If the ‘Reserve Wheels’ name sounds familiar, it’s because until recently, it’s been associated as Santa Cruz Bikes’ in-house wheel brand. Now, however, with the launch of the new 28/XC…
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.)
Movie: BikePark Wales Reopens
It’s been a tough old year for everyone. And while BikePark Wales was forced to close last year, it gave the owners a chance to work on the whole place…
Fresh Goods Friday 547: The Dr Dolittle Extra Animal Edition
Lockdown, week whatever. Or are we still locked down? Kind of not – we can ride bikes with five friends and sit outside a pub in all of our coats.…
Roval Control Carbon Wheels – XC Race Wheels At A Lower Price
Today, Roval is launching its 2021 Control Carbon 6B XD wheels. It features the same, impressive rim from the Control SL wheels we reviewed last year, only now with more…
Fox 2022: Two New Fox 34 forks And Two New Rear Shocks
Fox Racing Shox has completely revamped its line of Fox 34 forks for the coming 2022 model year, with designs that reflect the development of frames and of the all-round…
Video and Interview: Kriss Kyle – ‘Out of Season’
Kriss Kyle is a busy guy. By the time I speak to him at 10am, he’s already been to the BMX park for an hour or so in preparation for…
2021 Trek Session: The High Pivot, Idler Pulley, Fast And Fun Machine
Right, get comfy, we have much to talk about. The new 2021 Trek Session is very different, and yet very familiar. Firstly, do we call it a downhill bike? A…
ZIPP 3ZERO MOTO Wheels Updated for 2021
A first, it would look like there’s nothing new about the ZIPP 3ZERO MOTO wheels. They use the same ‘moto inspired’ single wall, low profile rim profile as the previous…
Podcast: Singletrackworld Turns 20 Years Old! The anecdotes episode
On April 1st, 2001 (no, really…) Singletrack Magazine and its website singletrackworld.com were launched. The website evolved off the back of the original GoFar-MTB mountain bike website, but it was…
Garmin Launches Rally XC Power Meter Pedals
Today, Garmin is launching a range of clip-in pedals with built-in power meter sensors. There are Look and SPD SL versions for the road but we’ll (mostly) concentrate on the…
Fresh Goods Friday 541 – The Sunn is shining edition!
While we won’t argue with anyone at all that it’s high time for spring – after all, the flowers are popping and the winter was soooo long and soooo cold,…
Fresh Goods Friday 539 – The Where’d Everybody Go? Edition
It’s a quiet old day in Singletrack (Virtual) Towers today as several staff are off on well-earned days off and the rest of us are head-down and working towards the…
Review: 2021 Saracen Ariel 30
Saracen is back in a big way and its major focus for the moment is the brand new Ariel line. Redesigned from the ground up, while still retaining the multi-link…
New Saracen Bikes! “All About The Ariel”
Longstanding UK-designed brand, Saracen, has been a little quiet recently. Even before the pandemic, the range had slimmed down and news (apart from of the mighty Madison/Saracen downhill race team)…
Sierra Buttes’ Feel-Good Video Is Inspiring For Trailbuilders Worldwide
If you need a bit of feel-good viewing to keep you going until the weekend, then have a look at Sierra Buttes’ video that it has produced, documenting its campaign…
SRAM Buys Time Pedals
For years, SRAM had a clipless-pedal-shaped hole in its complete groupset picture, compared to rivals Shimano. With almost* universal acceptance of Shimano’s SPD platform for clipped-in riding, it seemed unlikely…
TweedLove WILL Return In 2021 – With Chain Reaction Cycles As Title Sponsor
We’ve just had word that TweedLove Bike Festival has announced a new headline partnership with Chain Reaction Cycles for their 2021 festival weekend based in the Tweed Valley, Scotland. The…
Trail Centre Break-Ins Test The Willpower Of Shop Staff
It seems that number of recent bike shop break-ins at mountain bike trail centres has had some shop owners on the verge of packing it all in. Most recently, Afan…
Staff Bike Test: Chipps’ Ibis Ripley MK4
This article was first published in Issue 129 of Singletrack Magazine. The first Ibis Ripley, back in 2001 or so, was an alloy softail, a pretty advanced bike for the…
Pipedream’s New SRS48 Fork Has Zero Millimetres of Travel. Or Is It Miles?
Pipedream Cycles has just launched its new 29er fork. In a time when suspension is getting longer and longer, the new Pipedream SRS48 fork has 0mm of plush suspension travel.…
The New Alloy Ibis Ripley – The Ripley AF
There’s a new Ibis Ripley in town. Based on the impressive, carbon (and expensive) 29in wheeled Ripley frame, the Ripley AF offers the same 130mm DW-Link suspension, similar geometry (more…
Editor’s Choice Awards 2020 – Chipps’ Pick
First published in Singletrack Magazine Issue 134. It’s been a ‘special’ year, for sure, but the sun has continued to come up and bikes have still been ridden. We’ve perhaps…
Singletrack’s 2021 Predictions
New year, new us, that kind of thing. It’s at this time of year that we ask our team for some predictions for the year ahead. No cheating or open…
Singletrack Christmas Countdown – Day 18. Win Pearl Izumi Winter Gear!
Pearl Izumi Winter Protection Kit Price: £725 From: Freewheel Pearl Izumi WXB and D3O pads If you’re after excuses for not riding this winter, then look away now. With this full setup…
Christmas Countdown Day 16 – Win Shimano Winter Boots
Welcome to Day Sixteen of our big Goodbye to 2020, Hello to 2021, Advent/Christmas/New Year Daily Countdown Giveaway. Today, as with every day in our GHACNYDCG, you have two chances…
2021 Marin Alpine Trail Carbon Launches Today
There are a lot of bike launches going on at the moment, but there’s always room for one from Marin, which, despite its Californian roots, always has the UK in…
2021 Evil Offering – The 150/140mm Hooligan 29er Rad Machine
The 2021 Evil Offering is here – and the marketing blurb says ‘All hail, the Dark Lord of Singletrack’ so we’d better sit up and pay attention, eh? The Offering…
New Pivot Mach 6 – Get Loose And Go Hard
At a time where it seems that everyone’s attention is on bigger wheels and mullet bikes for more aggressive riding, Pivot is proudly sticking behind its burly new Mach 6…
The Onza Porcupine Returns To The UK. In white, too!
After a long time away, the Onza Porcupine has returned to the UK! OK, perhaps not quite in the form that you remember – those rounded knobbled weren’t really the…
Video: Gee Atherton’s New Ridgeline Jump Line Is Massive
Gee Atherton is no stranger to massive gaps and big, big air, but the new Atherton Ridgeline might be the limit of what anyone can currently ride on a mountain…
ENVE Launches Alloy Stem Range
Sure, ENVE currently offers stems, but they’re full carbon and cost around £270 a pop. This new move will offer 3D-forged and machined ENVE alloy stems for £130/€135 The new…
The PNW Loam Dropper Post Is Weatherproof, Adjustable AND Colourful
Today, PNW is launching its new, direct-to-consumer dropper post, the PNW Loam Post. Coming in at US$200/£154*, it offers a lot of benefits for a reasonably low price. AND you…
Renewed Hope For Lee Quarry Trails And Trail Centre
Although it seems like we’ve been here before, nearly a decade ago, we’re back with news of council-backed plans for a trail centre building to support the rocky trails at…
Specialized 2FO Roost Shoes – For Clip-in And Flat Riders Alike
There’s a new shoe on the block, and it’s called the Specialized Roost 2FO. There are two styles available – either full flat pedal, or clip-in. The shoes are designed…
Pipedream Sirius Returns
We’ve just heard from Pipedream that its short travel fork-ready, steel hardtail has been completely revamped and has appeared in stock ready for riders to treat themselves to an early…
Nicolai Launches The Saturn 14 Full Suspension Belt-Drive Gearbox Trail Bike
In a ‘what took you so long?’ announcement that we know will delight some of our friends, Nicolai has announce a Pinion-gearbox shifting, full suspension trail bike. The new Saturn…
New Stif Squatch Launches – The All-Round 29er Hardtail
It’s taken three years of design and tweaking, but the steel tubed, Stif Squatch is finally here. It features 29in wheels, a 78° seat tube and 64° head angle and…
Fresh Goods Friday 522 – The ‘Oh, Not Again’ Edition
Wasn’t that the thought of the Hitchiker’s Guide whale that turned into a plant pot (or was it the other way round?) Anyway, it seems that Singletrack Towers is locking…
A Chat And A Video With Vali Holl
We’ve just had this interview in from YT bikes, Vali Holl’s bike sponsor about her thoughts on the past, the crazy year of 2020 and the seasons ahead. Let’s catch…
Hope Reopens Factory – Although It’s Not Really Been Closed
Hope Technology has been very quiet recently, and with little new stock on the shelves, it has led to customers wondering if the factory gates had closed. However, the silence…
Ling’s Bike Trip – The Pre-Ride Interview With Ling Valentine
There's no denying that Ling Valentine is quite a character. Her vividly-coloured, car-leasing website, LingsCars.com has been described as 'contract hire's RyanAir' and with a small staff and efficient practices,…
Eurobike’s Been Cancelled For 2020. Here’s Why We’ll Miss It.
Chipps gives us his reasons why he’s very sad to hear that Eurobike has been cancelled. And it’s not just about the shiny new bikes… Traditionally, Eurobike – to me…
First Ride: 2021 Specialized Stumpjumper Review
Chipps reports from a day of ups and downs in the remarkably sunny Tweed Valley aboard the new Stumpjumper. Although it was only a day, there was more than enough…
Specialized Launches The 2021 Stumpjumper: ‘The Singletrack Flow Finder’ – With Video
At first glance, the new 2021 Stumpjumper appears pretty similar to both the model that came before it, and to the new 2021 Stumpjumper EVO that appeared a week or…
Fresh Goods Friday 519 – The ‘Not Van Halen too?’ Edition
Hey! How’s it going? Sorry for the late appearance of Fresh Goods this week, we’ve had a busy old week and there’s a lot of stuff to get through. Grab…
New SRAM Eagle AXS Lever Shape For Riders Less Keen On The Future
SRAM’s AXS Eagle wireless shifting system has gone down very well since its launch just over 18 months ago. For those riders who got the 1×12 wireless shifter and mech…
Aerothan. After 5 Years Of Development, Schwalbe Launches – An Inner Tube?
If you thought the inner tube as daily bit of kit died a half dozen years ago – when tubeless systems really got their act together – then Schwalbe has…
New 2021 Specialized Stumpjumper EVO Goes Big
The Stumpjumper EVO has changed… The new, 29in wheel, 160/150mm 2021 Specialized Stumpjumper EVO is quite a bike. When it originally appeared a couple or three years ago, it appeared…
Bike Magazine Closes Both Print and Digital Output
We were very sad to hear over the weekend that the iconic and influential American magazine, Bike, had closed its doors, magazine and website, along with its stablemates (and equally…
Nominations Are Open – 2020 Singletrack Reader Awards
Nominations for the Singletrack Reader Awards will close at Midnight Sunday 18th October. Don’t miss out on your chance to show your appreciation for your favourite bikes, kit, trails and…
TweedLove Writes Off 2020, But Looks Forward to 2021
We’ve been sent a message by Neil Dalgleish, organiser behind the wide-ranging and successful Tweedlove series of events. Except, this year, there have been no events at all and his…