We’re truly sorry to have to tell you that Patrick Adams, that legend of the mountain bike scene, passed away last night, Feb 11th 2024 leaving the whole cycling world with…
Chipps
With nearly 25 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 32 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.)
Issue 153 Tech Head: When It’s All Your Own Fault
A custom-built bike is a dream for many, but how hard is it to choose (and then live with) your exact, perfect machine? Words As told to Chipps Photography Credited…
9Point8 Slack-R Headset Review
What if you want a slacker head angle, but your bike won't accept slackset-style headset cups? Enter the 9Point8 Slack-R!
Issue 152 Editorial: I went into Publishing and all I got was this awesome magazine
Words: Chipps Thirty years ago, at the start of January 1994, I walked into the Future Publishing offices in Bath to begin as technical editor for the recently launched MTB…
Singletrack Issue 151 Editorial: Especially average? Or averagely special?
Words: Chipps Does anyone ever aspire to be average? Surely, statistically, most of us must be average at most things? Look around, though, and all talk is about the fastest,…
Singletrack Issue 151: Ydyn ni bron yna?
Chipps wonders what happened to the Welsh Government’s promises for a more accessible outdoors for all. Words Chipps Photography Amanda *Ydyn ni bron yna? = Are we almost there? A…
Fresh Goods Friday 666 – The Number of the Wee Beastie
Welcome to Fresh Goods Friday, number six hundred and sixty six! There’s obviously only one tune that can start off this instalment – so make sure your office speakers are…
Singletrack World Issue 150 Editorial
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to issue 150 of Singletrack World Magazine. Whether you’re a new reader in print or online (or both), or an old hand…
Issue 150: Chipps’ Summer Ridewear
Chipps gives his top kit tips for those summer weeks (or foreign trips) where the temperatures hit ‘scorchio’ and beyond. I’ve had a long-running debate with American (mostly Californian and Coloradan) bike, clothing and shoe…
Fresh Goods Friday 665 – The foreign food edition
Iiiiiit’s FRIDAY! And no matter how often it rolls around and how predictable it is, you’re never quite sure that it’ll actually arrive until it does, all casual Friday-style and…
Fresh Goods Friday 661 – The Hard Lining Edition
It's Red Bull Hardline weekend! And it's looking like it might be a terrifyingly wet one. Good luck to all the racers giving it their best.
Chipps with Everything: 2023 Eurobike Highlights
Chipps brings you a curated tour of the eye-catching highlights of this pivotal European trade show.
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
For my part, I have moved with my wife Beate to a little place called Fuilla, in the southeastern Pyrénées-Orientales – about as far south as you can get in France.…
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?
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 up someone I met ten…
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.
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.
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 &…
MTB Culture: Meet The Minehead Mentors
Chipps takes a ride with the Minehead mountain bike club that’s just for youngsters. Words & Photography Chipps Saturday mornings are busy for parents, with many different demands on both…
2021 GT Malverns Classic – Editors’ Choice Awards 2021
The Singletrack Staffers pick the standout products and locations from their riding year. This article was originally published in Singletrack Magazine Issue 140. The year has felt a little like…
Glentress Forest – Editors’ Choice Awards 2021
The Singletrack Staffers pick the standout products and locations from their riding year. This article was originally published in Singletrack Magazine Issue 140. The year has felt a little like…
Thule Rail Hip Pack 2L – Editors’ Choice Awards 2021
The Singletrack Staffers pick the standout products and locations from their riding year. This article was originally published in Singletrack Magazine Issue 140. The year has felt a little like…
Scott Spark RC – Editors’ Choice Awards 2021
The Singletrack Staffers pick the standout products and locations from their riding year. This article was originally published in Singletrack Magazine Issue 140. The year has felt a little like…
Bike Check: Dan Milner’s ‘Modern Klunker’ Yeti SB115
Photographer, world adventurer and all round nice guy, Dan Milner (not to be confused with the editor of another mountain bike magazine) has put together what he is calling a…
The Mason RAW – New Steel Hardtail On The Block, Ridden
The new Mason RAW hardtail. View and First Ride Review Today, those achingly-cool folks at Mason Cycles are launching the Mason RAW, a steel hardtail. If you’re surprised that Mason…
Review: Shimano MW7 Winter Boots – No excuses boots for winter riding
These Shimano MW7 winter boots are designed to remove any excuses you have about winter riding. Forget ‘it’s too cold’ or ‘it’s too wet’ as the idea of these black…