All hail the 2021 RockShox Pike Ultimate! It’s new, it’s fresh and it’s different. Not that you’d actually be able to tell that because even to a trained eye, it…
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.)
Salvation Through Spirits – A Lakes Distillery Subscriber Special
There are many benefits to being a Singletrack subscriber… For a start, and most obviously, you’ll get every issue of Singletrack through your letterbox every other month, but you’ll also…
The Starling Tellum 79er. A Better Bike Through Science!
The new Starling Tellum is a ground-breaking, industry-shaking full suspension mountain bike… with a difference. It takes the scalpel-precision of a fast and maneuverable 27.5in wheel and places it up…
New Giro Sector Clip In Shoes. Just don’t say ‘gravel…’
Giro has just announced its new Sector clip-in shoes. Lightweight, stiff, adjustable and with a dual BOA system to keep them tight, the look ideal for hard trail riding, racing…
Fresh Goods Friday 493 | The Lockdown Birthday Edition
Happy Birthday to Amanda, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to Amanda, hope you know we love you! Yes, today is Amanda’s birthday, and she is not entirely happy about…
NRW Mountain Bike Trails Close In Wales
Yep, you might have guessed. It’s another story about closures, sorry. This time, Natural Resource Wales has announced that all of its mountain bike trails are closed. No maintenance is…
2020 RockShox SID Trail Fork – First Ride Review
We’ve had one of RockShox brand new, 120mm SID Ultimate forks – basically the ‘SID Trail’ on test for a couple of weeks. Here’s what we thought: The world of…
2020 RockShox SID Slims Down – And Gets New 120mm Trail Option
The RockShox SID has been around since 1998 as RockShox’ top end, no compromise cross country race fork, and the new 2020 Rockshox SID SL is no exception. Everything on…
Video: Hazzard Racing Glides The Gloop
Joe Barnes and Lachlan from Hazzard Racing have a message for you. And it involves bikes and mud. “Time & Tide for Nae Man Bide. Now Get Out & Ride.”…
Enduro World Series Rounds 1 and 2 Postponed In Latest Covid-19 Reaction
EWS Round 1, Colombia and EWS Round 2, Chile have both become the latest sporting events to be postponed in order to help control the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. They have…
2020 Mountain Mayhem Cancelled As Corona Virus Is Blamed
Organising a large mountain bike race these days is hard enough, what with the weather, finding venues, marshals, infrastructure and title sponsors… But it seems that the latest trendy thing…
Specialized Recon Shoes Get A Revamp. New Design For 2020
“Specifically designed for mud” reckons Specialized of its new Recon family. The Recon 1, 2 and 3 are differing levels of spec, but all share a similar trail shoe style.…
iceBike* 2020 – News from Thule, Park, Pro, Lazer and more
We’ve just been spending the day down in windy Milton Keynes for iceBike* 2020, Madison’s house show where it had many of its brands on display and lots of new…
Atherton Bikes Release First Fifty Bikes For Sale
News just in from Atherton Bikes. The first fifty (so exclusive that they have their own #firstfifty hashtag) bikes have been released for sale today. It’s expected that once these…
Troy Lee launches the brand new D4 Full Face Helmet
Incredibly, it’s 11 years since the Troy Lee D3 helmet launched, bringing all of Troy Lee’s famous design flair together with a very distinctive full face helmet design. The D3…
Singletrack Magazine Issue 129 | Chris Akrigg: Quick. Change.
Chipps quizzes Chris Akrigg just before he announces his new bike sponsor, GT, after 12 years on Mongoose. Words & Photography Chipps I’m watching Chris Akrigg ride a bike through…
Chris Akrigg will ride for GT Bicycles in 2020
After much deliberating and online speculation after he left Mongoose at the end of last year, Chris Akrigg has confirmed that for 2020, he will ride for GT Bicycles. Many…
Goodbye Dirt Rag Magazine
Today was a sad day for mountain bike publishing. Dirt Rag Magazine announced that it was closing its doors with immediate effect after 30 years of publishing and organising events. …
Marzocchi Z1 Coil Fork – Have your prayers been answered?
When the Marzocchi Z1 fork was launched back in April 2018 we applauded the return of a simple, bomber-(sorry!)-strong air sprung fork. Long time Marzocchi fans, though, still talk fondly…
BikePark Wales Glamping Pod Plans Get Go Ahead
The final part of the next bit of development has just received official approval as the local council has given the go ahead for up to 41 BikePark Wales glamping…
The 2020 Dyfi Enduro – Now With Bontrager. And On A Saturday!
If you’re going to mix things up, then why not really mix things up. The 2020 Dyfi Enduro has a new title sponsor, making it the Bontrager Dyfi Enduro –…
Video: Manon Carpenter Rides Mont Thabor
Mont Thabor is 3178m of thin air and epic riding, but there’s no easy way up. You need to earn those turns. In this film we find out just one…
Singletrack Editors’ Choice Awards | Chipps
Over the last year, our writers have tested a bucketful of bikes, a barn load of clothing and gear, and attended a bookcase full of cycling events. Which of these,…
Canyon Neuron SLX 9.0 LTD Review – A Bike With All The Upgrades?
Take any full suspension trail bike, regardless of wheel size and if you leave it in the shed for any length of time, maybe swapping tyres or upgrading a few…
The Paul Components 30th Anniversary 'How much?' boxed groupset is lovely
Yes, the Paul Components 30th Anniversary boxed groupset costs $1989, but just look at it! And it’s not like a 30th Anniversary pops round very often. To celebrate the 30th…
FGF 475 – The Don’t Talk To Us, We’re Busy Edition
Yep, you can try calling the office, but good luck with that. We’ve been working flat out on the next issue of the magazine, which has been sent off to…
10 Top Tips: How To Prepare Your Bike For Winter
Excuse the attention-grabbing headline, but it’s entirely justified. There are many ways in which you can (and should!) prepare your bike for winter. More than six out of the ten…
Michael Bonney – In Memoriam
Where to start? If I start at the end, then maybe that’s the hardest bit over with. Michael Bonney – one of the UK bike industry’s central pillars – has…
Danny Hart’s World Championship Bike Stolen From Sheffield Hotel
Are more bikes being stolen right now? It seems that way if you have been following the news of late. It also appears that that being a top flight athlete,…
Kendal Mountain Festival Premiere Trek’s New ‘Going in’ Film
It’s the Kendal Mountain Festival next weekend and, first off, there are still about three tickets left for the main bike night, so snap them up while they’re still around.…
The History of Singletrack and more. Formula’s Video Interview.
When Formula wanted to shoot a video about mountain bike media, they came and asked us here at Singletrack Towers lots of questions. And we gave them lots of answers…
Fizik X2 Winter Boots and Shoes Launch in the UK
One of the the many bits and pieces we spotted at the recent NEC Cycling Show was the Fizik (or fi’zi:k if you’re being pedantic) stand on the Extra UK…
Singletrack Issue 127 | Editorial – Wear sunscreen…
Words Chipps Now, how did those lyrics go again? “Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old And when you do, you’ll fantasise…
Singletrack Issue 127 | Making it up in the Lake District
Nigel Page and Chipps strap on luggage and join forces again. This time to ride a completely made up North/South traverse of the Lake District. Words & Photography Chipps ‘Puckpuckpuckpuckpuck…’…
Book Review: Rough-Stuff Fellowship Archive
Chipps has got himself a copy of the Rough-Stuff Fellowship Archive, and thinks you need one too. I’m going to annoy loads of people first off by mentioning the ‘C’…
Controversy Rages Over Afan Masts Tree Felling
A plan by NRW (National Resource Wales – the custodians of Welsh forestry) to routinely fell trees in the area known as the Afan Masts has sparked a storm with…
Cane Creek Joins The Tie Dye Revolution With Rainbow eeWings cranks
Want some? Do you? Do you sir? Want some? In tie dye? Those titanium cranks? Ooh! Sir! Suits you sir! Yes, just when you thought that Cane Creek’s titanium, north-of-a-grand,…
UK Singlespeed Champs 2019 ends in beer and fancy dress. As usual…
Who said that singlespeeders were a bit slack, eh? We’ve just had this report in from the UK Singlespeed Champs – that happened a month ago… It’s a good job…
One Bigger! New Ibis HD5 bids for enduro and trail glory
Ibis Cycles has just announced the new Ibis Mojo HD5. It’s a complete new take on the firm’s hard-charging 27.5in wheeled heavy duty trail bike. Having taken cues from recent…
Shimano Expands MicroSpline Licensing
Shimano today has announced that it is expanding its list of companies able to license its MicroSpline hub standard. And about time too! First announced early last year when XTR…
The new Cotic BFe – ‘Burly Iron’ is unleashed!
As Cotic rightly says of its burly hardtail, the BFe – ‘right from its introduction in 2005, the Cotic BFe has always been the tearaway of the Cotic family. “The Soul’s stockier, rowdier younger…
Ibis Ripmo AF. It’s the Ripmo ‘Aluminium Frame’
We can’t say that we saw this one coming… Today, Ibis has announced the new, aluminium framed ‘Ibis Ripmo AF’ – complete with some aggressive street-style images and video. If…
Fresh Goods Friday 464 | The Back To School Edition
All the kids are back at school. The kids in Scotland – who have been back for weeks – are already looking forward to half term. The teachers in England…
Trek SuperCaliber | The 60mm travel World Cup race bike
As World Cup race courses get more technical, with less and less chance to recover between ‘features’, the big question in top level cross country racing is whether to go…
Lee Quarry Riders Robbed By Masked Attackers With Crowbars
On the evening of Wednesday 4th September, two riders had driven up the access road to Lee Quarry, in Lancashire to go for an evening ride. They parked in the…
2020 Shimano Shoes | Trail Shoes, Race Shoes and – E-Bike shoes?
Shimano is using the evening of this year’s Eurobike Show to launch the new 2020 Shimano shoe range. There are cycling shoes for every discipline here, including disciplines you didn’t…
Singletrack Issue 126 | Editorial – There is no right or wrong…
Words Chipps How is it that I can love listening to a particular band, yet my friend hates them? Or that I can dislike food that is someone’s favourite dish?…
New Specialized 2FO 2.0 Clip-in Shoe Launched
The new version of Specialized’s flagship clip-in trail shoe, now called the 2FO 2.0 is said to be even better than the original, with new materials, greater protection and a…
Pivot Lightens The LES
2020 Pivot LES SL launched. Those Pivot folks in Arizona have just let us know that the new LES hardtail is getting a lighter and even racier version – the…
Trek Fuel EX 9.8 | First Ride Review
Chipps nips over to take in some Italian singletrack and bring you this Trek Fuel EX 9.8 First Ride Review For the first ride launch of the Trek Fuel EX,…
Trek Fuel EX 2020 – The Fuel EX Like Never Before
The 2020 Trek Fuel EX bears little resemblance to the previous model – we take a look at what’s new. The 130mm travel 29er bike is set to be the…