So, I have decided to retire, really badly, because, quite simply: It does not cost a lot to be poor and ride your bike all day. 2015, A Surly sticker How I Ended Up Here I’ve been riding bikes offroad since the 1970’s, then grew…
Charlie Hobbs
Grumpy, happy, hairy, overweight and awesome. I started riding offroad in 1978, and never stopped. I was once Charlie The Bikemonger, I invented orienBEERing, the Clunker Classic, and the Dorset Gravel Dash. I own the Bum Butter brand and I'm a co-owner of Dirt Dash Events. I also work at Singletrack, I have the self-appointed job title of "Overlord of the leftovers" and look after the merch shop, and marketing. Other interests include skateboards, surfboards, motorbikes, and cooking (I invented the Beefer Reefer).
Singletrack Subscribers Save Up To 65% On Casio and Hello Fresh
Singletrack subscribers get exclusive access to 100’s of great discounts, and this week we have a few new ones to add to the list. 20% Off Casio. Singletrack subscribers now get 20% off at Casio watches. Founded by the four Kashio brothers, Casio was established…
Save Over 50% on Singletrack Hip Flask Bundle
Was £31.98 Now £14.99! Only 16 flask strap-on combos left Hip flask etched with “Drunks, Saddle Tramps, Stoners, Big Hitters, Bike Benders”
Save up to 50% in our big flip-off STW Shop Sale!
We only have single digit numbers left of some of these items. Don’t miss out! We could do with clearing the shop shelves in preparation for next season. Which is great news for YOU because you can snag a bargain. It’s great news for US…
Subscribe to Singletrack World today and butter your bum for free
Join today! We have 100 tubs of the world famous Happy Bottom Bum Butter - worth £19.99 - to give away to 100 new subscribers.
Deals For Overheating Singletrack Members
Here is a roundup of all our Discy McDiscounts for hot weather. Oakley! Camelbak! SunGod! Reef! Sweaty Betty!
Singletrack Kitchen: Okay Poke Fish Recipe.
The first thing you need to know is that “poke” is pronounced “pow – kay”. Okay? It’s from the Hawaiian word for “slice”. So that makes this a bowl of sliced food. Traditionally it would be served with roughly cut chucks of octopus but try…
Fresh Goods Friday 667 – The Holey Decking Edition
Happy August Bank Holiday people! We hope you're doing something nice and that the weather plays ball.
Singletrack Kitchen: Stufato Di Ciclista Affamato Recipe
I stumbled (literally, my legs were tired, the day had been long, the sun was beating down, the steps were uneven, and the wine was very good) upon this in a small inn down a dusty trail in rural Italy. I was wowed by the…
Save £178+ on Your Food Shopping: Singletrack Discount Of The Week
Cost Of Living Busters Among the hundreds of Singletrack discounts you get as a member, there are some real cost of living busters. Discounts that will get stuck into food inflation and everyday household costs. We can’t all afford new Oakley sunglasses, but everyone can…
25% Off Oakley: Singletrack Discount Of The Week
Singletrack members have access to a whole bunch of rewards including 25% Off Oakley sunglasses. It’s just one of the great reasons to be a Singletracker. Each week we will highlight a great discount or a new reward. Some are cycling related, some great when…
Singletrack Discount Of The Week: Vivobarefoot Shoes.
Singletrack members have access to a whole bunch of rewards including Vivobarefoot shoes. It’s just one of the great reasons to be a Singletracker. Each week we will highlight a great discount or a new reward. Some are cycling related, some great when splashing out…
Fresh Goods Friday 659 – The Fiddle Edition
Hannah here, fresh from a podcast recording which has left me full of beans and bike enthusiasm. Assuming I haven’t screwed up the technical side of recording, you should get to listen to another Desert Island Disc Brakes episode, this time with Jake100, who you…
Singletrack World’s Super Summer Sizzler Sale
Gooood mooorrrning Singletrack World! It’s hot, dam hot, so hot I can cook things in my shorts, do a little “crotch pot cooking”. In this recent hot weather I have become a 2 or even 3 T-shirts a day kinda guy, with the goal of…
Bike Check: Charlie’s Surly Singlespeed Karate Monkey
At Singletrack we get to see all the latest technology and ride countless bikes, but what bikes do Singletrack staffers ride home on? After we have downloaded new firmware for an electronic mech, set shock pressures using the ebikes app and bluetooth pressure sensors, charged…
Singletrack Kitchen: Air Fryer Cheesy Courgette Balls
Say everybody have you seen my balls? They’re big, cheesy and hot! I think they might also be good for you too. Cook these in an oven or an air fryer and then pop these airfryer cheesy courgette balls in your mouth. Mmmmmm mmm! Air…
Fresh Goods Friday 654 – Kylo Ren’s British Knights Edition
Benji is out on a hill with bikes. So is Amanda. Charlie is on holiday. This video was already in here, so it means something to someone but I (Hannah) have no idea what. But I am partial to a spot of Leonard Cohen. If…
Can You Ebike a 100 Mile Bikepacking Route?
Ebikes are great when it comes to allowing people to do things they don’t normally do. Look at all the 50+ people returning to mountain biking with the help of a little electricity and quite a bit of money. However, can an unfit 51 year…
Fresh Goods Friday 652 – The Roadtrippin’ Edition
Some of us have been roadtrippin'. Some of us are still out there roadtrippin'. Some of us are merely plottin' some roadtrippin'. How about you? Are you thinkin' o' 'trippin'?
Singletrack Kitchen: Wild Garlic Soup
Let’s get this out the way right from the start. You are probably wondering why there is a wild garlic soup recipe on your favourite mountain bike website. Science and statistics are the answers. Stick with me here on this. A good Saturday afternoon ride…
Single Speed World Champs 2023. Why?
In typical single speed style this year’s world championship has been announced. So, dig the old single speed out of your shed, lower your standards and expectations, and start planning a road trip to Spain. Prime Info What Is Single Speed Racing? It’s a XC…
Save £££s With New Singletrack Member Discounts
Great news everyone! We have thumbed the Singletrack membership discounts up to “Turbo”, to use an e-bike term. All print and digital Singletrack members now have access to hundreds of fantastic discounts. Why are we doing this? Singletrack World is a membership organisation, and we…
Charlie’s Birthday Bargain – Old Dog New Tricks
51, I think it’s 51 this year. Recently I have been mostly preventing the onset of old age by ignoring it, losing count of the years, and successfully maintaining a steady state of injury. Myself, Mark, and other Singletrack members head to skateboard coaching sessions…
Know Your Trail Users
Charlie takes a light hearted look at the wonderful variety of people we share the trails with. It’s that time of year again when the clocks go forward, the sun comes out and at 10am precisely on the first sunny Sunday your peaceful and uncrowded…
It’s Anthony’s Birthday and He Is A “Volped”
At Singletrack this week it’s Anthony’s birthday. Ant looks after the tech side of Singletrack World. Think of him as the hamster overlord of technical things I don’t understand (Ed – that’s quite a broad remit). Ant is a Volped He doesn’t ride a bike!…
Singletrack Kitchen: Pub Bike Gumbo
By popular demand, here’s another recipe from Charlie to warm you up and fill you up after a ride. This is a really efficient recipe as it is great for using things up. I suppose in many ways this is the pub bike of recipes,…
Benji’s Bonzer Birthday Bargain Thingy
When a Singletrack staff member clocks up being another year further away from being a teenager, we do a little special Singletrack merch offer. In Sheep We trust I have no doubt mentioned this before, but some very wise words were once conveyed to me…
Fresh Goods Friday 644 – The Where Am I Edition
It is, inexplicably, Friday again. The longest fastest week to date. Are we sliding ever faster, reaching terminal velocity, and then about to hit British Summer Time? Hopefully it’s like one of those waterslides, that then launches you high into the air, whoosh into the…
Fresh Goods Friday 641: The Big Purple Edition
We hope you're not struggling too much with the absence of baby plum tomatoes in your packed lunch, or pepper sticks to dip in your hummus.
New Membership Perk: Cheaper Cleats! And What Else?
We wanted to give Singletrack Members another membership perk. Great deal on Shimano SPD cleats!
It’s not easy being Singletrack. Please help.
Tough Times. These are not easy times for almost everyone right now, and we know this at Singletrack as individuals and as a business. Let me explain, and then ask for your help. Advertising is awful right now. Not just because it’s worth is less that…
Fresh Goods Friday 637: The Warranty Edition
This in the 'kin-tro... A bit like the flippin-tro but just that little bit coarser. Because we all just want to go out and ride our ATBs today, let's dive straight into FGF!
XXL Singletrack Sale and “Unconscious Bias”
There has been a lot of talk about “unconscious bias” recently, largely relating to ultra-privileged people saying things they should not say. At Singletrack we are also guilty of this… but in a nice way. You see, as a somewhat stout and substantial 100kg 6’2″…
Buy Art, Do Good: Singletrack Cover Print with Rider Resilience
We are super jazzed with the cover of issue 147 for a handful of reasons. Since we’ve been waiting since last April for the right alignment of season and magazine issue to use the shot, there’s quite a lot of pent up excitement! We love…
Buyers Guide to Mountain Bike Shoes for Big Feet
We point you at decent mountain bike shoes for big feet. If you are looking for mountain bike shoes in size 12, 13 and even 14… read on.
Issue 146: Singletrack World Kitchen: Bacon Jam Recipe
Charlie whips up something that sounds wrong, but tastes right. Especially after a few miles on the bike. Bloody Brilliant Bacon Jam. Words Charlie Photography Amanda Imagine a world where you can take not two, or three, but four great things, and orgy them together…
Save £5.00 on Singletrack Merch with this Code
AKA The Singletrack Guide to a happier Black Friday! Use this code to get £5.00 off in the Singletrack Merch Store. T&Cs: spend over £20.
HLPIS – bringing excellence to your head?
Our new Singletrack Pom Pom Hats are here. Mark described these as a “Hyper Localised Personal Insulation System”, and he is right. We should register HLPIS as a trademark and market it as the pinnacle of innovation and the future of warmth. But we won’t…
Fresh Goods Friday 626: Silver Serfing Edition
This is the bintro... the intro that actually got written on bin day (which is Thursday round here).
Fresh Goods Friday 625: Oh, that’s actually quite reasonable edition
Everyone sitting bored at home and wondering what to do with themselves this weekend? Kids getting antsy cooped up? Adults getting antsy looking at their bank statements? Let me present to you the all in one money-saving-exercise-getting-treasure-hunting-charity-supporting solution. Hey kids, we’re going on an outing,…
Fresh Goods Friday 624: Gold Leaf Edition
Eee... I don't know about you but there seems to be an inordinate amount of leaves on my lines all of a sudden.
Fresh Goods Friday 623: Rechargeable Battering Edition
This is the "Wintro". The intro of winners. What have we won exactly? We've won the satisfaction of making it through another week. We've won ourselves a weekend.
Issue 145 – Singletrack Kitchen: Gloriumptious Dahl
Singletrack’s resident Nigel Slater brings you more tasty things to make and eat trailside, or as a post-ride reward. Words Charlie, Photography Amanda The world is changing. Veganism is a new normal, and the cost of food is getting higher than Keith Moon in platform shoes on a jump bike. So,…
Fresh Goods Friday 620: The Harnessing Cyclists Edition
Reassuringly just about lunch time. Chant your 'how much!' mantras and feel that feeling of calm descend upon you.
Fresh Goods Friday 619: Accept No Substitutes Edition
Truth bombs: George Benson sang "The Greatest Love Of All". Rupert Holmes sang "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)".
Knog Scout Bike Alarm and Finder
The Knog Scout is an 85 decibel motion detection alarm, coupled to Apple’s “find my” app, which also makes it a tracker. In this product, Knog the Australian company best known for making lights and bells, appears to have solved a personal problem I have…
Fresh Goods Friday 615: Rave On Edition
Welcome one and all to the show your telly was made for – or the regular web feature your phone and/or computer was made for – Fresh Goods Friday! What do have for you this week? Kids clothes, bleeding stuff, flatties, mushrooms, torture fans, jerseys,…
Issue 144: Singletrack Kitchen Taking The Rough With The Smoothie
I love smoothies. They tick the ‘healthy’ box with minimal effort, skills or fuss. Just lob it all in and whiz it up, and you can say you’ve had your five a day. Literally smoothing over the cracks in my diet.
Grunge is not dead – it just smells funny
Our Road Trip artwork is now available on a rather grungy and distressed organic T Shirt. Ready for adventure.
Summer Riding Shirt Member Special
Here comes the sun. Isn’t the summer just the best with its dusty trails, warm air, and long days in the saddle. How could it possibly be any better? (Hold on. This sounds like Charlie is about to make me excited about bikes and then…
Issue 143 Kitchen: Charlie’s New Wave Hipster Starters
Just as mountain bikes keep evolving, so does food. There was a time when a prawn cocktail would impress people with its juicy shellfish piled high on lettuce with a nice tangy Marie Rosé sauce, and now it seems … well… somewhat ‘canti’.