Kicking off this season of Reader's Rides, here's the mysteriously named Top 5's non-noisy Hope HB.916.
Online Feature
Online features written by the Singletrack Editorial team and contributors. Accessible by Full Members. Unlock all this content and more from less than 6p/day* and help ensure we can create more.
*£20 Billed annually
Outta the Archive: Cycling is a selfish and narcissistic pastime
Benji muses on his last two weeks of independent, dependent living.
Staff Bike Check: Mark’s 2020 Norco Sight
Ye olde 2020 Norco Sight A2. If it ain't broke. Run what you brung. Etc.
Staff Bike Check: James’ Deviate Highlander II
Check out Mr Vincent's more-playing less-monstertrucking Deviate Highlander II.
Staff Bike Check: Chipps’ Genesis Croix de Fer 931
A look at the gravel bike Chipps uses for his, er, style of gravel riding when he's not mountain biking.
Meet The Maker: Paul ‘Burf’ Burford of BTR Bikes
Paul ‘Burf’ Burford is a maker through and through. As you’ll see if you follow his Instagram feed, if something breaks, his response is rarely ‘Where do I buy a new one?’, but instead ‘How can I fix this?’. You’ll also clock him on Dad…
Meet the Maker: Jack Kingston – tea, and tartan paint
You know the joke about tartan paint? Jack Kingston is a sought-after bike finisher and painter from Yorkshire who can make your tartan paint dreams come true.
Bike Check: Ted James’ Adjustable Moto Proto
On the Ted James stand at Bespoked Manchester, this bike was practically just cooling down, having still been being built the night before. Ted talked us through the build of this Moto Proto.
Alfano Froad: when Fat Bikers hit the drops
'Watching it go from a pile of loose tubes to a bike frame never ceases to be magic.' Meet the maker of the Alfano Froad bike
Bike Check: Harry’s HP Bike Project ‘My Downhill Bike’
Check out this impressive first effort at bike building!
Sideways – a journey from motorsports, fishing and sailing to custom carbon fibre bikes
Vee from Sideways makes custom carbon fibre bicycle frames. Mainly road and gravel and ‘single speed fun bikes’, but she also says there’s a ‘hardtail pending’. I spent a few minutes with her at Bespoked Manchester in order to find out a bit more about…
Bike Check: Creature Cycles Galago – with bushings, not bearings
James from Creature Cycles had one of the more eye catching bikes on display at Bespoked Manchester. The pearlescent turquoise paint, the low offset stem, and the organic form of the bike were all likely to grab your attention, but there was plenty more going…
Tomo Bikes: Tall Bikes and more, for more fun
Jonathan Thompson from Tomo bikes was at Bespoked Manchester with three very different creations. His Apocalypse build entry was pretty epic, while his mid-tall bike with giant hooter looked as refined as a Victorian penny farthing. And then, as if to prove he can be…
Meet The Maker: Rasch Bikes – second ever frame!
Kata Rasch was at Bespoked Manchester with her steel brazed hardtail. As a new builder landing in a foreign land and having a whole bunch of people ask you about your frame in a second language, it must have been quite an intimidating experience. I…
Meet The Maker: RTiiiKA’s bike art with attitude
Rosa Ter Kuile, who works under the name RTiiiKA, was at Bespoked Manchester with her range of bike inspired art, and drawing bike portraits. I’m in awe of anyone who can draw, and I liked the punk attitude in her creations, so I took a…
Burf’s Rat Bike Project: affordable UK made frames for making chores fun
Paul ‘Burf’ Burford is best known for his BTR range of mountain bikes and trail tools, as well as his Gasser downhill bike. On his stand at Bespoked Manchester, he had all those things on display (including the Forum’s own Tom ‘How Much!’ Howard’s new…
Craig’s StAyTB – old school bike with all mod cons
Craig, more commonly known as 2nd Life Bikes, brought this Stayer ATB to the Bespoked Manchester bike show. While this bike was built for him by Stayer, you can also go on one of their Frame Building 101 courses and build one yourself. Or, build…
Best MTB at Bespoked: Ballern Pressing Iron
Bennet Janz is the man behind Ballern Cycleworks, and the winner of the Best Mountain Bike Award at Bespoked Manchester 2025, for his ‘Pressing Iron’ full suspension bike. Bennet is described in Petor Georgallou’s article in Singletrack Issue 160 as ‘built like a horse conditioned…
Sneak Peek: 20 Years of MTB Photography With Ale Di Lullo
If you’re a Singletrack Subscriber, you can go and read our full interview with Ale di Lullo, one of the most prolific photographers in the mountain bike world. Here’s a teaser. Subscribe today and get instant digital access to all our content, including the full…
Interview: Ale di Lullo – 20 Years of MTB Photography
Ale di Lullo is one of the most prolific photographers in the mountain bike world. You’ve definitely seen his work – he’s photographed 19 years of Mountain Bike World Cup races, as well as countless product launches and sponsored athletes. It’s his shot of Brage…
Bike Check: Petor G’s Star Wars Sturdy Cilla
I took a custom-made Sturdy Cilla, with a deep design connection to the X-Wing from Star Wars, which was appropriate in the landscape.
Readers’ Rides: Aaron B’s Bird Aether 7
For this edition of Readers’ Rides, Aaron B shares his Bird Aether 7 which we just found down the back of our cyber sofa.
Catching A Break: From Baseball Pro to MTB YouTuber
Matty Johnson is a pro baseball player turned MTB YouTuber. He’s on a mission to make people see mountain biking differently and get everyone out on the trails. Matty Johnson is a professional baseball player turned mountain bike YouTuber. His videos caught my eye because…
What should you upgrade on your mountain bike?
Some things are worth the money. Some things very much are not. Here’s where you should splash your cash for maximum reward. Every bike is different and so not every one of our suggested upgrades will be applicable to you bike. But there are still…
Good Vibes Only: Drafting A Squirrel
Today I drafted a squirrel. Pedalling along, the canal beside me steaming tendrils into the frozen air, my lead out squirrel sat on the frosted fence ahead. Spotting me, it turned tail and ran along the wooden rail, fluffy tail extended in a squirrely version…
Bike Check: Andi’s Production Privée Shan G.T.
Andi is a self-confessed Production Privée fanboy, so when he dropped by the office with this latest bike we asked him to explain the attraction. I used to read Dirt Magazine… and I remember reading a review of the Production Privée, the original one, and…
Readers’ Rides: Will’s Fat Chance Yo Eddy
For this edition of Readers’ Rides, Will shares his 2020 Fat Chance Yo Eddy complete with “Custom painted Thompson Elite stem”, obvs. Bike brand and model Fat Chance Yo Eddy Why this bike? Having started biking as a teen in the early 90’s, I blame…
Red Bull Rampage: What’s The Motivation?
“Seriously, people do that for fun? They’re not being punished for some heinous crime?”This was my Aunt’s incredulous response to seeing footage from Red Bull Rampage, and while those of us who ride bikes might be slightly less surprised by what we see, many are…
Georgia Astle: Finding Fun In The Process At Red Bull Rampage
Born and raised in Whistler, Georgia Astle didn’t actually like mountain biking as a kid, preferring instead to run alongside her mum, who’d ride regularly with group of friends. Always active, from a family of surfers and kite surfers, Georgia only signed up for mountain…
A Spectator’s Guide To Red Bull Rampage
Maybe you’re interested in heading out to watch Red Bull Rampage first hand. After my experience last week, I figured a few hints and tips on what to take with you might be useful. First up, if you think there’s a lot of hanging around…
Cool Head And A Spicy Line: Tom Isted’s Red Bull Rampage Debut
Tom Isted has me nervous. Despite his reassurance that he’s going to keep things chilled and just try and get down in one piece, his YouTube videos speak to a ‘wreckers or chequers’ approach to riding. That might not be too consequential at his local…
Rampage Diary 4: Location Location Location
Red Bull Rampage owes everything to its location. If it were anywhere else in the world it would a different event. The Rampage sites, just outside Virgin, Utah, are a couple of hours’ drive from Las Vegas, and about half an hour from St George,…
First Ever Women’s Red Bull Rampage: The Results
Shovels down. It’s competition day. The dig teams are heading towards holiday mode, all the heavy work done. The riders, too, are horsing around in the car park. Maybe they’re distracting themselves from what’s ahead? The lines were set, coming together in a series of…
Red Bull Rampage Diary 3: Go Big, But Come Home
Today was the last day of practice for the women, tomorrow is showtime. But when you watch Red Bull Rampage on the TV, with all the Loud Hype Stoke production values, you’re seeing a teeny tiny tip of the iceberg. You’ve missed the days of…
Red Bull Rampage Diary 2: A Changing Soundtrack
Yesterday’s percussive accompaniment of the slapping of shovels picked up a different rhythm today at Red Bull Rampage, for the second day of practice. As I walked up the lower section of the women’s hill, dig teams were still accompanied by their bluetooth tunes of…
Rampage Diary Day 1: First Hits, And A Sense of Scale
Our Rampage coverage is supported by.. Win an ABUS full face helmet. Details below Today was a day of firsts at Red Bull Rampage 2024. After five dig days for the women, and four for the men, today was the first day bikes were allowed…
Readers’ Rides: Brian E’s Kona Process 153 DL
For this edition of Readers’ Rides, we dug one out from behind the sofa. Here’s Brian Evans’ “glorious purple” Kona Process 153 DL. Your Name Brian Evans Bike brand and model Kona Process 153 DL Fork Dt Swiss 535One Shock Fox DHX2 Suspension Set Up…
Readers’ Rides: Roland L’s Curtis AM9
For this edition of Readers’ Rides, Roland Lovell shares his Curtis AM: “it was bound to happen eventually”. There’s not a whole lot of deep detail in this submission but we’re overlooking that this time because… well, look at it. It is Peak Hardtail Perfection.…
Forestry England’s Cycling Strategy: A sign of things (not) to come?
Forestry England published its first Cycling Strategy a few weeks ago. Big organisations need this sort of thing so that everyone knows what they should – or shouldn’t – be spending their money on, and what their goals are. On first reading, I got pretty…
Interview: Joe Breedon – chasing the fractions of seconds
While at the Saddleback House Show, I had a chat with Joe Breedon, who was there with his bike and team mate Lou Ferguson. I stopped him for a chat about some of the more eye catching additions to his race bike. Your bike has…
Readers’ Rides: Luke B’s Scott Spark
For this edition, Luke Bradley shares his Scott Spark: “they’re very popular and with good reason – it’s lightning fast.” Bike brand and model Scott Spark Why this bike? While some Singletrack Forum members will know me for riding up big Scottish mountains, I race…
Route Assembly – making UK manufacturing more than a Pipedream?
A few weeks ago there was the announcement that Pipedream Cycles had been bought by Route Assembly. Who or what is Route Assembly and what do they plan to do with Pipedream Cycles? I caught up with new owner Ian Byrne for some more information…
Interview: Kade Edwards in Anytime BTS – ‘I’m not going to get any better in the next 10 minutes’
I went down to Dyfi Bike Park for a day of riding followed by a UK Premiere of ‘Anytime’, the latest film from Anthill and Red Bull, that celebrates freeride. As you’d expect, it’s a feast for the eyes, with stunning scenery and a load…
Bike Check: James Love’s Cotic Cascade
Mr Love, formerly of this parish, dropped by via the back roads of Calderdale. ‘You look like Jeremy Corbyn with that stem!’ cried our Benji. Cue much excited jabber about geometry, back road meandering, and the merits of planning your bike rides around top notch…
Interview: Lou Ferguson on ‘being alive and being happy’
Lou Ferguson was at the Saddleback House Show with her bike, freshly cleaned from Loudenville. We had a good long chat about her season so far, what next year might look like, plus some of the details on her bike. She’s very bright and chatty…
Retrobike Check: Isla Rowntree’s 1993 Race Bike
At the Retrobike Show and Shine at the Malverns Classic, this yellow and red bespoke racing machine was on display. It’s one of Isla Rowntree’s own personal bikes, built to meet her precise ideas about what makes a good race bike, and a bike that…
Interview: The Word According To Landosteezy
If you’re on any kind of social media, you’ve probably seen Leo ‘Landosteezy’ Smith bringing his BMX style to the world of MTB. Now riding for Calibre, you might also have clocked him exploring the north of England by gravel bike. It’s all bikes, and…
Spotted: Wonder Woman and the KeeWee Cromozone
I’d barely arrived at the Malverns Classic when we were rolling through the camping field and spotted the kind of freak bike collection that no self-respecting bike nerd can walk past. Plus a 100% rusted car. It was too much to resist after the drive…
Retrobike Barn Find Bonanza!
It’s the collector’s dream: you enquire about a single bike, end up discovering a whole collection of bikes – and the person that owns them wants rid. That’s what happened to Oliver when he got talking to a seller on eBay. I took a moment…
Rachel Atherton: From World Champ to Family Cycling Champion
It was Rachel Atherton’s first year at the Malverns Classic, and like many festival-goers she was there with her family. While she wasn’t juggling child demands with racing, she was working on the Atherton Bikes stand, posing for selfies, signing helmets, and offering up advice…
