It’s the first few minutes of a bike launch and I’m having to try quite hard not to weep. The scepticism brought about by predictably dramatic music, followed by an unexpected big name actor are gone. Instead I’m lost in wonder at how the copywriter…
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.
Fresh Goods Friday 430 – The Mid January Thoughts Edition
Dry January. Veganuary. Januhairy. Dogs are for life and not just for Christmas, but lifestyle choices are seemingly only for January. Or possibly just the first fortnight of January. Apart from Januhairy. That one requires the expending of less effort and is much easier to…
Less Roost, More Pow: The new Singletrack Snow Channel is live!
Apparently quite a lot of you like the white powdery stuff. And the harder, treated and prepared white stuff too. Every year there is a huge long thread on the Forum about it. What are we going on about? Snow! You love snow, and skiing,…
YT Jeffsy 2019: Video Teaser Released
We ran a story earlier this week on the new YT range, where we noted that there was a rather big Jeffsy shaped hole. While there are still no details on what the fine details of that hole might be filled by, it’s clear that…
Singletrack Magazine Issue 122: In My Shoes
Products aren’t just for testing – they can find their way into our lives, our stories and our hearts. In the first of a new series, called Still Going, Hannah tells us about life in her shoes.
Interview: Dan Stanton – redefining how we build and buy bikes?
Rather than just waiting for her Stanton Switch9er FS test bike to turn up by courier, she went off for a day in the Peak District to see the bike being made, and even ‘helped’ with a couple of bits. While she was there she…
Good Bye 2018, Hello Fresh Goods Friday 428
Here we go here we go here we go, it’s the last Fresh Goods Friday of 2018. A year that started with Wil freezing his toes off in our studio building a bamboo bike, and ends with him sweating his toes off Down Under among…
Review: 2018 Cube Reaction TM – a ready to roll package
Cube has a reputation for well priced bikes – you get a decent amount of bike for your money. It’s a brand you’ll find in many a local bike shop, and as a result you’ll probably see a decent number of them out on the…
Video: Jeff Kendall-Weed Gets Retro In Durango
He might look like an accountant or an attorney, but once he's on a bike Jeff Kendall-Weed is all style. Even when he's on a bike from the mid-ninetees. Dammit.
First Look: RevGrips – Shock Absorbing Grips For A Penny Under £100
Price: £99.99 From: Cyclorise We’re well used to squawks of ‘how much?!’ in response to Fresh Goods Friday, but even our eyebrows raised when these grips arrived in the office. £99.99 for grips? Why? The grips are designed with an inner sleeve of a larger…
The Great Singletrack Christmas Giveaway – What’s Coming This Week?
We’ve another week of our amazing giveaway coming up. If you’ve not yet won anything, don’t be sad, because we’ve got plenty more for you, including the Mega Sack, which will contain one of everything we’ve given away. Yes! You read that right! Come along…
Christmas Countdown Day 14: Win A Lapierre Edge AM 727
Wow, today we’re giving away a whole bike! This is surely going to make someone very happy. Hannah is certainly rather excited about it in the video. Read on to find out what you could win, and how to win it… Holy mackerel! A whole…
Christmas Countdown Day 13: Win A Set Of TRP Quadiem G-Spec Brakes!
Stop what you’re doing and get entering day 13 of our giveaway! Stop! We said STOP! (Brakes, stop, geddit?) TRP Quadiem G-Spec Brakes Price: £400 (£200 each end) From: Upgrade Bikes The name Aaron Gwin is synonymous with World Cup Downhill success – once again,…
Two Bikes, Many Clothes and A Pair of Juicy Nipples – Fresh Goods Friday 426
The Fresh Goods Friday you’re about to see, Was written by journos, numbering three. They’re OK at bikes, and photography But their poetry sucks. You can blame Barney For setting the challenge to introduce This week’s crop of goods, the golden goose, Of Singletrackworld. This…
Interview: Taking On Tahnee – Maya Atkinson Moves Up To Elite
Maya Atkinson has twice won the Junior British Downhill Championships and has competed in the EWS and World Cup races. This coming year she will be moving up to the elite category, competing for a new team and hoping to hold her own against what…
Quality Singletrack Gifts For The Mountain Biker In Your Life (Or Just Treat Yourself)
We've got everything you need to make the mountain biker in your life happy, right here.
The Great Singletrack Christmas Giveaway – What’s Coming This Week?
We’ve already given a huge pile of swag, but fear not, we have plenty more great prizes to be won. Yes! PRIZES to be WON by YOU! It’s very easy to enter – just watch our daily Facebook Live Videos and follow the instructions. But…
Interview: Chris Porter – ‘The bicycle fork is so close to its design limit’
Chris Porter recently made the trip up to Singletrack Towers to deliver a bike for the bike test of Issue 123 of Singletrack Magazine. Since he’d come all that way, we thought we’d make the most of his time, so after a quick lunch and…
Buy It While It’s Hot! Singletrack Issue 122 Has Landed – With Free Calendar
What? You haven’t already got your copy? In that case you must have forgotten to subscribe! It’s not too late though, you could subscribe today and you’ll be able to access the digital archive of the magazine, and you’ll start the year with Issue 123…
Interbike 2019 Cancelled – What Now For The US Bike Industry?
The US bicycle trade show Interbike will not be taking place in 2019, it has been announced. Organisers Emerald Expositions made the announcement in a press release, saying: “The past four years have been difficult for the U.S. bicycle market,” said Darrell Denny, Executive Vice…
Pick Your Nation State – Sixth Element Limited Edition Carbon Wheelsets
Perhaps you’re just feeling patriotic and you’d like to fly the flag for your country, or maybe you want to look like you’re a pro level rider representing your nation. Sound like you? Then hop on over to Sixth Element before midnight on Friday 4th…
Video: Jordie Lunn Rough AF 3 – With Mum Commentary
We saw this video being teased on Instagram, and we knew it was going to be pretty nuts. But then it was released, and…well…it’s pretty nuts. A bit hard to watch in fact, and it brought out Hannah’s ‘Mum’ side. You could just watch the…
Reviewed: Endura MT500 Plus Flat Pedal Overshoes – Come with a free yoga workout before every ride.
It is one of the great mysteries of the mountain biking world: why are there no flat pedal deep winter boots? In recent years we have seem some efforts at warmer shoes, or even waterproof hi-tops, but we’ve yet to experience some true winter boots…
Last Chance To Subscribe: December Issues Includes FREE 2019 Calendar
The December issue of Singletrack includes a free 2019 wall calendar.
EWS Says Doping Tests Are Not New
EWS say doping controls at Enduro events is NOT new despite rumours
Bike Check: Sam Jones from Cycling UK’s Surly ECR
Sam Jones is Cycling UK’s Senior Campaigns and Communications Officer. Hannah caught up with him at a recce of the planned new North Downs Way National Trail, where he was riding his Surly ECR. Here’s a closer look at his bike. What was on your…
North Downs Way: Riding In The Shadow Of The Rat Race
This might be what it feels like to be a rabbit, or a fox, perhaps. Scurrying along the edge of hedgerows, through labyrinths of close grown bushes, darting out into sunlight and across a field, then back into the shade of a holloway. It’s not…
Video: On Her Terms – Manon Carpenter moves on from gnar to geek
This video contains all the usual mountain bike cliches – slo-mo action of tyres kicking up stones, unfeasible wrestling of bars from side to side on climbs, ‘casual’ standing around gazing at views… you get the idea. But what’s a breath of fresh air in…
Video: Danny MacAskill Game of Bike – Which Trick Could You Do?
There’s a new video from Dany MacAskill, which has prompted some surprising reactions in the office. Chipps – not known for airtime and tricks – may be getting rad out in the slickrock of Moab, because he said: ‘It’s rather good – and not uber…
A Day With Charlie Kelly, Godfather of Mountain Biking
The railing moves, or maybe the pavement is narrower than last time I passed. My bar clips the safety barrier and I’m catapulted off the bike and onto the grassy bank on the other side. I lie, laughing and staring up at the moons. It’s…
Could we all benefit from pro-level concussion protocols?
Is the UCI doing enough to protect athletes from their own enthusiasm after a head injury?
Video: Dudes of Hazzard Muckle Day Out
Those Scottish boys, the Dudes of Hazzard, have been up to things again – riding bikes in ways that make the rest of us sigh. At least they look a bit cold and uncomfortable for some of it, making this video just a bit more…
Video: A Slice Of Ariégeoise Pie
We not sure how to say it. Ariégeoise. Ar-ee-ay-jwaz? We’ve googled it, it’s in the Pyrenees, on the border with Andorra – which is of course the home of Commençal. It looks like it’s fun to ride there – though we’d be sure to take…
Video: Buying A Mountain Bike, Buying A Lifestyle
If you’ve stumbled onto this looking for genuine advice on how to go about buying your first mountain bike, you should probably go and read the reviews section of our website, because this video is not going to help you. It might still be wise…
Bike Check: Paul Byrom’s Kingdom Vendetta XFS 29
Before the Singletrack Reader Awards kicked off last week, we had a Trade Day ride out, where loads of our friends from the bike industry join us for an actual ride. It might come as a surprise (and something of a disappointment) to you that…
The Winners! Singletrack Reader Awards 2018
Nominated and voted for by you, our readers, the votes have been counted and the winners have been revealed at our star studded awards ceremony. There were definitely more flannel shirts than sequins on display, but as usual Chipps made up for the lack of…
Two Videos To Remind You Life Is Precious
It’s all too easy to say ‘maybe tomorrow’. To look out the window at grey skies and turn on the TV instead of heading for the trails. To put off that meet up with old friends, or tell yourself you can’t justify that trip of…
Interview: Veronique Sandler – Not In It To Win It
Sitting in the yurt at the Bike Park Wales Women’s Weekend, a group of women are gathered for a Q&A session with three pro riders: Tahnee Seagrave, Katy Curd, and Veronique Sandler. It seems that many in the audience are keen racers, and many questions…
Bike Park Wales: Women’s Weekend – not just for women
For the weekend of 6th and 7th October, Bike Park Wales opened its doors to women. Not that women aren’t usually welcome, but to make sure the park was filled with #RadMums, #girlswhoride and #ladyshredders they were giving women free pedal passes (usually £10) for…
Singletrack Issue 121: Shakespeare’s Sister
‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players’. How your ride will play out – whether it results in comedy, tragedy or historic triumph – will depend on your cast of players. Let us head to the casting couch and…
It’s Here! Singletrack Magazine Issue 121 – Where Will Your Read Yours?
Singletrack Issue 121 has landed! Whoop! If you’re a subscriber your copy has probably landed. Have you ripped it open eagerly, or are you saving it for some quality me time? Why not tag us on Instagram or Twitter so we can see how you read…
Five Ten And Adidas Eye Up The Olympic Effect
Five Ten has been the name in flat pedal sticky shoes for so long that it’s easy to forget that it started out life as a climbing and outdoor brand. With some bright spark having the idea that sticky rubber could prove useful at gripping…
Video: Nick Craig At Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross 2018
We often refer to Nick Craig as ‘the nicest man in cycling’. If you’re ever lucky enough to meet him, we’ve no doubt you’ll experience his kindly soft spoken voice, enthusiasm, encouragement, and love of all things bike. Nick is a veteran of the Three…
New Ibis DV9: A carbon hardtail you can pay for with your summer job?
Ibis has just announced the launch of its new carbon hardtail, the DV9. Following the current trend for XC-but-slacker (which Ibis is calling Downcountry), this new bike will be offered in two build options to suit the racers and the trail riders. Ibis co-owner Hans…
Are these the most expensive glasses we’ve ever had? Fresh Goods Friday 415
FGF this week started off with just 2 products, but the last minute haul at the 2018 Cycle Show has fleshed it out into another bonanza of bike booty (not the ‘B’s again!). Before we get to the squawking, have a giggle at Hannah’s expense:…
WTF: Just what we all need – zip on tyres?
Amazing things have been achieved since the invention of the zipper in 1909 or thereabouts. We can now get dressed without the assistance of a button butler. We can leave it until the very last minute before dashing to the loo. We don’t have to…
Sick Bicycles Ceases Titanium Production
Makers of titanium madness, rad T-shirts, and self proclaimed industry shakers and agitators Sick Bicycles has just announced that it is ceasing production of its titanium frames. A newsletter just issued reads (published here complete with apparent typos and odd formatting): Say goodbye to Ti…
Video Madness: A Strongman, A Chainsaw, And A Freerider
It’s easy to get bored of all the latest shredits, but sometimes something is just so bonkers you find yourself watching it all the way to the end. This piece of advertising from De Walt is one of those. There’s a chainsaw, and some other…
Recall: Öhlins RXF Air Fork
Öhlins has issued a recall of its RXF Air Fork, and advised riders to cease using them immediately. The forks came as standard on a number of Specialized 2017 and 2018 bikes, so we expect that this is recall is going to have quite a…
Singletrack Magazine Issue 120 | Last Word: The same sort of different.
Three short stories from Hannah’s recent trip to the USA that demonstrate the reach of the bike and the unspoken bond shared by those who ride them.
Last Chance To Subscribe – Singletrack Issue 121
The trails have finally returned to their usual state. Mudguards are essential once more, waterproofs no longer a ‘just in case’ item. If we’re lucky enough to finish work early we might get out to catch the last of the evening light before hoping we’ve…
