Hey gang! It's time to gawp at some of bike and bike-adjacent stuff that's landed at STW HQ this week.
Ben Haworth
185cm tall. 73kg weight. Orange Switch 6er. Saracen Ariel Eeber. Schwalbe Magic Mary. Maxxis DHR II. Coil fan.
Issue 160: Trailside Tools
These are our six favourite multi-tools and (whisper it) puncture repair items that we actually choose to use.
Red Bull Featured: BMX goes BIG in Manchester this Saturday
The brand new Red Bull Featured event will run from 5pm until 9pm on Saturday April 12th at Manchester Central.
The Grinder 160: RockShox Vivid Air, Thule 945 EasyFold, Bontrager G-Spike and more
Shut up legs, we’re trying to figure out what that rattle is.
Reviewer’s Ride: Benji’s Specialized Lavender SL Alloy
Benji shares his technicolour Specialized Turbo Levo SL Comp Alloy which is not very stock anymore!
Fresh Goods Friday 751: The Not As Much As You’d Think Edition
Hey now, what does this week have in store for Eff Jee Eff? Well, there'll be not much an intro that's for sure. Because right now outside is Summer 2025!
New RockShox Reverb AXS first rides review
Goes up to 250mm, new air-over-air design, new battery location and it's cheaper.
Hunt Mountain Enduro V3, rejigged everything, £499
Different width F&R rims, stronger rims, 40T ratchet freehub, no weird spokes, brass nipples, proper bearings.
Madison Roam Men’s Windproof Packable Primaloft Gilet review
Madison Roam Men's Gilet hits all the right off-road notes: windproof, packable, & effortlessly stylish.
Fresh Goods Friday 750: The Testing Messing Edition
Heads up! The clocks change this weekend. Yesss! Bring on the post-work golden hour dusky rides.
SRAM Eagle 90 Mechanical Transmission review
Look Ma, no batteries! SRAM Eagle 90 Transmission is cable actuated but T-Type full-mount interface (replaces your UDH hanger).
SRAM Motive Ultimate Expert disc brake review
Gone are Codes. Ditto Levels. Here is the new mineral oil SRAM Motive.
Launch: 120-140mm Fox 36 SL and new 140-160mm Fox 36
Details of the shorter travel Fox 36 SL and the practically-as-stiff-as-a-Fox 38 rejigged Fox 36 forks.
Fresh Goods Friday 749: The Last Week Of Winter Edition
Bringing you a not-yet-sunbleached edition of FGF!
New Fox 34 SL fork targets new breed of XC racer
Fox 34 SL goes up to 130mm travel, accepts 2.5in tyres, boasts increased bushing overlap and weighs under 1,500g.
Happy Mondays 008: Gary Gassy Oldman
Cool but clear. Pretty much anything and everything that is both these things is a positive. From a mountain stream to a point of view, it's clearly cool that it's…
Fresh Goods Friday 748: The M.C. Escher Trail Centre Edition
Don't you just love the pointlessness of mountain biking?
Demo a Saracen at Bike Ranch Snowdonia
Saracen has partnered with Bike Ranch Snowdonia to be the first Saracen bike and e-bike demo centre in Wales.Â
Readers’ Rides: Aaron B’s Bird Aether 7
For this edition of Readers’ Rides, Aaron B shares his Bird Aether 7 which we just found down the back of our cyber sofa.
Fresh Goods Friday 747: The Wings of Love Edition
FGF 747… Benji is off, I (Hannah) am here. Propelled back to the UK by a plane. I don’t know if it was a Boeing 747. I tried not to…
Carbon Wasp Compound-150 first ride review
The Carbon Wasp Compound-150 is a 150mm travel full-carbon trail bike made in Yorkshire. And we’ve been for a spin on one. According to the bods from the Carbon Wasp Factory, the…
0.41° of engagement?! Industry Nine’s new Hydra2 hub
The new Industry Nine Hydra2 offers a staggering 870 points of engagement - that's an incredible 0.41° between pick-up points.
Merida Big Trail 600 review
The latest generation Merida Big Trail takes the previous incarnation and runs with it. It runs all the way to the top of the hardcore hardtail heap.
Happy Mondays 006: Dropping Es can be fun
The return of Happy Mondays! We're back to ease the pain of the start of the working week. Hey look, the daffodils are finally out too.
Benji’s top 10 items from this year’s Core Bike Show
Core Bike Show came and went, as did we. Here's the best bits from Benji's memory card.
Fresh Goods Friday 746: The K Circling Edition
It is Friday. It is kind of lunchtime ish. It's almost the weekend. Which probably means it is almost time to ride bikes.
Owen Robinson joins Privateer Bikes
Ex-Nukeproof shredder Owen Robinson has joined Privateer Bikes. Owen will be riding the new 161 with HUNT mountain wheels.
Issue 159: Secret Diary Of Benjamin Haworth Age 47 3/4
What is a press launch these days? Who benefits? Who gets short-changed? Are they immoral? Are they ecologically indefensible?
Issue 159: Where are we going (with geometry, that is)?
Benji opines on what is right and wrong with the world of mountain bikes right now.
Fresh Goods Friday 745: The Belly Guarding Edition
Perhaps the globe's finest collection of new bike stuff to be delivered to a media house on the Lancashire-Yorkshire borderlands.
Fresh Goods Friday 744: The Fort Manning Edition
It’s that mid-Feb kind of time of year where Hannah’s off to the States to see her hubby, Benji’s off somewhere secret to see something secret, and Mark is trapped…
The Grinder 159: RockShox Pike Ultimate, Stan’s Flow MK4 Wheels Alpkit Floe trousers and more
If you rest you rust, and there’s no rest for the wicked… so no rust on this batch of wicked products then? Stan’s Flow MK4 Wheelset The USP here is…
Happy Mondays 005: Squeezing One In/Out
Hello to the w/c. Here is your regular hurry slurry of things to turn that frown upside down. Happy Monday!
Replay of Red Bull Hardline Tasmania (no spoilers)
Didn't fancy the 3am UK livestream? Forgot all about it? Wanna watch it again?
Fresh Goods Friday 743: The Inessential Mix Edition
The gravity race scene is almost back. Kind of. Not yer World Cup Downhills (remember those? sigh...) but today is Hardline Eve
Exposure Six Pack Mk14 & Zenith Mk3 review
It will come as a surprise to precisely nobody that these two lights from Exposure are class-leading illuminators with unique looks and unbeatable support.
Happy Mondays 004: The Caught By Nanny Edition
What is a Nannycatch? Being caught by your Nan smoking behind the chip shop? Or when you’re playing a wholesome game of Donkey on the lawn with the person employed…
Fresh Goods Friday 742: The Ed’s Wood Hopper Edition
Fancy a jump? Excuse me? Welcome to this week's tempting and dangerous collection of New Biking Stuff.
What should you upgrade on your mountain bike?
Some things are worth the money. Some things very much are not. Here’s where you should splash your cash for maximum reward. Every bike is different and so not every…
First look at new Fox Speedframe Pro helmet
Meet the new Fox Speedframe Pro: integrated sunglasses holder, one-hand adjustable visor, and the same head form as previous Speedframe offering. Fox Racing: “”The all-new Fox Speedframe open-face trail helmet…
Happy Mondays: Clearing trails > clearing desks
HM003: Another Monday of compiled merriment, inspiration and time-killing fodder for your delectation!
Fresh Goods Friday 741: The (G)Loveless Edition
Good afternoon gang! Can you hear us at the back? Then we shall crack on with regaling y'all with the stuff that has arrived at Singletrack Towers this past seven…
Hunt’s new pultruded, carbon-dense H_Core inserts claim high impact resistance without high weight
HUNT's new Proven Carbon Trail wheelset with H_Core Rim Reinforcement Technology. Pultruded, carbon-dense H_Core inserts offer high impact resistance without high weight.
Reframing MTB conference on 7-8th March in Bristol
The Reframing MTB Conference is back for 2025, visiting Bristol on the 7th and 8th March. Tickets are now on sale here. Co-hosted by Ride Bristol, Reframing MTB aims to…
Malverns Classic ’25: more trails, steeper enduro and a dash of gravel
Tickets are on sale for an expanded 2025 Malverns Classic which takes places on 21-25 August this summer.
Happy Mondays: Joybringers in January
Another Monday of compiled merriment, inspiration and time-killing fodder for your delectation. Good afternoon and happy Monday to you all! How was your weekend? Did you manage to get out…
Fresh Goods Friday 740: The Grindstone Cowboy Edition
Welcome one and all to the latest - and some would say greatest - collection of New Bike Related & Bike Adjacent Items that we used to call 'Fresh Goods…
Readers’ Rides: Phill M’s Stooge Dirtbomb
For this edition of Readers’ Rides, Phill M shares his Stooge Dirtbomb which he sets-up with cod liver oil tablets and swearing.
OneUp Components are doing clip pedals now
These are apparently the thinnest mountain bike clip pedals in the world. Large platform, fully custom SPD-compatible binding mechanism, DH-rated loadsa colours.Â
The Merida EX enduro now open for pre-registration
September 12-14th are the dates for this year. Here’s the PR info, including details of a new category for the event: Pairs racing. The Merida EX press release: Widely recognised…
Happy Mondays: Hills, Chills and Lower Back Aches
New Year, new series. There’s a lot of unhappy news out there these days, so we thought we’d kick off a regular weekly series of positive vibes. We’re calling it…