What’s the chief thing you look for when choosing kit?I mostly care about how small it packs, with comfort and durability as a joint second priority. I generally go by the rule that you ‘buy once, buy well’, so the fact my kit ends up…
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Sleeping Out: Bonus Content | Hannah
What’s the chief thing you look for when choosing kit? I look for budget options that will also be useful for family camping trips, sleeping in my car, trips to the beach, etc. I’ve never had the opportunity or need for multi-night bikepacking trips, so…
Mental Mondays #3 – Crossword & puzzles by Chipps
Chipps is the designer of this week’s fiendishly tricky crossword. You may need to have your MTB historical records to hand to complete this one. Good luck. Todays quiz was composed of clues I didn’t have to look up on the internet, so expect a…
WTF are Activated Carbon Fork Spacers?
Studio chat between Mark, Charlie and Benji covers everything from concussion protocols to why it’s often better to not understand how a product works before reviewing it. Charlie rants about his open insurance claim and Benji tells us about two products he had misguided pre-conceptions…
Fresh Goods Friday 643 – The Chiller Aisle Edition
Let’s be truly British and talk about the weather, eh? It seems that no sooner have you been given a glimpse of spring than it all goes bonkers again and plunges us into winter again for a few weeks. It’s always been the way, though,…
From The Archive: Womens’ Specific Bikes – do we need them?
Back in issue 15 of Singletrack Magazine, in 2004, we reviewed three of what were then a new development: women’s specific bikes. We followed it up with a head to head pair of columns from Joolze Dymond and Jenn Hill, complete with ironic pink and…
Cheaper Things Tuesday: Discounted E-Bikes Edition
Along with certain salad items, electric mountain bikes are one of the more in-demand items in the United Kingdom currently.
11 Things That Should Be Standard Issue, Not Special Feature
We've rounded up some of those product 'features' that we think should go without saying. Feel free to disagree, or add your own below! When you're looking at products, especially on the web, you'll find yourself seeing bullet pointed lists of 'product features'. Some of…
What We’re Looking Forward To In 2023
Let us raise our spirits, look on the bright side, and feel the warm rays of positivity. 2023 is gonna be great, OK? There are going to be highlights, and peaks, and apogees of achievement. Big good and small good stuff. All the good stuff.…
Christmas MTB Bingo
Oh, we love them, but we also know kith and kin are going to buy us things we don’t want. How many items on our MTB Bingo card will you hit?
Editors’ Choice Awards: The Best Bikes and Gear of 2022
The products and bikes that made the team’s year in 2022.
Website Update: Forum Thread Notifications Are Back!
Our Tech Team has been working hard, and has a little functionality update for you: Too many moons ago we took the draconian step to remove the ‘Subscribe to a Thread’ Forum feature. Now, it’s back! What is this feature? It lets you get notifications…
Mondraker MIND Telemetry review
Mondraker MIND is a GPS enabled telemetry system. As well as being able to help you set up your suspension it collects data on it.
Reel Around The Mountain – A Mont Blanc Adventure
Originally published in Issue 110 of Singletrack World Magazine, let us take you back in time to the kind of adventure you might well find yourself planning from the comfort of your armchair. Words and photography by Joseph Delves Additional photography by Jeremy Valender The…
Not-Bike Objects of Desire: What We’re Looking For
There are things that we lust after too, in our normal daily lives, that don't come with stickers or free Haribo.
Balls to the World Cup? Here are 28 bike things that take 90 minutes
We've got a lot of thoughts and ideas about how we'd like to spend 90 minutes that don't involve watching Association Football.
Making Up The Numbers: Wyn Masters to do World Cup commentary?
Will he or won’t he? In this week’s episode of Making Up The Numbers George chats with Vali Hoell and Thibaut Daprela about some wild & wonderful team rumours. The Making Up The Numbers podcast is sponsored by: Hope Technology www.hopetech.com @hopetech J-Tech Suspension www.j-techsuspension.co.uk @jtechsuspension Revolution Bike Park www.revolutionbikepark.co.uk @revolutionbp…
Issue 145: Red Bull Formation: A Foundation For The Future
Red Bull Formation pushes female freeriders into the mainstream. Words Nicole Formosa Photography Katie Lozancich Katie Holden and I are peering up at an amphitheatre of rust-coloured cliff bands in the Utah desert as she points out the zones where 12 of the best female freeriders in the world will…
Issue 144 : Excess baggage
Nils takes an unusual packing list to the mountains for an overnight adventure. Words & photography Nils Amelinckx I fumbled around in the last of the light, the cold breeze having stripped my hands of any dexterity, keeping a watchful eye over the waste bag…
Issue 144: Cannock Chasing Time
Two mountain bike races, same venue, 30 years apart. Words & Photography Geoff Waugh Time, he’s waiting in the wings Take a look at the above photos. I took them both at the same venue – Cannock Chase, the vast expanse of woodland in the…
Classic Ride 144 – Ludlow and the Clee Hills
Shropshire isn’t all about the Long Mynd. Steve links up some hidden gems. Words & Photography Steve ChapmanIllustration Beate Kubitz If you’ve heard anything about the riding in Shropshire it’s probably been about the Long Mynd. It’s an iconic venue and regularly features in lists…
Singletrack World Response to Nadine Dorries’ Comments on Trans Athletes
Singletrack World takes the position that Trans women are women, and cannot support the recent statements by the UK Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries. In the Mail on Sunday, she wrote that ‘competitive women’s sport must be reserved for people born of the female sex. Not…
Issue 143: A New Year’s Assault on Ventoux
When your traditional New Year’s ski-tour to a mountain hut won’t work because of the weather, then doing it on mountain bikes is arguably a better choice. Words & Photography Richard Bord I’ve lived in Annecy, France, for many winters now and I like spending…
Issue 143 Bonus Content! Classic Ride Fuel – Flapjack Recipe
Since Barney made such a fuss over Rick’s flapjack (OOOAAAH), we asked Rick to share the recipe, so you can have your own chorus of angels on your next ride (OOOAAAH). If you haven’t read the Classic Ride from issue 143 yet, make that ‘step…
Fresh Goods Friday 605: The Highly Erratic Edition
I (Amanda), am in the Lake District with Benji and Mark, fumbling around with bikes and cameras. It’s far too rare an occasion that this job actually takes us outside together, and I’d honestly forgotten how refreshing it is to hang out with colleagues outside.…
Issue 143: Shiny Happy People
Alf Alderson was enticed to South Carmarthenshire by a local tourist board promotion – but did the riding live up to the hype? Words Alf Alderson Photography Alf Alderson vs Discover Carmarthenshire Sometimes the best riding is right on your doorstep and while you may…
Issue 143 Hans Rey: Lasting Legacies
Hans Rey learns from new hotshots and old legends to work out his place in mountain biking’s legacy. Words & Photography Carmen Freeman-Rey Looking back on life can be a funny thing, thankfully we have a knack for forgetting the bad and our recollections are…
Flat Pedal Shoes Buyer’s Guide: MTB Kit Essentials
What makes a great pair of flat pedal shoes? And, more importantly, who is delivering? Here are the best flattie pumps around.
O say, can you see Fresh Goods Friday 597?
Apologies in advance for any USA pricing. Hannah is on holiday and can't figure out how to get UK websites to display on her laptop.
Classic Ride 142 – The Glorious Peaks
Words & Photography Chipps Chipps takes on a tour around one of Yorkshire’s iconic Three Peaks with a couple of similarly iconic characters. The other Peaks Planning a decent bike ride can be a hard job. You need a great route in mind, obviously, but…
Issue 142 Interview: Going Downhill
Steve Chapman chats to the unassuming Pearces who have shaped UK downhill racing. Words Steve Chapman Photography As Credited If you look at the movers and shakers of UK mountain bike events, it’s a small, close-knit pool of people. If you then dial in the…
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 and the flamboyant Frenchman Cédric Gracia. As we stopped for lunch at an outdoor café,…
UK Adventure: Far From The Maddening Crowds
Fed up with the same old, same old of trail centres? Sanny reckons he has found the perfect antidote just a few miles down the valley from Glentress and Innerleithen. Words & Photography Sanny Ask what ‘Tweed Valley’ means to most riders and you are…
International Adventure: Rocks And Hard Places
Tim Wild packs a bike and his sense of adventure and takes part in the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival in Arizona. Words Tim Wild Photography as credited I’ve watched too much YouTube and now I’m going to die. The cliff face – a 400ft plunge…
Pete’s Pros: Hattie Harnden
Pete Scullion talks fun, work and sleep with the multidisciplinary bike racing dynamo. Words & Photography Pete Scullion Despite being a classic mountain biking destination, I’d never once stopped in Great Malvern. I’d certainly seen the signs from the A50 on numerous outings to South Wales over…
Singletrack Kitchen: Charlie’s Cheesy Chilli Cakes & Roasted Red Soup
This is a nice winter recipe that will warm you through on one of those ‘can’t feel my toes, but can see my breath’ days. Really, it’s just cheese scones turned up to 11, with cayenne pepper adding a constant warmth throughout, and the red…
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.
Singletrack Issue 141 UK Adventure: Pilgrim’s Regress
Adam Boggon returns to his childhood haunts in this reflective ride through Fife. Words Adam Boggon Photography Peter Munnoch The King sits in Dunfermline toun, Drinking the blude-red wine, ‘O whare will I get a skeelyskipper, to sail this ship of mine.’ It’s carved into…
Behind The Scenes: The Art of the Photograph
Why are Pete Scullion’s photographs so great compared to your own trail shot efforts? Is it the subject, the method, or a big pile of kit? Words & Photography Pete Scullion Social media has made even good photos quickly forgotten. Only the ones that are…
Singletrack Issue 141 – The Joy of Flex
Welcome to Benji, our new Technical Content Manager. He has opinions and he’s not afraid to share them. As the person who’s just been hired to be In Charge Of All Things Tech at Singletrackworld I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but… I don’t know…
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 & Chris Hinds How does that kitsch saying go? To truly appreciate the heights, one must…
Singletrack Magazine Issue 141 Bonus Content: Great British Divide – Chris Hinds’ Day By Day Diary
Bonus content! This is Chris Hinds’ full diary from his Great British Divide 2021. We’ve used a lot of images to try and illustrate the enormity and repetition of the ride, so you’ll likely find this article is best viewed on a desktop or laptop,…
Classic Ride 141 – Wye Valley Wanderings
Jon Woodhouse takes us on a tour of this gem on the Welsh-English border. Words & Photography JON WOODHOUSE ​​Sitting at the easternmost edge of the Forest of Dean, it’s easy for mountain bikers to overlook the Wye Valley – after all, it’s not as…
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 their time and their mum/dad taxis with myriad choices for youngsters to spend the hours…
Last Word: Information Threshold
Rhys blinds Amanda with science, but she’s busy looking at the sun. I’m sitting in the passenger seat of the van, watching the rolling hills wake up to the morning sun. The frosty cover from the night before is melting before my eyes, revealing golden…
Buy your own adventure: Win a £500 Altura Voucher with Singletrack!
Winning free stuff is always great, but you might not win the thing you really needed. Perhaps you win shorts, when you already have plenty. Or a nice white pair of shoes, when you live in the UK. And cash prizes are all very well,…
Column: The Joy of Flex | Get your Singletrack Issue 141 sneak peek
The following is an excerpt from the first column published by our new Technical Manager, Benji Haworth. This column will be published in full in the upcoming issue of Singletrack World Magazine due out in early February, but as a bonus for our Full Members…
100 Things To Slightly Improve Your Bike Life Without Really Trying
The Guardian published a list of 100 Things To Slightly Improve Your Life Without Really Trying. We thought we’d bring you our own list of marginal gains. Organise a Monday night ride and go out regularly. Make sure the pub is open if you’re ending…
Review: Salsa Timberjack SLX 29 – how will you ride yours?
This review is part of the Bike Test feature ‘Hard Tails for Trails’ from Issue 137 of Singletrack Magazine. Price: £1,870.00 From: Lyon Equipment lyon.co.uk Salsa has been around since the early 1980s, and in recent years the brand has become synonymous with the carrying…
Reviewed: Ragley Big Wig – a steel hardtail classic
This review is part of the Bike Test feature ‘Hard Tails for Trails’ from Issue 137 of Singletrack Magazine. Price: £1,999.99 From: Ragley We suspect that Ragley strongly believes in the idea that if something isn’t broken then it doesn’t need to be fixed. The…
Nukeproof Scout 290 Pro review: for a fun filled ride
This review is part of the Bike Test feature ‘Hard Tails for Trails’ from Issue 137 of Singletrack Magazine. Price: £2,449.99 From: Nukeproof Editors’ Choice 2021 This product features in our Singletrackworld Editors’ Choice 2021 round-up. Hannah: “Why has an alloy hardtail turned my head…
