Trash Free Trails launches Spring Trail Clean with a ‘One Bag Challenge’ to riders, runners and roamers alike. Here’s the full press release from Trash Free Trails. Get out there and get picking! Litter (or as we prefer to call it, single-use pollution) can feel…
Hannah Dobson
More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments.
Become a sponsored privateer with Vitus and the DirtFund Project!
The DirtFund Project is a volunteer and a completely non-profit effort, established in November 2020 by Daniel O’Shea and a bunch of mountain bike mates. Its goal is to help privateer EWS & WCDH racers from the UK and Ireland fulfil their dreams. In 2021,…
And the winner of the £500 Altura voucher is…
The lovely folks at Altura gave you the chance to win a £500 voucher to spend on whatever takes your fancy from the Altura range. A simple question, a click of a box, and your entry was in the hat. So who’s the lucky winner?…
How Do Brakes Work? The Science of Stopping
If you’ve ever wondered just how mountain bike brakes work but been too afraid to ask, this video might just bring you some answers. Although it’s from SRAM, it’s not telling you to go and buy their brakes. Instead, it’s telling you that the brake…
Don’t Miss Out On The Next Magazine – Singletrack Issue 142
Whoop! We’re getting more daylight any day now, lambs are bleating, and flowers are flowering. If you’re still not quite feeling the spring of…er…spring, then make sure you’ve got April’s edition of Singletrack World all set to come through your door, or into your virtual…
Bikes and Bags: Fundraisers For Ukraine
If you’re feeling a little helpless, here are two bike related fundraisers you might like to take a look at. Wizard Works Bike Bags Wizard Works released these blue and yellow bags on Friday to help those fleeing from war in Ukraine. All the proceeds…
Singletrack Members Can Win Shimano Shoes!
If you’re a Singletrack Member you can sign up to our monthly newsletter. And you should, because the newsletter that will be sent tomorrow will contain the chance to wear a pair of Shimano shoes, thanks to our pals at Madison/Freewheel. Here’s what you could…
This Is Freedom Road: wheelies down Bealach na Bà
If you read our article about BikeStormz last summer, you’ll know that there’s a whole urban riding scene where riders are really really good at wheelies. This film takes some of those riders, including Miles ‘Daddy Milo’ Carter, who contributed to the BikeStormz article, off…
The Longest Climb: 1600m on a handcycle
We’ve talked before to Bowhead bikes founder Christian Bagg about the development of the Bowhead trikes. Ebike technology is allowing him not just to make throttle assisted machines, but also hand cycles, where the rider gets a workout just like any other ebike rider. Or…
Is This Custom Built eBay Treasure?
Jo Burt spotted it first, so we suspect him of having an eBay alert for ‘custom built bike’. Which only serves as another plus on the good character of Mr Mint Sauce. But, what is it that he has found? It’s sort of like a…
Pat Adams Returns, So Does Mountain Mayhem…kind of
After a Final Mayhem, The Return of Mayhem, and Mayhem Maybe Not, there’s another twist in the plot of Mountain Mayhem. Having officially retired in 2017 after the 20th anniversary edition of Mayhem, Singletrack Legend award winner Pat Adams left the Mountain Mayhem team to…
Podcast: Isla Short – Factory Racing with integrity
Isla Short is doing things differently. Rather than chasing a Factory Team signing and riding whichever products that salary comes with, she’s hand picking her sponsors. It means more admin for her, but it also means she never has to pose for social media posts…
Nicolai goes Nathan Barley, or somewhere the sun doesn’t shine?
Nicolai has either out Rapha-ed Rapha and beaten all the gravel marketing hyperbole into sand, or they’ve created the bicycle industry equivalent of The Thick Of It.
Podcast: Aneela McKenna and the FNY Collective
When Aneela McKenna won the Singletrack Reader Award for Most Outstanding Human, we invited her to come and talk to us for a podcast. However, rather than talk about herself, she decided she wanted to bring some friends along and collectively chat about making mountain…
Video: The Capital Trail in 24 Hours
If you read our feature in issue 140 of Singletrack World Magazine, you’ll know that the Capital Trail can be ridden over a leisurely-ish couple of days in the company of friends, food, pubs and the like. Or, you could decide the the 240km 5,200m…
Trail Collective North Wales aims to make trails legit
A group of riders in North Wales is seeking to make some of the currently unauthorised trails in the area part of the official network. The Trail Collective North Wales will be hopefully be following in the footsteps of the likes of Tweed Valley Trails…
Meet the Singletrack Big Hitters
This article is from Issue 136 of Singletrack World. Hannah crosses the paper/internet boundary to unearth some of the truth behind a few of the Singletrack Forum personas we know as ‘The Big Hitters’. Words Hannah Photography Various If you’ve hung around our Forum for…
Why You Should Read The Outsiders Project: Beyond Representation
The Outsiders Project report ‘Beyond Representation: The Future of Diversity and Inclusion’ is aimed at brands in the outdoor industry. Its goal is to shift brands’ understanding and perspectives on the barriers faced by People of Colour when engaging in outdoor pursuits. However, whether you’re…
Readers’ Rides: TJ’s Shand Bahookie
Some of you will have previously spotted this bike on the Forum, or possibly on Shand’s Instagram. But it’s such a beautiful bike with such a bittersweet tale behind it that we thought we’d give it the full Readers’ Rides treatment here. Over to TJ……
Celebrate Chipps’ birthday with this special offer!
It’s Chipps’ birthday so we’re giving Singletrack Members an extra discount on our Pompom hats to celebrate. Chipps has something of a reputation when it comes to hats – and colourful clothing – so it is entirely appropriate that you should be getting this colourful…
DEFRA Repeals 2026 Deadline For Rights of Way Registrations
In a surprise move, DEFRA has announced that the 2026 cut-off date for recording historic rights of way, as set out in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, will be repealed. With such a backlog of rights of way applications within local councils,…
Ion BD 2.0 Protection Socks review: thanks for the memory (foam)
These ION BD 2.0 Protection socks have padded elements sewn in to help give your legs a little extra protection while out on the bike.
Help Roger Vieira make Derby your next MTB destination
If Derby Football Club news is anything to go by, residents of Derby are in dire need of some alternative sporting activities. A group of local riders is hoping to persuade the council to add some new trails to a local park – perhaps you’d…
New Liv Embolden – hit the trails from £1,849
Liv – the women’s specific arm of Giant Bicycles – continues to focus on producing bikes with geometry and suspension tuning designed for women. Its latest development is the revised Embolden. This is the second iteration of the Embolden, which is a trail bike designed…
Bike Check: Guy Martin’s Custom Orange Five Evo
OK, yes, it’s all marketing. But we reckon you’ve got a soft sport for Guy Martin, so fill your boots… There are few household names that better line up what we’re all about here at Orange than Guy Martin. Down to earth, as British as…
DexShell Thermfit NEO Waterproof Gloves review
The DexShell Thermfit NEO gloves are knitted waterproof with a brushed merino interior for a cosy feel, and magic fingers for your phone.
Why we (probably) won’t be making a themed women’s issue of Singletrack Magazine
As part of our Members’ Newsletter we give our readers the chance to ask us questions about what we do. Not all of them are quite so in depth as this, and some questions get answered in the newsletter. This question, however, requires a rather…
Dissent 133 Ultimate Glove Pack review
The layering concept of the Dissent 133 Ultimate Glove is a promising one, it just needs refining if it’s to work well in an off road setting.
Thousands of Shimano parts stolen from gassed lorry driver
From Shimano to The Sopranos: Organised Crime Sets Sights on Bike Parts Bikes being stolen from shops and garages is a sadly common enough affair, but this story from the Czech Republic suggests that organised crime has spotted the value that lies in components thanks…
Hans Rey and Brett Tippie: Slay The Bay
Sit back, absorb some Californian sunshine, and enjoy some historic trails and world famous sights with some legends from the mountain bike world. Slay The Bay is the latest destination for Hans Rey on his urban mountain bike adventure quest. During his 5 day traverse of the San…
Cancelled: The Cymru MTB Classic, (Not) New for 2022
Story Update – 4th Feb 2022 When we posted the original story below, the comments section jumped straight to a discussion that went something along the lines of ‘who would pay that much to race in Wales for a couple of days?’. Perhaps the answer…
Welcome To Bandit Hill – like the Gruffalo, with bikes
This short animated tale from Jill Kintner takes woodland creatures, animation, riding footage and a narrator to create something akin to the Gruffalo with bikes. If you’re sick of Bing (how can anyone not be sick of Bing?) or Alphablocks (quite fun in a weird…
Progression: A Movie To Inspire You
Put a smile on your face and some determination in your step. Will this movie make you want to improve your skills, or your local facilities? This movie charts the progression from being inspired to ride right through to riding technical mountain bike trails. In…
What’s Inside Singletrack World Magazine Issue 141? Out today!
Singletrack World Magazine Issue 141 Contains: Editorial: The Eternal Suffering Of The SpokeChipps thinks we’re all on the same kit, but some of us make it work harder than others. UK Adventure: Far From The Maddening CrowdsFed up with the same old, same old of…
Singletrack Issue 141 bike test: Going to unextremes
The Singletrack team tests out three hardtails that sit somewhere in the midst of the ride style continuum.
Pipedream Sirius S5 review
The Pipedream Sirius is no match for carbon in terms of power transfer or weight, but the angles on it make it a pleasure to pedal.
Osprey Raptor Pro backpack – for racing enduro, not your mates
This backpack is Osprey’s first mountain bike specific pack with an integrated spine protector. At present, it only comes in this 18 litre option, and it only comes in black – Osprey might expand the range if this one shows the demand is there. The…
Update: Peak District MTB petition successful: Cave Dale trail repairs postponed
Having successfully raised the issue of the Pin Dale repairs, Peak District MTB has now turned its attention to the proposed repairs at Cave Dale – a hotspot for tourists, walkers and riders, and a much loved technical descent for the latter. Update, Friday 28…
Council to pay £25k costs after illegally removing popular cycle lane
It’s been quite the week for infrastructure and utility cycling news, and today Cycling UK has announced that West Sussex County Council has admitted it acted illegally when it decided to remove a popular cycle lane in the seaside town of Shoreham in November 2020.…
Highway Code changes affect riders, drivers and pedestrians – are you ready?
We’ve certainly seen plenty of clickbait headlines and grumpy comments across the media this week, as information about the impact of the changes to the Highway Code does the rounds in cycle-unfriendly quarters. Here’s a fact based neutral news story for you, so you can…
Trash Free Trails Releases 2021 Impact Report
Singletrack Reader Award winner Trash Free Trails has released its 2021 Impact Report, looking at what has been achieved so far, and what their priorities will be this year. Our annual impact report looks back over everything that we have done, and – much more…
Podcast: Ride Sheffield – Best Community Initiative: Be Nice, Say Hi.
We talk to Ride Sheffield, the winners of the Best Community Initiative Award in the Singletrack Reader Awards, sponsored by Kona. We wanted the Best Community Initiative Award to be about people, and to go to the project, campaign or other initiative that’s helping build…
Make tomorrow better: Make today a two-new-bikes-day!
If you’ve taken delivery of a new bike recently, we’d like to ask you to share the new bike day joy with someone else, via World Bicycle Relief. How much did you spend on your last bike? How many bikes do you own? We know…
Can Chris Boardman lead new Active Travel England to real change?
Active Travel England, the Government’s new cycling and walking executive agency, launches with Chris Boardman as interim commissioner. The former Olympian has long been a champion for cycling as transport, and has been forthright in his campaigns for better infrastructure and road justice. But he’s…
Want to find the best coffee place during a ride?
Cycle Espresso aims to help riders find the best coffees while out on a ride. But we want to help you have better coffee wherever you are!
Behind The Scenes at the EWS with Isabeau Courdurier and Adrien Dailly
This film, ‘Resilience’, is a promotional video from the Lapierre Zipp Collective team, but it’s worth a watch as a documentary of being on the race circuit. The film looks at the EWS season for Isabeau Courdurier and Adrien Dailly, and how their lives away…
Update! Derbyshire County Council – halts ‘repairs’ at Pin Dale!
Derbyshire County Council. Utter those words in a local access forum and someone will shudder, cold chills will go round the room, and someone will call their therapist. Derbyshire’s efforts at Rushup Edge in the Peak District, have become something of an exemplar of how…
Pump For Peace – Velosolutions Racing Team Launched
Pump for Peace is a global initiative founded by Velosolutions with the goal of making cycling accessible to all, and they’re extending their project by launching a race team. Riders were selected from countries vulnerable to marginalisation and discrimination (as a consequence of social, cultural, economic…
Bike Test: 3 Hardtails For Trails
This feature was originally published in Issue 137 of Singletrack Magazine. Andi and Hannah have been testing and swapping hardtails in anticipation of a summer of dry, fast trails. Words Andi and Hannah Photography Amanda We’ve been hunting down that rarest of bicycle items: the…
Don’t Miss Out On The Next Magazine – Singletrack Issue 141
Feeling a bit meh? Looking at the long haul from now until…when…half term…Easter…the clocks changing? Let us help give you something to look forward to in this grey limbo of the year: the next issue of Singletrack Magazine. It’s coming, and it’s coming soon –…
Podcast: Trash Free Trails – Best Environmental Initiative, Singletrack Reader Awards
When we chatted to Dom Ferris of Trash Free Trails before the Singletrack Reader Awards voting opened, he had so much to say that we couldn’t bring you all of it or it wouldn’t have given any of the other finalists a chance! But as…
