Back in issue 153 in February, Hannah proposed an alternative approach to measuring rides. As part of that, we gave you a set of ride ‘achievements’ to collect in the month ahead. Here’s your next seasonally appropriate set of ride goals. Enjoy!
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.
Thibaut Daprela Turns Privateer For 2024
Having made something of a surprise move from Commencal Muc Off to Canyon at the end of last year, Thibaut Daprela has now announced he’s leaving Canyon for life as a privateer. His Instagram profile still lists Monster Energy, Fizik and Ride 100 Percent as…
Matthew Fairbrother: Totally More Enduro Than You
Everyone’s favourite enduro bikepacker is at it again. This time, he’s riding (and paddling) the entire NZ MTB Rally – instead of doing any of the uplifts and boat transfers. Or catered assistance and comfy beds. One giant week coming up… starting tomorrow I’ll be…
Is It Time For A Shakeup In The MTB World?
We can’t pretend that mountain biking is green. Riding your bike instead of getting in a car is green, but that’s not what mountain biking is. Mountain biking is play, and activity. But by getting us out and about into nature, it can encourage us…
International Women’s Day is Every Day at SingletrackWorld
It’s International Women’s Day again, and it’s my [Hannah] least favourite day of the year. If you do nothing, everyone wonders where your IWD content is, and thinks you don’t care. If you do something pointing out it’s all a bit crap and tokenistic, and…
The International Variations Of Faff: What Do You Call It?
Last week’s Weekly Word newsletter was about ‘faff’. Here in the UK, we are very familiar with faff – but what is it called elsewhere in the world? Take a read, see if you recognise its symptoms, and offer up your versions of it. Faff…
Fizik Terra Ergolace GTX Shoe review
The Fizik Terra Ergolace Terra GTX is an all-weather MTB and gravel shoes with Gore-Tex protection. Yes, they are (were) white.
Sam Pilgrim Off Monster: Who Should Sponsor Him Next?
Canyon rider Sam Pilgrim has announced his 13 year contract with Monster Energy has come to an end. Apparently there are no hard feelings and he’s got plans for promoting brands in the future, with exciting things to come. So, who could sponsor Mr Today…
A-Z of The Singletrack World Forum
If you're new to the world of mountain bikes, you might find it an unfathomable world of tech jargon, incompatible standards, and marketing babble. To cut through it all, you might go in search of advice, from other humans that ride bikes. Maybe you find…
Protect Our Winters: Update on British Cycling and Shell
When British Cycling announced its partnership with Shell, the folks at Protect Our Winters wrote an open letter to British Cycling setting out their concerns and asking for British Cycling to end the agreement. They also offered a free Carbon Literacy Training session to British…
Help Shape the Future of the 7Stanes Trails
Forestry and Land Scotland has announced upcoming consultations on the future of the 7Stanes. To begin with, the dates announced only cover Newcastleton, but the other popular trails at Dalbeattie, Glentrool and Kirroughtree are to follow. Check out the press release below. Communities and local…
6 Takeaways From Red Bull Hardline Tasmania
The season’s Downhill racing has started. It’s official. What did you make of the new Tasmanian Red Bull Hardline event? Here are some takeaways from our point of view. 1. Gracey Hemstreet and Louise Ferguson are made of strong stuff. Gracey Hemstreet’s back wheel and…
Spot That Bike: the Short Travel edition
Think you know bikes? Do you even XCO? Have yourself a short travel quiz and see which bikes you can identify.
Win A Forbidden Druid Dream Build, Make Nils’ Dreams Come True
Many of you mourned the passing of Nils Amelinckx. Here’s a chance to win a bike and do something nice for his family, from as little as £4.99. Nils Amelinckx, Rider Resilience (non-for-profit company) and Lyon Cycle (UK distributor) founder passed away late last year…
FGF 693: The Coffee Summoning Edition
Hello, hello, is this thing on? It’s been a while since I (Hannah) have done one of these. I’m usually quite busy on a Friday writing the Weekly Word and all my waffle engines are expended there. Will this end up like doing Further Maths…
Danny MacAskill & Steve Peat Ride the Trotternish Ridge
A new video from Danny Mac and Peaty… probably quite good then? We note it’s subtitled. Probably needs a whole glossary to be honest. Spracheling, faffing… no, these are real words and it’s not just whisky induced gobbledegook! Danny MacAskill is happiest when his friends…
Wiggle Chain Reaction Deal Falls Through: Mike Ashley Buys Name and IP
Last time we reported on the Wiggle CRC administration it looked like the company could be bought as a going concern, with a number of buyers apparently interested. Now, sources say that’s all off the cards, and today we understand there has been a mass…
How To Watch Red Bull Hardline Tasmania
The riders are picking their way down the features of the new Red Bull Hardline course in Tasmania, ticking them off and stringing them together. Race day is Saturday 24th February, with the broadcast scheduled to be live from 7am (!) in the UK. Eggs…
Campaigners Hope To Save Wyllie Bike Trails, Wales
In a good illustration of how ‘we’ve always ridden there’ doesn’t mean ‘we’ve got the right to ride there’, campaigners are hoping to save Wyllie Bike Park – and the surrounding Sirhowy Country Park. The area is subject to a proposed development by ERI Reclamation,…
How To Read The New Look Singletrack Magazine
Many of you have already experienced the ker-thwack of the latest edition of Singletrack Magazine dropping through your letterbox. Thunk, rip, flick, sniff. Forget ASMR YouTube videos, we can deliver the good stuff right to your door. Of course, we’ve got an array of digital…
Fresh Goods Friday 692 – The Al Fresco Edition
For this week's Fresh Goods Friday we have escaped the shrouded misty slopes of TodMorDen and headed on over to... Stockport.
NBD: Cotic Escapade, Sonder Broken Road, Chris King bits, Purple Hayes (slight return)…
Roses are red, violets are blue, Wednesday was Valentine's, but we have bike news... Here's a round up of PR that's landed this week.
Issue 153 Last Word: Weights and Measures
Hannah proposes a new system of measurement, putting quality over quantity. Miles covered and feet gained seem to me an inadequate measure of mountain biking. Kilometres and metres likewise. Hours and minutes are useful, to a point – but what takes you an hour might take…
Kelly: Mountain Biking Through Motherhood
You might well have met Kelly at an event or two – she’s often to be found chatting and riding, either in her day job for komoot, or as an ambassador for Cotic. This film looks at her experience of being in the bike industry,…
Patagonia Dirt Roamer Bike Pack review
The Patagonia Dirt Roamer Bike Pack is billed as a pack to hold 'all the extra layers and supplies for big rides or bad weather'.
Retro Bike Cryptic Crossword
Twist your melon and cast your mind back for the answers to this mostly cryptic crossword. The answers are there, don’t let all the anodising dazzle you! And beware of googling the answers – it may lead to accidental nostalgia purchases. Mark is unimpressed. How…
How to watch the 2024 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships this weekend
The world’s top cyclo-cross riders are heading to the Czech Republic this weekend to compete at the 2024 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, at the circuit in Tabor. Expect technical racing, in cold but dry conditions for most of the weekend – with light rain forecast…
Evolution Stories: Katy Winton’s Dyslexia Journey
Andy McKenna continues his exploration of mountain biking and the lives of mountain bikers beyond the trail, as he finds his own way through life as his Multiple Sclerosis stops his mountain bike guiding career. In this episode, Katy Winton talks about how Dyslexia has…
Podcast: How do we test gear, and what are we up to?
Podcasts haven’t stopped – we’ve just had a bit of a hiatus while we’ve been rather busy doing a lot of things. In this podcast, Mark gives you an update of what all that is. Plus, Hannah and Benji discuss how it is that we…
New (Baffling) Rob Warner video: The Way Back
What is Rob Warner up to now? Watch this video and see if you can figure it out. Is this a pitch to come back and race Masters? A pitch to Discovery to say he still wants to commentate? Perhaps an effort to get into…
High School Mountain Biking: How the bike industry could save itself?
But perhaps there's a possible option that might see bikes put to good use, and actually generate demand in years to come? Take a look at the USA and I think you'll see a potential answer: High School mountain biking.
Orange Bikes Announces ‘A New Dawn’
We’ve just had word from Orange Bikes, they’re set to continue. When the application for administration was made, an application was also placed for P. Bairstow Limited, the metal fabricators who build their frames. It appears a restructure and purchase of the fabricators has been…
Welsh Trail Centre Review: UK MTB’s origin story under threat
Update NRW has just sent us this revised version of their original statement: We know our visitor centres are a much-loved resource among locals and visitors from further afield and the staff who operate them are rightly considered to be the face of NRW. However,…
Fresh Goods Friday 689 – The Very Testing Edition
Testing, testing, one, two, three... is this thing on? Welcome one and all to the latest and some* would say greatest edition of FGF!
UCI Mountain Bike World Series Fort William Tickets: on sale now!
If you’re planning to go and watch the MTB World Series at Fort William, act now! Careful as you choose your tickets – note the different access options with and without the gondola. Or will you be watching on TV? Or not bothering at all?…
Video: Innes Graham In Da Jungle
Wicked, wicked etc. Innes inna Inners. Spot that trail, enjoy some tunes, and know that you could do it like, that, do it like that – maybe*. Here’s what the film’s editors had to say: “COLLABORATE” is now LIVE – Hit the link in bio…
2023 Cross-country Season Recap | UCI Mountain Bike World Series
As we wait for the UCI to reveal the official list of teams and riders for 2024, take a look back at 2023's season. Who will you be watching for this year?
Mintel predicts £1 billion new bike sales this year
According to new research from Mintel, new bicycle sales are forecast to climb by 12% in 2024 with Brits set to buy 2.1 million bikes.
Pearl Izumi Amfib Lobster Gel Glove review
The Pearl Izumi Amfib Lobster Gel Gloves pass the ‘warm’ test; even below 0°c I had toasty fingers. However, they really are only suitable for drop bars. Read on as to why. Pearl Izumi has been making ‘lobster’ gloves for years. They now make the…
Off The Beaten Track
This piece was originally published as the editorial in our Weekly Word newsletter. It’s free and available to anyone who signs up. There’s also the Members’ newsletter – only available to paid up subscribers. Sign up to both or either here. When we put on…
The Bike Brand Old Logo Quiz
Before marketing bods sat around in ball pools having thought bombs, these are some of the logos and head badges that were being used. How many do you remember?
Calibre T3 Hardtails: High stoke, low budget
Calibre’s T3 Hardtail mountain bike lineup continues the brand’s tradition of producing proper, good value mountain bikes, with good quality components where it counts. The T3 lineup consists of the T3 27, which has 27.5 inch wheels and the T3 29, which is a 29er.…
What’s New? Get The February Issue of Singletrack Magazine Here!
Change is afoot! Some new things are happening in the pages of Singletrack World, and you’ll be wanting February’s issue if you want to find out what it is. As ever, it’ll be packed full of adventure, inspiration, information, and a dose of things that…
Fake Bikes? How To Spot A Scam Website
Off the back of a couple of stories we’ve published, and a suggestion from someone in the Forum, we thought we’d give you a bit of a guide to spotting a scam bicycle sales website. Even if they pass all these tests, if something smells…
It’s Pothole Day! Fill That Hole Gets An Update
There’s an obvious soundtrack to this… It’s not just Blackburn that has potholes, and if you spot one Cycling UK’s Fill That Hole reporting tool makes it easy to report them. It’s just had a refresh, so if there’s a hole that you’ve been driving…
Mindset Monday: Videos From XC, DH and Freeride to adjust your outlook
Goodbye weekend, hello Monday. Maybe you’re sitting at your desk happily tired after a weekend of pedalling. Maybe you work weekends and you’re looking forward to poaching the midweek trails while the nine-to-fivers are at work. Or maybe, like me, you’ve spent the weekend in…
Dalbeattie To Be Affected By Felling In February and March
If you’re heading to Dumfries and Galloway this half term, you might like to note that the forest at Dalbeattie is going to be affected by some felling operations. There will still be trails available to ride, but there will be diversions as the operations…
Buyer Beware! Frazzle Cycles Is Not What It Seems
With so many good deals out there from reputable sellers, there’s no need to risk your money on Frazzle Cycles. We received a tip from a reader that Frazzle Cycles is a scam site, possibly created by the same people as the Bicycle Company UK…
Landowners to be paid to improve access
What does a post Brexit agriculture policy have to do with mountain biking? Possibly, good things. Or, possibly not. To use that favourite term of politicians ‘the devil is in the detail’. The Environmental Land Management update sets out how farmers and land managers will…
Singletrack Forum Photography Competition Winners Revealed!
Voting is closed and the results are in! There were some very close votes, but here are your inaugural Singletrack Forum Photography Competition Winners! Just Riding Along The winner was @Superfli with this big mountain view. That looks like a the start of a great…
UPDATED | Orange Bikes Calls In Administrators
Update: statement from Orange 8th January, 1pm: In response to current speculation regarding the position of Orange Bikes and the recently filed Notice of Intention to appoint Administrators: Orange Bikes and its associated companies are currently working with Specialist Business Rescue Advisory firm J9 Advisory, with a view to restructuring…
