Wil Barrett

2019 giant trance advanced pro 29 trx 1 carbon wheel

Longterm Review | 2019 Giant TRX 1 Carbon Wheelset

After four months of testing, Wil gives us his longterm review of the Giant TRX 1 carbon 29er wheelset Giant has been producing wheels for a good few years now,...

Review 1

specialized fast trak tyre tire grid 29x2.3 gripton

Review | The Specialized Fast Trak GRID 29×2.3 is a fast AND tough XC tyre

Wil reviews the Specialized Fast Trak; a fast-rolling XC tyre with a tough GRID casing When it comes to choosing race-worthy components for XC and marathon bikes, the traditional approach...

Review 4

specialized ground control tyre tire 29x2.3 grid gripton

Review | Specialized connects you to earth with the Ground Control GRID 29×2.3 tyre

Wil reviews the latest version of the venerable Specialized Ground Control tyre I seem to have been riding a lot of chunky tyres lately. I’d say it has a lot...

Review 2

The Bike Box Roller converts your cardboard box into a travel case on wheels

Prefer to travel with a cardboard bike box instead of a bike bag? The Bike Box Roller could be what you’re looking for It’s the age-old question. Travel with my...

First Look 5

Review | The sub-300g Syncros Hixon iC 1.0 Rise is a bonkers all-in-one carbon bar & stem

Wil reviews the 800mm wide Syncros Hixon iC 1.0 Rise carbon fibre handlebar As the component arm of Scott Sports, Syncros originally developed the distinctive Hixon iC handlebar specifically for...

Handlebars & Stems 1

santa cruz blur fork offset fox 34 step-cast

Short vs Long Fork Offset | Testing On The Santa Cruz Blur

Wil delves into his experience of back-to-back testing 44mm & 51mm fork offsets to find out just how big of a difference it makes. Or doesn’t. If you haven’t already…

Online Feature

What Is Fork Offset? And Why Does It Matter?

Reduced-offset forks are all the rage at the moment, but what is fork offset? Wil explains in this two-part online feature about fork offset Unless you’ve been living under a…

Online Feature

2019 giant trance advanced pro 29er 1 wil

Review | The 2019 Trance Advanced Pro 29er 1 is a very ‘un-Giant like’ trail bike

Wil delivers us his longterm review of the 2019 Giant Trance 29er My recent experience of Giant bikes includes testing the latest Trance 27.5, the Anthem 27.5, and the Anthem...

Bikes 1

Fresh Goods Friday 445: Monkey Sauce, Giant, Rubber and Strap-On… Wheels

What a mixture of product. Some direct from Sea Otter, some from a monkey milking farm in France, and items not even in the office but in a far off...

Fresh Goods

On Board | Testing The Raucous 2019 Whyte S-120 C RS

Wil takes us on board for the first ride with the 2019 Whyte S-120 test bike As part of our ongoing foray into the new-school 29er trail bike world, we...

Video 8

bike bag dude giant trance 29 top tube bikepacking mini garage

Review | Bike Bag Dude Top Tube Mini Garage

Wil checks out this strap-on top tube bag from Bike Bag Dude for carrying the essentials on your mountain bike Mountain biking these days is a little different to the...

luggage 4

12 Huge Cassettes For 1x Drivetrains That Aren’t Shimano Or SRAM

Not so long ago, wide-range cassettes were an Exciting New Thing. Actually, we still think they’re pretty exciting, and we’re seeing more brands outside the two Big S brands –...

Online Feature 6

On Board | Testing The Merida One-Twenty 8000 Trail Bike

Wil takes us for a ride on the 2019 Merida One-Twenty test bike Last year Merida unveiled the latest generation of its popular One-Twenty trail bike platform. Equipped with a...

Video 2

FGF 443 | Alcopops, bottle cages & body armour – the perfect Fresh Goods Friday combo!

Well our work experience lad has left, not taking up our offer of an extra week having realised that we really don’t ride bikes very often. So normal service has...

Fresh Goods

e*thirteen offers humongous 556% range with new 12-speed 9-50t TRS+ cassette

Looking for more range than both SRAM Eagle and Shimano XTR 12-speed? Well e13 has just jumped in to wipe the floor with a brand new TRS+ cassette that offers...

News 5

New Norco Revolver 2020 – One Frame, Two Bikes

Norco gives us two bikes for the price of one with the new 2020 Revolver 100 and Revolver 120 The existing Revolver is Norco’s 100mm travel full suspension XC mountain...

News

Zipp’s new 3ZERO MOTO wheelset uses US-made single-wall carbon rims

Zipp has just announced its re-entry into the mountain bike wheel market with the 3ZERO MOTO wheelset – a high end set of hoops that feature US-manufactured carbon fibre rims...

News 3

Cotic has a new full suspension bike! Say hello to the Longshot Flare

Brand new from Cotic Bikes is the completely redesigned Flare The Flare is Cotic’s 27.5in full suspension trail bike, and is now the fourth and final full suspension model from...

News 7

Review | Shimano goes for mega bearing durability with the tough-as Saint M828 flat pedals

For over a quarter of a century, Shimano has held an unwavering reputation for producing some of the most functional and durable clip-in mountain bike pedals on the market. Curiously,...

Pedals 1

Review | The Ergon SM Pro Men’s Saddle Wins A Singletrack Recommended Award

Rarely do mountain bike saddles attract the attention they truly deserve. Then again, perhaps nobody really wants to talk about saddle sores, ingrown hairs and numb genitals. I’m no advertising...

Bits 5

Merida Factory Team racing modified One-Twenty trail bike at Absa Cape Epic

Known as one of the hardest mountain bike stage races in the world, the 2019 Absa Cape Epic is currently being raced right now in South Africa. The Cape Epic...

News 2

Trek’s new WaveCel helmet technology finally unveiled – and it’s not what you think

Trek sent ripples throughout the internet earlier this month, after launching a vague online advertisement that included this rather cryptic message; “Cycling’s most important change in 30 years. On 20...

News 8

All Hail The Megatower – Santa Cruz’ Brand New Long Travel 29er Enduro Bike!

Well a long-travel 29er is THE bike that everyone has been expecting from Santa Cruz Bicycles. But did anyone expect it to be called the ‘Megatower’? Too bad if you...

News 4

Stan’s NoTubes Unveils Strongest Rim Yet – The Flow EX3

Sick of trashing rims? Then you’ll be eager to learn more about the brand new Flow EX3 from Stan’s NoTubes – a super tough alloy rim designed for enduro, downhill...

News

Pipedream Cycle’s 2nd generation Moxie hardtail gets new geometry, still bonkers

Pipedream Cycles debuted its prototype long-travel steel hardtail back at the 2017 Eurobike show – in a retina-burning hot pink no less. Designed to accommodate a 140-160mm travel fork, and...

News 6

This 2019 Whyte S-120C RS packages enduro bike geometry into a lightweight 120mm chassis

Some bikes just seem to stand out like a sore thumb. And it would appear that Whyte has developed itself a nasty habit for producing sore thumbs. As the latest...

First Look 11

lock-on grips renthal odi lizard skins ergon dmr

Top 5 Lock-On Grips | The Cheapest Upgrade For Your Bike

What are the best mountain bike grips? Wil’s tested a bunch over the years, and here he’s put together five of his favourite lock-on grips. Over to Wil. Just think...

Bits

ST Recommended | The Ergon GE1 EVO Factory lock-on grips go one better than the original

What are the best mountain bike grips? Wil’s tested a bunch over the years, and here he’s put together five of his favourite lock-on grips. Over to Wil! German brand...

Bits

Specialized Launches The Outrageous Stumpjumper EVO In Carbon Fibre

In a hotly anticipated (though very much expected) move, Specialized is going all carbon fibre with the raucous Stumpjumper EVO platform. Launched about this time last year, the latest Stumpjumper...

News 2

Review | The Renthal Traction lock-on grips are UltraTacky – in a good way

What are the best mountain bike grips? Wil’s tested a bunch over the years, and here he’s put together five of his favourite lock-on grips. Over to Wil! Makers of...

Bits

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