Total Confidence
Trek factory Racing's Reece Wilson ditches the DH bike for a trail bike and absolutely smashes some Scottish trails
Fizik Terra Artica X2 – Cosy Boots For Warm Dry Feet
Beate braves the elements to put these Fizik Terra Artica winter boots to the test. The perfect winter boot does not exist. Which means that I am engaged in an eternal search for warm, dry, feet through the cold, wet months of the year (which…
Join us at the GT Malverns Classic.
Let’s All Mess About On Bikes Again. We want being a Singletrack full member to be bigger and better than it’s ever been. Now there is not only the awesome magazine and website, but also a load of exclusive perks. In the members’ area you…
Fresh Goods Friday 519 – The ‘Not Van Halen too?’ Edition
Hey! How’s it going? Sorry for the late appearance of Fresh Goods this week, we’ve had a busy old week and there’s a lot of stuff to get through. Grab a brew! (Or a beer if you’ve finished work already…) – oh, and we’ve checked…
Singletrack Magazine Issue 133 Is Here! Get it and member discounts, now.
October’s issue of Singletrack Magazine, Issue 133. has landed! Here’s what’s inside, plus some cunning ways to get the most for your money. There’s no denying it: the leaves are turning, the air has that whiff of over ripeness turning to decay, and the sting…
Classic Ride 133 – Nan Bield
Nan Bield Pass Lake District local James Vincent shows us just why this is epic day out is considered a true classic ride. Words & Photography James Vincent “Switchback” Noun: A path, road, or railway that forms very sharp bends from one direction to almost…
New SRAM Eagle AXS Lever Shape For Riders Less Keen On The Future
SRAM’s AXS Eagle wireless shifting system has gone down very well since its launch just over 18 months ago. For those riders who got the 1×12 wireless shifter and mech on their new bikes, or those who upgraded to it, the functionality of the shifters…
E*13 Helix 556% range cassette is compatible with Shimano and SRAM
The E*13 Helix promises more range, better compatibility, less weight and a lower price! We’re all accustomed to seeing dinner plate size cassettes on our rear wheels, but we’ve not seen something with so much range that looked so good before. The Helix is a…
Aerothan. After 5 Years Of Development, Schwalbe Launches – An Inner Tube?
If you thought the inner tube as daily bit of kit died a half dozen years ago – when tubeless systems really got their act together – then Schwalbe has news for you. The inner tube is alive and well. So well, in fact, that…
Heading to the Mill, YT Mill that is
A couple of weekends ago, Andi jumped into his van and headed South for a tour of the newly opened YT Mill in the Surrey Hills. During the lockdown, German bike brand YT opened another of its showroom style stores to the public. This time…