We spotted last week that something called ‘Red Bull Formation’ was happening in the rock formations of Utah. It turns out that it was a women’s freeride camp, based at the old Rampage site, aimed at giving women a chance to dig and ride the…
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.
2020 Norco Optic | It’s Bigger Everywhere You Look
Norco Bicycles today announces its 2020 Norco Optic, which Norco says is completely re-designed and re-focused – and completely different to the previous Norco Optic. Developed on, and inspired by their backyard trails in the mountains surrounding their Vancouver-area headquarters and throughout the Pacific Northwest,…
Social Spots | Tree Taps, Tyre Taps, Tricks and Triumph
You could waste a lifetime on social media. We’ve helpfully brought together some highlights, to make you more efficient. Watch these highlights, then get back to important stuff. Like riding bikes and eating biscuits… Since Red Bull Rampage is just around the corner, this Social…
Stolen | It’s More Than Just A Bike
Hannah and Amanda had their bikes stolen from under their noses. In the immediate aftermath, Hannah wrote this. I had a bike stolen once before. I don’t know what make or model it was, but my Dad bought me it as a surprise present. It…
New GT Power Series | Force GT-E and Pantera GT-E
Today GT Bicycles announced the new Force GT-E and Pantera GT-E, part of the all-new GT Power Series lineup of electric pedal assist full suspension and hardtail bikes. Here’s the press release in full. Be warned. It contains a terrible pun… Both the Pantera GT-E…
We’ve Been Robbed! Keep Your Eyes Peeled For Our Bikes
We’re a little in shock here today. Imagine you’re standing looking at a car parking rather too close to your bike and you’re giving the driver a dirty look because they belong on @YPLAC. Then the rear window winds down and a man in a…
Enduro World Series launches EWS-E!
News just in. Get your shred and your goggles on, and get training to be the new EWS-E Champion! The Enduro World Series (EWS) is excited to announce it is extending its partnership with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to include the management and development…
Islabikes Goes Longer Lower Slacker!
Shropshire based Islabikes has announced its range refresh, which includes updates to all models in its children’s bike range, plus new sizes and geometry in the mountain bike model. There’s no escaping the ‘longer, lower, slacker’ trend! The key changes identified are: Lighter than ever…
Is A Womens’ Red Bull Rampage Happening?
Has Hannah spotted a women’s Red Bull Rampage style event in the making? Follow the clues with her and see what you think. It was well past our bedtimes here in the UK, but ignoring the ‘don’t look at screens before sleeping’ advice I just…
New Stan’s NoTubes DART: Dual Action Repair for Tubeless
Stan’s NoTubes reveals the DART, a new product to repair tubeless tyre punctures and slices that are 5mm or larger. Before we move on to the news about this new product, we’d just like to draw your attention to the first line of the press…
Short Cycling Films About Long Bike Rides
If you’re feeling like it’s time to snuggle under a blanket and think about adventures to come, we have some short cycling films for you that will help get you reaching for the maps and checking out your camping gear. Better still, they’re all available…
Video | Joe Barnes’ garage tour
The folks from Formula spent part of the summer touring the UK…they even visited Singletrack Towers. In the first video to come from that tour, they take us on a tour of Joe Barnes’ garage. Or is it a shed? Or a house? Check out…
Published Today! Singletrack Issue 127
As we start the gentle decomposition of autumn, a fresh new issue of Singletrack Magazine has landed. Make your last embers of summer riding enthusiasm get a little puff of air to boost them and warm your legs into the chill winds of winter. Here’s…
Autumn Riding – Who’s Up For A Midweek Bivi?
Cycling UK has been out on a midweek adventure in the hope of enticing you away from your sofas and out on the bike for some golden autumn riding. Shortening days and cooler nights don’t have to mean an end to adventure. In fact, the…
Trans-Cascadia 2019 | 4 Days Of Party Trains And Sweet Trails
The four days of racing and riding and partying at the Trans-Cascadia 2019 look so good we’re tempted to add this to our must do list of events. 2019 Trans-Cascadia: Day 1 “We’ve been out here scaring ourselves since 2013, and I’ve never seen tracks…
Are You In? Or Missing Out? Singletrack Subscribers Get More!
Every issue of Singletrack mountain bike magazine comes in two versions: the standard edition – available at newsagents; and the Premier Edition. If you’re a subscriber to our print or digital magazine, it’s this extended Premier Edition of the magazine that you’ll be reading. Which…
Evoc World Traveller Suitcase | A portable wardrobe?
Evoc is known for making many kinds of bag – ones to carry your bike in, ones to carry while you’re riding your bike, and, like this ‘Evoc World Traveller’ maybe, ones to carry when you’re off somewhere fun to ride your bike. Or, just…
Spanner Bike Haute Gravel Review | Titanium Twin Tube Madness!
The Spanner Bike Haute Gravel is a titanium drop bar bike that’s something of an exercise in ‘because you can’, demonstrating what you could do with the help of Spanner Bike if you let your brain run free. Price: £1800 frame and fork From: Spanner…
Video | Riding Across The Generations
Don’t sit and think about your age, or that ‘is that arthritis’ knee… get on out there and keep riding! The next issue of Singletrack Magazine is whirring its way round the printing presses right now, and one of the features in it is ‘My…
Singletrack Reader Awards 2019 | And The Winners Are…
Your award winners at the 2019 Singletrack Reader Awards, revealed. This year’s award finalists, bike industry dignitaries, Singletrack Lifetime Subscribers and bike industry undignifieds were welcomed to Hebden Bridge’s Trades Club for an evening of Indonesian food, refreshing beers, and – of course – trophies.…
Moab | 50 Years of the Slickrock Trail
It’s 50 years since the Moab Slickrock Bike Trail was established and this documentary has been produced to mark the occasion. Tracing its history back to the late 1960s, when motorbikes and early jeeps first started venturing out into the petrified sand dunes around Moab…
Fresh Goods Friday 465 | 3 Bikes, Maximum Waffle
Did you vote in the Reader Awards? Well, it’s too late if you didn’t – you’ve lost your democratic right to pick your favourite. Next week there will be some pro-rogueing, with Chipps donning his nattiest of outfits to present the awards to all the…
Moots Announces UK Distributor – Titanium lust just got easier to get
American brand and titanium specialist Moots has quite the cult following, and is just about to get a lot easer to buy over here, with the announcement of a new UK distributor. Until now, Moots has been a little tricky to get hold of in…
Updated: Big Pile Of Sick! Names revealed!
In another twist in the tale of Sick Bicycles, a batch of frames built for Sick is about to go on sale – as On One branded frames. When we heard the rumour last week that a builder in Taiwan had built a batch of…
Fresh Goods Friday 464 | The Back To School Edition
All the kids are back at school. The kids in Scotland – who have been back for weeks – are already looking forward to half term. The teachers in England are already looking forward to half term. Daytime gin consumption is suddenly reducing. Soft play…
Last Chance To Subscribe! Singletrack Issue 127
We’re still wearing shorts, despite the unsightly nettle rash (they do get more concentrated as the summer goes on, we’re sure of it). Each day the socks are getting a little longer and a little woolier, and eventually we’ll be force to admin that it’s…
Rudy Project Keyblade Photochromic Glasses – Multipurpose frames for many light levels.
Launched today are the latest 2020 products from Rudy Project, including these new Rudy Project Keyblade frames with photochromic lenses, which we picked up at a preview at Impact Sun Valley, Idaho earlier this summer. Rudy Project has a background in road and triathlon, though…
Who Is Bicycle Pubes? We Chat To The Instagram Star
If you’ve not yet discovered the frankly bizzare and often hilarious Instagram account BicyclePubes yet then you are missing out on a whole heap of bike industry parody and satire wrapped up and delivered by the power of memes, hairy balls, and poop. We ‘despatched’…
Fresh Goods Sunday 462 – Four Bikes
The doorbell has barely rung this week, which is just as well because the skeleton staff we have here are quite tired enough without running up and down the stairs too. Tower life has its disadvantages, and with even our very own Rapunzel off her…
Crankbrothers Reveals New Highline Dropper Post Ranges
More length and different girths – new Crankbrothers Highline dropper range options revealed. When he reviewed the Crankbrothers 160mm Highline dropper post last year, reviewer James Vincent said ‘this is hands down the best dropper post I’ve ever used, and the 160mm drop is a…
Fresh Goods Friday 461 | Tangerine Dream & The Wasp Factory
We are all feeling like we have had a very lucky escape. We’ve just opened to the door to our studio and discovered hundreds and hundreds of wasps. Luckily, they were almost all dead. But it is all a bit weird. We should have expected…
Video | What can a MTBer do to help our planet?
What can a mountain biker do to help our planet? It’s a difficult question with uncomfortable answers, but an easy one is #DitchDisposables Rémy Métailler has produced a video asking ‘What can a mountain biker do to help our planet?’. It’s a bit of a…
Tales of The Unexpected | A Bicycle Commute Short Story
Hannah rides to work, and has another of those moments that remind you why taking the bike will always trump hopping in the car. I’ve not ridden the proper off road route to work for a while. A combination of logistics and a poorly knee…
Video | Dudes of Hazzard – STEALIN’ axles and HOOKIN’ turns!
Take a break and enjoy this video from the Dudes of Hazzard. From the land of dry cake and wicked trails, the Dudes of Hazzard bring us another fun video of roost and giggles. Shot in Madeira, it’s the usual mix of messing around on…
Cube Stereo 140 Hybrid TM |First Ride Review
It’s hard to pick out a single e-MTB from the many available in the Cube 2020 range, but the Stereo 140 Hybrid is the bike that Cube saw grow the biggest market increase in 2019, and it’s the one I got to take out on…
9 Highlights From the Cube 2020 Bike Range
After viewing hundreds of bikes and accessories at the Cube 2020 Dealer Show, Hannah brings you her pick of the Cube 2020 Bike Range. After a couple of weeks of revealing its 2020 range to its network of dealers and distributors, Cube is now ready…
First Look | Cube Stereo 170 – big travel, small price tag
For 2020 Cube has introduced a new big bike, the Stereo 170. With 29 inch wheels and 170mm of rear travel, it’s a bike for fast and steep descents, with enduro aspirations. The Stereo 170 will come in two variations: a coil shock equipped 170…
US Custom Builder Sklar Introduces Sweet Spot – for those with deep pockets.
US custom frame builder Adam Sklar introduces an off-the-peg steel do-it-all hardtail. Perhaps better known for custom made titanium and steel mountain bikes and all-road bikes, US builder Sklar Bikes is going a little more mainstream with a stock build, trail-focused mountain bike: the Sklar…
Interview | Zack Rundell: ‘Mountain Biking Saved My Life’
Hannah chats to Zack Rundell, the U.S. high school mountain biking success aiming to inspire others to let bikes change their lives. While out in Idaho I attended a ‘Draft Meet Up’ – a community event combining beer and bikes, where locals and visitors get…
New Bike Packing Event | Dunoon Dirt Dash
Details of a new bikepacking event: the Dunoon Dirt Dash, organised by a couple of familiar names. You probably know who Charlie the Bikemonger is. Now, he’s Charlie the Ex Bikemonger, and he’s turning his attention to event organising. Not that that’s a new thing…
Exclusive! Sneak Peek | Prototype FS Enduro Bike From Privateer Bikes
Your first chance to check out the new prototype Privateer 161 FS Enduro Bike From Privateer Bikes. You might have heard of The Rider Firm.CC, the parent company behind Hunt Wheels, Cairn Bikes and Dissent 133 clothing. There’s another spawn…er…spawning in the form of Privateer…
FGF 458 | Not Very Fresh, Quite Humid and Slightly Flaccid Goods Friday
We have been wondering what might be the worst job to have in a heatwave. We’re torn between the reprographics room in an office, or grill chef in a kitchen. It’s certainly not us. While we have definitely been melting in the office as we…
Bike Check | Andy’s Stooge MK4
We pause on a ride to fondle the new Stooge MK4, a rigid framed steel bike. In case you’re not already aware, Singletrack Towers is based in what is probably the greatest valley in England: the Calder Valley. Steep climbs and descents, rolling moorland and…
Stay Cool! 5 Top Heatwave Tips For Mountain Bikers
We bring you our top tips for beating the heat and keeping cool while pedalling. Yes, there’s a heatwave. And yes, this article was born from a heat induced stream of consciousness while we sat around in the office eating emergency ice cream and Gin…
Vote In Our Poll | What Do You Look For In A Trail Helmet?
What do you look for in a trail helmet? Much has been made of new helmet technology of late, with companies trying to out compete each other on their safety claims, a plethora of detachable chin bars, and all kinds of attachment points. But do…
British MTB National Championships | New Champions And Old Faces
The British National Mountain Bike Championships took place this weekend, with the Downhill event at Revolution Bike Park in Wales, and the XC National Championships taking place at Cannock Chase. After a spell of dry weather, rains came in on Friday and Saturday, changing the…
Bike Check | Sixth Element Bespoke Ti Kingdom With Olympic Wheels
This bike came to us because of the wheels – they’re Sixth Element’s latest XC race wheel, the Pro XC, launched today. But we got a bit distracted by the bike. So here’s a full run down of the bike, and if it’s the fancy…
3 New Carbon Wheels From Sixth Element
Sixth Element has added three new wheels to its range. We bring you an exclusive run down of your carbon latest wheel options. UK wheel builder Sixth Element has quickly gained a reputation for good value carbon wheels with a strong customer service focus –…
FGF 457 | Yo Ho Ho and A Bottle Of Rum!
It’s raining outside, after a week of lovely weather. Which must mean: the English school summer holidays start today! Yes, today children across the bottom half of the UK quit pretending that they’ve done any work since they sat their SATs, teachers start growing beards,…
No Women’s BMX at X Games | Athletes demand competition, not demos
Female BMX riders have criticised X Games for failing to provide a women’s competition for BMX, despite previous successful demo events. Story updated 22 July with quote from multi-time X Games medallist, Ryan Nyquist. X Games, which offers competition in a range of ‘Street’ sports,…
2 New Freeride Movies For The Summer
There are two big mountain bike movies coming our way this summer. Handy for tired days, dark nights, or ice-elevate-rest days. Return To Earth Out today is ‘Return To Earth’, available on pay to view here. It’s a round the world trip of riding and…
