Jason Miles is back, and doing bike events again. However, they’ve either got harder, or he’s got softer.
Jason Miles
Jason has been a regular columnist for Singletrack for longer than he was expecting to be. (IN YOUR FACE Mr Haworth, Head of English at Radcliffe High School, Manchester! - Jase).
After wandering into the building trade when he left school, Jason honed his literary skills by reading Viz, Kerrang! and the occasional month-old tabloid that was used to wrap his chips and gravy before miraculously landing in an IT career via an aborted vocational college course, a couple of recessions and a factory job.
Because he learned to drive several years after all of his mates, mountain bikes were just a means of getting around until he discovered that he quite enjoys using mountain biking to really, really hurt himself to the point of exhaustion – which conveniently provides plenty of raw material for the aforementioned column.
As well as writing a column, Jason writes the occasional product review and we’ve sent him to far-away lands a couple of times to see what this easily-bewildered Mancunian thinks of crazy bike races abroad.
Now he lives in Scotland and to prove that he’s all grown up, he’s got a monthly subscription to Viz.
Surly Dunoon Dirt Dash or Bramble Bash?
Photography by Markus Stitz “If you sort of straighten one of your legs, push the bike upwards at the same time and immediately apply both brakes, you might be able to put your foot on that rock next to your left arm, using the bike…
DT Swiss XMC 1501 Spline One wheelset review | “Pretty much perfect”
DT Swiss makes some great wheelsets, but is the DT Swiss XMC 1501 the gold standard of lightweight wheels? Find out in our review. You might be surprised to learn that quite often product reviewers (well, this reviewer anyway) hope that the thing they’re expected…
Rotor Kapic Carbon Chainset | Tune Your Race Set-Up
We put mile-muncher Jason Miles to work on the Rotor Kapic Carbon Chainset. Is he leading the pack with these light weight cranks? Spanish component manufacturer Rotor has been around since the early 1990s and claims, probably quite rightly, that it developed oval chainrings to…
RockShox SID Ultimate Carbon 29er fork | Beautiful And Fast
We let Jason loose on a RockShox SID Ultimate Carbon 29er fork. Will anyone be able to catch up with him to get it back? I wonder how many riders have won races on bikes equipped with SID forks? Must be loads and loads. More…
Singletrack Magazine Issue 128 | Column – Jason Miles
Winter lard is coming! Protect yourself! Jason steps back from moaning about everything for a change to deliver a bit of inspirational fitness speak. It’s the start of winter – a time when most of us probably ride our bikes less and possibly eat just…
Singletrack Issue 127 | The Helmet of Unhappiness
Jason Miles takes a good long look at himself. With his eyes half shut…
Review | Shimano SH-XC901 SPD Carbon Soled MTB Shoes
Jason reviews the latest go-fast SPD MTB shoe from Shimano; the S-Phyre SH-XC901 If you’re serious about riding bikes fast and going faster than other people, you’re probably going to be interested in the S-Phyre SH-XC901 shoes (or the XC901 if you want to keep…
Review | Syncros XR 1.0 SL: A lightweight, carbon railed racing saddle
Looking for a lightweight saddle to give you the edge in a race? Jason tried out this carbon railed offering from Syncros. The Syncros XR 1.0 saddle sits at the top of the Syncros XR range of saddles and sports a carbon base, carbon rails…
Ortlieb’s New Atrack BP – Putting the backpack into bikepacking?
Is Ortlieb’s new Atrack BP bag the answer to bikepacking on a full suspension bike? Not everyone can fit bikepacking bags to their bike. There are some awkward frame designs out there and not everyone has got the room. Some people don’t want to either.…
Review: Jason likes titanium but did this Pilot Duro live up to expectations?
“Many, many years you will be enjoying the magical riding qualities of your handcrafted, high grade titanium frame”, it says on the Pilot website. My own personal experience of titanium frames is that I’m yet to ride one that’s ‘magical’ but I can say with…
Singletrack Magazine Issue 123 : Jason Miles
Jason Miles Just when you think you know it all Jason unwittingly becomes the local expert in a cycling sport he knows nothing about. I may have mentioned that I live in a small town in an almost forgotten, rugged corner of Scotland. It’s quite…
Singletrack Magazine Issue 122: Jason Miles
Jason Miles Mind Your Manners Jason thinks we might be letting ourselves go when we get on a bike. I wrote in my last column that I believe we have too many rules and that cycling should have fewer of them. Or no rules at…
Column: Moving On – mountain bikers don’t need to ride to stay fit
Jason Miles has moved to another country. Well, Scotland. I’ve very recently moved house. It wasn’t a particularly straightforward move – we upped sticks and relocated from Manchester to a fairly remote part of southern Scotland, but it’s quiet, friendly and the cycling here is…
Singletrack Issue 121: Jason Miles
Jason Miles Your big ride. Is it pure? Jason rails against the self-appointed, solo bike ride Council of Elders. I remember a couple of years ago, I threw my hypothetical hat into the imaginary ring and tried to put my name on the start list…
Singletrack Magazine Issue 121: Just When It Was Going So Well
Jason Miles headed to Valencia for a multi-day stage race armed with his race shoes, a positive attitude and, well, that was about it, actually. Words jason miles Photography T Pascual (unless credited)
Review: RDR Ares – 11 Grand For A Race Bike? It Had Better Be Good…
RDR is a relatively small frame builder based in the mountains of Northern Italy. According to the website, RDR consists of the father (Vincenzo), his son (Nicolas) and one employee (Cristina). The entire frame manufacturing process is done in the RDR factory in Italy. Carbon…
Review: Auxtail Cycle Carrier. A bike carrier that’s even better if you have a Nissan.
For those of us that don’t own vans and have families that probably don’t want to share their personal space with a muddy, awkwardly-shaped bike while on a car journey, the only practical option to transport bicycles is one of the many different types of…
Singletrack Magazine Issue 118: A Glamorous Job
Jason Miles tells us a few home truths about the indignities of 24 hour racing. The physical battle doesn’t end at the finish line. On reflection, rounding off a cycling weekend by sitting in a hot bath shivering uncontrollably and shouting for my wife to…
Review: Genesis Longitude – big adventures and a small price tag?
A bike that might just have you heading over the hills and far away
Rise Of The Machines – This £250 Device Automatically Lubricates Your Chain
If you forget to lubricate your chain regularly, the Flaér Revo Terra Chain Performance System could be exactly what you need
Singletrack Magazine Issue 115: Augmentation
The shape of things to come Jason Miles predicts the future of bikes and riders after gorging on too many ginger biscuits and sci-fi films. Can mountain bikes get any better than they are right now? We all know that manufacturers have to keep making…
Racehead: Rumble In The Jungle
Relive four days of racing through the tea plantations of Sri Lanka in this award nominated tale
2 Hours Of Power: Hit The North 5
With blue skies, muddy trails and a spectator-friendly course, the 5th edition of Hit the North was a roaring success over the weekend.
Review: Osprey Radial 26 Pack
Is this pack everything that a commuter needs when tackling the urban jungle? Jason gets down and dirty in the city with the Osprey Radial.
5 Top Hooded Waterproof Jackets!
Jason tests out five waterproof jackets with hoods, ready for the worst of the wet weather
10 Minutes With Phil Evans, Rumble In The Jungle Organiser
What does it take to organise a stage race in a far flung place?
Jason Miles and Guy Martin Complete Fundraising Ride
How many cups of tea does it take to ride across Scotland and Northern Ireland?
