Hannah is the designer of this week’s tricky prize crossword. It’s a pretty cryptic one this week. Mark hates cryptic clues and failed miserably at this one. Amanda however, stormed…
Mark Alker
Mark has been riding mountain bikes for over 30 years and co-owns Singletrack, where he's been publisher for 25 years. While his official title might be Managing Director, his actual job description is "whatever needs doing" – from wrangling finances and keeping the lights on to occasionally remembering to ride bikes for fun rather than just work. He's seen the sport evolve from rigid forks to whatever madness the industry dreams up next, and he's still not entirely sure what "gravel" is. When he's not buried in spreadsheets or chasing late invoices, he's probably thinking about his next ride.
Mental Mondays #5 Crossword & Puzzles by Mark
Mark is the designer of this week’s tricky prize crossword. This week’s test is a mixture of random bike related general knowledge with a few cryptic style questions thrown in…
Podcast: The budget and click-bait journalism episode
This week’s podcast covers the demise of Moore Large – distributor and supplier of bike parts to many a bike shop. Mark gets Hannah worked up about government spending priorities,…
Mental Mondays #4 Crossword & puzzles by Hannah
Hannah is the designer of this week’s fiendishly tricky crossword and those that know her will not be surprised to discover it’s rather cryptic. The crossword is definitely one for…
Mental Monday! Singletrack Weekly Crossword #2
Welcome to the first Mental Monday. If you are a full member you will see below three puzzles for you to solve. There’s our tricky Singletrack crossword puzzle designed by…
Podcast – What’s up with marketing in the bike industry?
Mark, Hannah and Charlie talk about Hannah’s recent holiday incapacitation and how that lead to the discussion that the bike industry could maybe do a better job of selling itself…
It’s not easy being Singletrack. Please help.
Tough Times. These are not easy times for almost everyone right now, and we know this at Singletrack as individuals and as a business. Let me explain, and then ask for…
Credit where it’s due – Now you can show your appreciation of great forum posts
WTF does that even mean? Undoubtedly you are familiar with the ability on various social platforms to ‘like’ a comment or a post. Well, now you can do just that…
Podcast: Taiwan, crap 90’s bikes and Benji makes mudguards great again
This week Hannah leads the way with extra voices from Benji and Mark. We start off with a poor attempt to get Benji to rant about 90’s bikes, which he…
Can Working On Your Bike Void The Warranty?
We asked a selection of bike companies to comment on whether working on your bike could void the warranty.
Get used to seeing OnlyFans sponsor more aspects of our sport
Downhill and enduro racer Lewis Buchanan raised a few eyebrows with his announcement that he was adding OnlyFans – better known for its porn channels – to his sponsor list.…
MegaSack Draw LIVE: 6pm NYE
Tune in at 6pm on New year’s Eve to see if you are this year’s lucky winner of the Singletrack MegaSack. How it works Veterans of our annual MegaSack competitions…
Podcast: Wild Cycling and Middle Aged Rampage
Mark has been to Utah to check out something he still can’t tell us about. It was his first time there – did he have any fun? Chipps and Hannah…
Classic Ride 146: Porlock Pleasures
Chipps ventures just that little bit further west than normal and discovers peace, quiet and trails from the sea and all the way deep into the hills. Words & Photography…
Pete Scullion, Canyon KIS & the art of taking pictures: Podcast
In this week’s podcast, Hannah, Mark and Benji are joined by award winning freelance photographer Pete Scullion to talk about the highlights of the week, including the new KIS system…
Singletrack Membership Price Increase – A Heads Up
As I mentioned in this article, we are under a great deal of financial pressure due to the rate of inflation driving up costs across the board. Also, the cost…
Podcast: Rampage thoughts, Hannah’s love of Bespoked and some ASMR beer opening sounds
Another week, another episode of four of the Singletrack team sitting around their laptops talking about the big issues of the week. With only a very passing reference to politics…
Podcast: British Cycling WTF? Flex Stem Returns And Trashmob Academy
Join Mark, Amanda, Chipps and Sanny as they talk about the issues of the week. What does Mark think about the British Cycling/Shell sponsorship bombshell? What piece of suspension tech…
British Cycling ‘Strongly Recommends’ No One Rides Their Bike During The Queen’s Funeral
UPDATE 13/09/22 17:17pm: British Cycling have now removed the recommendation that no one rides their bike during the funeral from their official advice. Monday the 19th has been set as…
Is it safe? Answer our reader survey questions
We’ve created a page here where we have created a collection of simple survey style questions. Unlike normal surveys this one gives you the results every time you submit an…
Pro Racer Rab Wardell Dies In His Sleep at 37
We have little more information at this stage but according to our sources Rab died in his sleep on the 22nd August. Yesterday Rab was featured on BBC Scotland discussing…
Cost of living crisis and Singletrack – An appeal
We are under some pressure and we thought you should know about it now before it gets worse and things get harder. The cost of living crisis is affecting everyone…
The Singletrack Podcast – everyone in disagreement, then?
Hannah, Benji and Mark sit down for a chat about the news you may have missed and the news that got them thinking. Benji likes Strava, Hannah is pretty sure…
Talking About: How Far Can Your Ebike Go?
Mark and Hannah sit down to chat about the reasons why ‘How far can your ebike go?’ has no simple answer. Video not displaying? Try our Youtube Channel Having discussed…
We’d like our Instagram account back please
If you follow us on the socials you may already be wondering why we’ve been very quiet on Instagram recently. The reason is simple – on the 15th February a…
2022 ABSA Cape Epic Grand Finale – Watch LIVE
7th Stage: Stellenbosch – Val de Vie. Distance: 68 km. Climbing: 2000 m After 8 days of limit-testing racing, there is a return to the good life, for those who…
2022 ABSA Cape Epic Stage 6 – Watch LIVE
6th Stage: Stellenbosch – Stellenbosch. Distance: 76 km. Climbing: 2700 m Boasting more singletrack per kilometre of racing than in any other 2022 Absa Cape Epic stage, Stage 6 is…
2022 ABSA Cape Epic Stage 5 – Watch LIVE
5th Stage: Greyton – Stellenbosch. Distance: 115 km. Climbing: 2400 m Rusty Gate is, unquestionably, among The Race That Measures All’s most revered climbs. Usually, theassault on it features a…
2022 ABSA Cape Epic Stage 4 – Watch LIVE
4th Stage: Greyton – Greyton. Distance: 82 km. Climbing: 1650m The second day on the trails of Greyton wastes no time in introducing the teams to the region’sspectacular trails. A…
2022 Absa Cape Epic Stage 3 – WATCH LIVE
3rd Stage: Greyton – Greyton. Distance: 101 km. Climbing: 2250 m In 2022, the Absa Cape Epic explores the trails of Greyton like never before. It begins with a day…
60 bike companies pledge to increase sustainable packaging use
Confederation of the European Bicycle Industry (CONEBI) and Cycling Industries Europe (CIE) have launched an industry-wide commitment to reduce plastic packaging and eliminate unnecessary packaging from the supply chain. 60…
2022 Absa Cape Epic Stage 2 – LIVE
2nd Stage: Lourensford Wine Estate – Greyton. Distance: 123 km. Climbing: 2350m Stage 2 of the 2022 Absa Cape Epic heads due east, taking the teams on an African Odyssey…
2022 Absa Cape Epic Stage 1 – LIVE
1st Stage: Lourensford Wine Estate – Lourensford Wine Estate. Distance: 92 km. Climbing: 2850m The first marathon stage of the 2022 Absa Cape Epic leaves nowhere to hide. Scaling King’s…
2022 Absa Cape Epic Prologue Stage – LIVE
Stage: Prologue: Lourensford Wine Estate Distance: 24 km. Climbing: 700m After eight years the Absa Cape Epic, that claims to be the toughest MTB race in the world, returns to…
Forum Sentiment Analysis: The mood of the ‘nation’ in 1 graph
The Singletrack Forum is really quite a thing to study. In the last 14 years its accrued more than 10 million posts generated by more than 120k registered users (In…
Singletrack MegaSack 2021 LIVE DRAW – Watch it here
Join Mark at 7pm on New Year’s Eve, live from his front room for the grand prize draw of the year. If you have entered (and got the question right)…
Orbea Rise MT M10 – 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 Park Wales – 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…
Singletrack MegaSack Countdown 2021 Day 20 – Lezyne Bundle
Into another week with an awesome prize that could be yours in the next 24 hours. Lezyne Bundle – Grip Drive HV M Black hand pump, Digital mini shock drive…
Singletrack MegaSack Countdown Day 14 – Deity Bar & Stem Combo
It’s day 14 and we are still not quite half way through the prize list. Today we have some cockpit gubbins for you to look at and learn about from…
Last Chance To Vote! Singletrack Reader Awards 2021 In Association With Kona
Voting closes on 1st November! Make sure you vote for those you want to win before then! The time has come for you to cast your votes in this year’s…
5 Pro Bike Checks from Red Bull Rampage 2021
What tyres for… back flipping off a cliff, hitting the lilypad, then heading straight into a sui? Our man on the ground at the Red Bull Rampage practice days, Fahzure…
Fresh Goods Friday 571 – The ‘Quick! It’s briefly sunny outside’ issue
It’s all got a bit ping-tastic up here, so some of us are diving outside and enjoying a bike ride while we can, others have their fingers crossed for half…
Boardman Bikes – Long Wait For Bikes Ends Today
The ongoing shortage of bikes and parts continues to affect us all. Whether you are looking for a new bike or just trying to keep your existing bike(s) running the…
What Ever Happened To Animal? The Animal to Elliot Brown Podcast
If you’ve ever wondered what happened to Animal, that brand from that 90’s that made trendy watch straps and steel watches for the outdoorsy types, then this podcast will provide…
Updated: Red Bull Hardline Qualifiers Cancelled Due To High Winds
It’s just been announced that the qualifying stage of the Red Bull Hardline event currently underway in Wales has been postponed due to high winds. The very brief release reads……
EarShots – first look and giveaway of these magnetic earphones for riders
Listening to tunes while you ride is a contentious topic. Even if we put aside the arguments about safety if you ride with traffic there’s still the purist POV about…
The RockShox Domain Fork Is Back! First Look & Podcast
If you’ve been riding mountain bikes for a decade or more then you will probably at least have some part of the back of your brain ringing that bell of…
Singletrack Issue 136 The Future Of MTB Technology
Dean Hersey gets fully crystal ball and looks at what the mountain bikes we ride might look like in the near-enough future. Will we finally get the hover-bikes we were…
Classic Ride 136 – Rivington Pike
Mark takes a trip back to the trails of his youth and remembers why he still loves riding the trails of Rivington Pike. Words Mark Photography Amanda This being the…