With 23 years as Editor of Singletrack World Magazine, Chipps is the longest-running mountain bike magazine editor in the world. He started in the bike trade in 1990 and became a full time mountain bike journalist at the start of 1994. Over the last 30 years as a bike writer and photographer, he has seen mountain bike culture flourish, strengthen and diversify and bike technology go from rigid steel frames to fully suspended carbon fibre (and sometimes back to rigid steel as well.)
Editorial: Work up to the widdly bits
Chipps reminds us not to try to skip to the end… When I was about 16 I borrowed an electric guitar from a friend, with the usual teenage ambitions of…
Interview | Rob Warner: ‘Look At The Time!’
Chipps quizzes Rob Warner, on lucky breaks, World Cup racing and how commentating saved him from himself. Words & Photography Chipps CAUTION, CONTAINS ALL OF THE SWEARS. NORMALLY WE TONE...
Fresh Goods Friday 651 – The C-Word Edition
Regardless of where you stand on the whole divine right to rule over a nation of subjects whilst wearing a really heavy bling-bling hat, we can all agree that an…
A close look at Classified Powershift. Two-by is back!
The Classified Powershift system revolves around a two-speed hub, made in Belgium, that is electronically shifted by a remote shifter.
Issue 148 Editorial: Every ride is like an individual snowflake
What is it that sets our sport apart from most of the other sports/hobbies/lifestyles out there? After all, some people don’t even think that mountain biking is a sport anyway.…
Fresh Goods Friday 648 – Sort It Out Edition
Enough with the chocolate, it\'s time for everyone\'s favourite end-of-the-week shiny bits showcase: Fresh Goods Friday!
Fresh Goods Friday 647: Bank Holiday Bonanza!
Spring arrived earlier this week, and what a treat it has been. How have you chosen to use all that extra daylight? I have spent it taking a longer way...
Spy Shot – New Specialized Bike Spotted In Banyoles
Specialized debuted a secret new cross country race bike this weekend
Issue 147 Editorial: Best Foot Forward
Admission time… I’m a secret, or perhaps ‘recovering’ left-hander. That is to say I write and use a mouse with my left hand, but apart from that I’m basically right-handed. I play guitar right-handed. If I…
International Adventure: New Kids Sur Le Bloc
Last year, Chipps chucked (most of) it all in and moved to a small village in the French mountains. But how do you say ‘Show me to the good trails!’ in French? Words…
The Cobble Wobble Returns!
Frome Cobble is a ‘World Famous’ bicycle hillclimb sprint up 179 yards of a steep, cobbled hill in the heart of Frome, Somerset. With the narrowness of the streets, the...
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…
7Mesh WTV Chilco Jacket review
7Mesh WTV Chilco jacket (‘Wind, Thermal, Ventilation’) is a big new thing from top-notch clothing company.
Issue 146: Editorial – We Are Not Alone
Chipps encourages us to get to know our ride-group neighbours. As a reasonably feeble and glasses-wearing schoolboy, I was never great at ball games and was usually among the last…
Issue 146: In Praise of Petrichor
Mountain biking smells aren’t just of damp shoes and disappointment. There’s joy to be found in the company of a good trail nose. Words by Chipps, photography by Mark Do…
Fresh Goods Friday 630: Behind The Radiator Edition
The orange-chested robin redbreast is called redbreast because there was no English word for the colour orange until the 16th century.
The Bicycle Academy Closes Its Doors
After ten years of teaching framebuilding, designing and selling frame jigs and generally being a force for good for British framebuilding, the West Country’s Bicycle Academy has closed its doors....
Singletrack World Issue 145: Editorial
Chipps is in the flow zone… just don’t tell him. Been ‘in the zone’ lately? Have you achieved ‘flow state’? Perhaps you have; perhaps it’s something you’ve only glimpsed once…
Issue 144 Editorial : No More Crashing?
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes On floors, that is… but why not? I’ve been a serial chancer/cheapskate/ ‘economic lifestyle enthusiast’ for years, especially when travelling. I’ve been that guy who phones…
Issue 144: Zippity Doo-Dah
Zippity Doo-Dah Chipps would like to lead you in praise of the humble cable tie. Words Chipps Photography as credited Every mountain bike guide seems to have two different tool…
10 most eyebrow-raising things seen at Eurobike
Chipps reflects on the best, worst and out-there inventions of the 2022 Eurobike Show (his 25th visit!) and the bike industry in general.
Issue 143 Editorial: Local Secrets
Chipps wants to show you all of his favourite trails. Well, nearly all. We all know that there are no secrets any more. Every mountain has been discovered, every field,…
Issue 143 Interview: Guy Kesteven
If he can tell how a bike will ride just by pushing it, why does he keep riding and testing? Words & Photography Chipps Whether you know Guy Kesteven through the…
Issue 143: Lost In Time
A few rolls of lost camera film bring back memories of older times. Words & Photography Chipps The fading art of the analogue photograph was always a wonder to me. I can…
Issue 142 Editorial: Gambling With Choices
Chipps ponders those moments where the path you choose makes all the difference. We all like to think that we’re, to a greater extent, in charge of our own destinies.…
Fresh Goods Friday 595 – Big Fork, Little Bar, Cardboard Box Edition
It’s Friday again. Easter is approaching and, soon, summer will be here. Or is it spring? When does it all start? Anyway, not long now until those blue sky days...
15 signs you have an unhealthy relationship with your bike
Yes, it’s February the 14th. Time for some sort of crowbarred themed listicle! No matter what happens just remember, we will always love you. There\'s more to this story But…
Editorial: The Eternal Suffering Of The Spoke
I was once on a Mavic press launch, somewhere in the French mountains. Our merry band of bike journalists was augmented by some of Mavic’s sponsored riders, including Jérôme Clementz…
Singletrack Issue 141 kit essentials: Insulated jackets
Chipps and the team venture out into the chill winds to bring word of the best insulated jackets out there. There\'s more to this story But it\'s a member-only story…
Chris Hinds – Unexpected Hero
How much physical and mental strength does it take to finish, let alone win, the 1,800km Great British Divide? More than we could ever imagine. Words & Photography Chipps &…