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 has simply been due to everyone there working extra hard there, with no spare time…
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.)
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, it has propelled her to become the UK's "biggest individual seller of new cars" -…
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 at least – always signified the end of summer. Falling at the end of August/beginning…
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 riding to give this new 2021 Stumpjumper a first ride review.
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 so ago. However, much has changed, both in where the bike sits in the range…
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 a brew! (Or a beer if you’ve finished work already…) – oh, and we’ve checked…
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 on their new bikes, or those who upgraded to it, the functionality of the shifters…
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 news for you. The inner tube is alive and well. So well, in fact, that…
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 as an alloy-only, two size-only ‘hooligan’ version of the, then brand new, Stumpjumper model. Its…
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 influential magazines) Powder and Surfer. Bike Magazine launched in 1994 and last year celebrated a…
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 people… You don’t need us to tell you that this has been an exceptional year…
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 statement – part matter-of-fact statement and part understandable rant – shows the fragility and frustration…
2021 Intense Primer Gets New Colours, New Spec, But No Mullet
The 2021 Intense Primer range has been revealed. While there isn’t a whole lot changing (apart from some new graphics and colours) the smoke clears to reveal two main models – a 27.5in wheels Primer 275 and the Primer 29. Interestingly the ‘mullet’ model launched…
Roval Launches New Control SL Wheels – ‘The Lightest In The World’
We brought you the story of Roval’s super-light, super-limited Team Edition Control SL wheels back in March. Back then, they were the lightest production mountain bike wheels in the world, at 1248g a pair (with rim tape and valves). Today, Specialized is launching the non-team,…
Cass Gilbert – What Does The Bikepacking Guru Pack Himself?
The new issue of Singletrack features an interview that Chipps did with world adventurer, Cass Gilbert when the two met up at the southern tip of Baja California Sur a week or two before the world shut down. You can read the interview in the…
Fresh Goods 514 – The Stand Inna Garden Edition
Yes, without wishing to gloat too much, us Calderdale residents are now afforded the luxury of being able to actually stand in someone else’s garden having previously been denied the pleasure for most of the year. Quite what the owners of the garden will have…
2021 Trek Slash – More Travel, More Geometry, More Racing, More Fun
Today, we’re seeing the launch of the brand new 2021 Trek Slash. It’s not just a warmed-over version of the previous version, but a completely re-made range, from entry level up to top end, with a load of new features that riders have been asking…
Your Suspension Is Set Up Wrong – Cane Creek’s Kitsuma Is Here To Help That
Suspension in general, and rear suspension in particular, is complicated to set up as you ideally have to be on a repeatable bit of trail and have the knowledge and tools needed to tweak your suspension to work for you. In order to simplify things,…
12 Things That Mountain Bike Magazines Need To Stop Doing
The response to our ‘Ten things the bike industry needs to stop doing’ feature a couple of years ago has been very good, with readers outraged and in agreement in equal measures. So, just because we like giving the hornets’ nest a prod every now…
Canyon Bikes Goes All-Out With the 2021 Canyon Exceed Hardtail
Featuring bold rainbow decals and ‘unicorn hair’ carbon fibre, the new 2021 Canyon Exceed has been engineered to be one of the lightest mountain bike hardtails on the planet. The Canyon Exceed CFR (Canyon Factory Racing) frame is quoted at an astonishing 835g. And that…
Bespoked Show 2021 Moves To Harrogate For Its Tenth Year
We’ve just heard from the organisers of Bespoked, the British handmade bicycle show, that it is moving next year’s show to the Harrogate Convention Centre, from its previous home of Bristol for Bespoked 2021. Not surprisinly, this year’s show didn’t happen. Like many spring 2020…
New Merida BIG.TRAIL Hardtail Launches With UK In Mind
Wow, it seems to be hardtail season. And when one of the biggest bike companies in the world looks to the UK for inspiration, it’s time to listen… Merida makes no secret that its new BIG.TRAIL hardtail range was designed with UK riders in mind.…
New ‘99% Accurate’ Wahoo KICKR Trainer Launches
Yes, it must be time to start thinking about those dark nights spent spinning away in front of the screen in the hope of spring fitness. And the new 5th edition of the Wahoo Kickr is aimed at helping you achieve all of those goals.…
Yeti Cycles 2021 – New Colours, New Specs, New Bikes.
As the brand celebrates its 35th anniversary, the Yeti Cycles 2021 range seems to be having a time to take stock and just catch up with everything, after a couple of years of frantic bike launches and revisions. There have been a couple of new…
Fresh Goods Friday 510 – Where’d They Go? Where’d Who Go?
We’ll start you off with five points if you got the ‘Top Gun’ reference. We actually know one bike journalist who would begin every single ride with the first ten minutes of Top Gun on the big screen to fire them and their riding crew…
Never Ride Outside Again! Zwift Introduces Futureworks Steering, Supported By Elite Trainers
It’s been a fun week or so for indoor cycling fans. Today, we’ve seen dual announcements from Zwift and Elite to say that both companies are now incorporating steering into online workouts. Zwift steering is already in use on its off road trail in Watopia,…
BMC Two-Stroke Hardtail – Not (Just) For Racing
Today, BMC launches its new hardtail, the BMC Two-Stroke. It’s a 100mm forked hardtail designed for going fast, fast, fast, but it’s not for racing. Or rather, it’s not really designed for XCO, UCI World Cup cross country racing. BMC acknowledges that the best bike…
Yeti Launches Yeti ARC Production Bikes For Those Without Nine Grand
Recently, Yeti Cycles celebrated its 35th anniversary with the launch of an eyewateringly expensive, commemorative Yeti ARC 35 hardtail, complete with colour-matched components and a pretty top-shelf spec. The bike itself was so far over most people’s price ranges that we didn’t really pay close…
Shimano’s ME7 And ME5 Trail Shoes Get Full Revamp For 2021
Shimano’s ME7 and ME5 shoes are popular sights on the trails, start lines and after-ride cafés around the place, so for 2021 Shimano decided not to change too much, but to tweak both the ME7 and ME5 shoes to give a bit more grip and…
New EXT ERA Fork Is Big, Stiff, Clever, 29in-only… And £1590
After much teasing back in the spring, EXT has finally announced its enduro suspension fork. There was great speculation about what it might be, how it would be sprung, travel, crowns and so on. And, today we can reveal most of the details for you…
Is This 35th Anniversary Yeti ARC The Most Expensive Hardtail Ever?
The original Yeti ARC is a hardtail of legend. Launched in 1991 at a time when many hardtails frames weighed in at 5lbs or more, the Yeti ARC’s alloy frame – made from Easton’s ProTaper tubing brought the frame weight down to 3.2lbs. Oh, and…
2020 GT Malverns Classic Cancelled. Postponed Until 2021
It was going to be the one event of the season – the one we’d all look forward to and we hoped against hope that it would go ahead. It was going to be open air, with lots of space to keep everyone apart and…
FGF 508 – Fresh Goods Friday Of Hope
OK, we’ve had a couple of weeks of rain, yes, it’s good for the plants and all that. Has anyone noticed just how good it’s been for the nettles? And the brambles? Some of our local trails are going to take a machete to clear…
The 2021 Evil Wreckoning – Bigger, Badder, Meaner And Neater
The Evil Wreckoning is seen by many as the ultimate big-wheel steamroller bike, but with things getting even bigger and badder out there in enduro-land, it was time for a refresh. So, heading in to 2021 the Evil Wreckoning has had a geometry tweak –…
Where To Ride In Scotland – Where’s Open? Where Opens Soon?
With venues around Scotland (and Wales) starting to slowly open as lockdown eases (or not, in some cases…) we’ve been in touch with the fine people at Developing Mountain Biking In Scotland (DMBinS) to bring you their handy guide as to where you can and…
Cycling Geeks Unite! Shimano Celebrates 25 Years Of The SPD Sandal
There’s no easier way to suddenly age 25 years than by putting on a pair of these beauties! And in a timely coincidence, the venerable SPD Sandals are now celebrating their own 25 years of heritage. Yes, a quarter century of riding with grit under…
Tweedlove Cancelled For 2020. Roll On 2021!
In a ‘can’t really say it’s a surprise’ move, the organisers of Tweedlove have reluctantly announced that they’re pulling the plug on all events for the rest of the year. Originally, the early June fortnight (which had amazing weather, by the way) was postponed until…
The new Yeti SB115 – Downcountry? Fast Trail? Whatever?
Call it ‘downcountry’ or ‘fast trail’, we’ve been seeing increasing numbers of bikes coming out in the last couple of years aimed at riders who aren’t necessarily cross country racers, yet they aren’t enduro and who like nothing better than trying to pull their friends’…
Welsh Trail Centres Move To Reopen In July With New Trails On Offer
In a joint statement last weekend, the major uplift bike parks in Wales announced that, in line with Welsh Government advice, and after consultation with Welsh Cycling and the Outdoor Alliance and other bodies, a measured reopening of some Welsh trail centres would start happening…
First Ride Review: 2021 Specialized Epic Pro – No Mercy XC Racing Beast
Wheel this new Specialized Epic Pro out of the box and you’re immediately struck by how neat and purposeful it looks. Thanks to the SRAM AXS Eagle wireless shifting and a puritanical approach to dropper posts, there are only brake hoses coming from the bars.…
2021 Specialized Epic. Lighter. Faster. More Epic Than Ever!
2021 Specialized Epic For the 2018 model year, Specialized did a major revamp of its flagship race bike, the Epic. The full carbon frame was made a lot lighter, while the geometry was tweaked to reflect the changing needs of Olympic-level cross country racing. Well,…
FGF 505 – The Enjoy This Weekend. Nights Start Drawing In Soon Edition
Did everyone’s grandad always greet midsummer like this? Or just mine? Was it a celebration of a summer barely half-through? Or a lament at months wasted and a looming winter to look forward to? Who knows? All we know is that the weather has mostly…
Fort William’s Nevis Range Hopes To Reopen July 15th
We’ve just had word that Nevis Range, the venue that hosts the annual Fort William downhill World Cup will hopefully reopen (with restrictions, obviously) for business and bike riding on July 15th, now that there have been some word on easing of restrictions in Scotland.…
Ibis Mojo 4 – 27.5 Ain’t Dead! The Ibis Mojo Gets Major Update
After the new 29in Ibis Ripmo appeared in 2018, followed by the revamp of the Ibis Ripley last year, it perhaps is no surprise that the venerable Ibis Mojo gets pulled into the new decade with the launch of the Ibis Mojo 4. In line…
UK’s Bespoked Show Postpones Until ‘Spring 2021’
Having already had to postpone its dates once, from April until October 2020, the UK’s handbuilt bicycle show ‘Bespoked’ has announced that it has had to give up on that hope and will start planning Bespoked 2021 instead. Part of that decision has involved news…
Roval Control SL Team Wheels – First Ride Review
The world of the carbon-rimmed wheel is a complicated one. After all, you need to know why you’re making your rim out of expensive carbon fibre instead of affordable, durable, but ductile aluminium. The Roval Control SL Team is singleminded in its approach and its…
Roval Wheels Control SL Team – Its Lightest Wheel Of Any Kind Ever
At 1240g, the Roval Control SL Team wheel is the lightest wheel that Roval has ever made. Bearing in mind that Roval makes road race wheels for Tour de France teams, that is quite a statement. And while its previous Control SL wheels were no…
Review: Giro Ventana Fastlace Shoes
The two models of Giro Ventana shoes are looked on as being the spiritual successor to the Terraduro – a shoe whose rise to prominence seemed to parallel the enduro racing movement that inspired it. And despite some early quality issues, the Terraduro has gone…
Cannondale’s New Scalpel And Scalpel SE – XC riding reimagined
There’s a new Scalpel on the block and Cannondale is keen for everyone to see how new and how dramatically different it is from what has gone before. Originally pitched as a full suspension, World Cup-worthy race bike back in 2001, the newest 2020 Cannondale…
Cotic BFeMax Gets The Big Wheel 29in Hardcore Hardtail Treatment
Only a week after Cotic announced that there would be no more 27.5in Cotic Soul bikes in future, it has now announced the new Cotic BFeMax . “It’s the result of gene-splicing our award winning, super fast SolarisMAX 29er trail hardtail, with our tough-as-old-boots, 27.5in wheeled BFe do-it-all fun machine.”…
Shimano ME700 Trail SPDs Upgraded. Leisure Pedals Get Colours
Shimano’s fixed cage, entry level trail pedals, the M530s are getting retired, to be replaced by the new dual sided ME700 pedals. Shimano claims they’re ‘Perfect for use with mountain bikes, e-mountain bikes and gravel bikes’ the new pedals have a wider platform (by 7.7mm…
