Issue 166: Merchandise of Singletrack – Through the Ages

The stunning collection of T-shirts, jerseys, tea towels, mugs and other stuff we’ve churned out for 25 years.

Tea and coffee have always been a very important part of life at Singletrack World. The office Wega coffee machine, which has been with us nearly 25 years, was our first official company asset and is still in daily use at Singletrack Towers. We figured (correctly, as it happens) that our readers might also enjoy a hot beverage while working, or while working on bikes, or while chatting about working on bikes.

We’ve produced some fun designs over the years, sometimes clearing out the whole stock of a Stoke on Trent or New York pottery supplier when we find the ‘right’ drinking vessel. We’ve even branched out over the years into other quirky collectables: like jigsaws and tea towels.

Here are a few of our favourite designs over the years. Pottery being the non-bounceable thing that it is, with every year there are fewer examples in existence. Which of these do you still have on the shelf?

Tees of Singletrack

We’ve produced so many different designs over the years that no-one, even at the office, has a complete set. Some were one-offs for events, some were perennial faves, some should never have been printed, and some are sorely missed.

We’ve only used 13% of the world’s fonts up so far, so there’s plenty of room for more…

Jerseys of Singletrack

You can’t say we’ve not cranked out the jerseys. How many do you own?

Perhaps we’re showing the magazine’s age a little here, but back when we started (around the turn of the century, kids…) the sartorial standards of the day were a little different. And so it made sense that our jerseys, for many years, were of the three-rear-pocket road bike style that was de rigueur of the day. Slowly, we embraced the baggy and brought in roomier cuts. (Nothing to do with our own expanding waistlines. No, not at all…)

No one told us for ages that horizontal stripes weren’t flattering to a beer belly.

There have been classics (thanks to Dean Taylor for one of those), one-offs – like the Mountain Mayhem jersey with Ardbeg as a co-sponsor, limited to just 25 – and the perennial truth that you can make all the colours you want, but most people still prefer black or grey. Some of those designs went from laughing stock to collectable in a matter of mere years. So, how many Singletrack jerseys do you own? Let us know in the comments.

So, over to you: which of these do you still have on the shelf, and what was your all-time favourite Singletrack design? Let us know in the comments.