Chipps lifts the lid on the obsessive world of 26in tyre reproduction fanatics.
MTB Culture
Issue 165: Only 400 Miles Until We Can Ride Bikes
Chipps and friends talk about an essential rite of passage for any mountain biker: the road trip.
Issue 165: Our Public Image is Limited
Does mountain biking have an image problem? Is the barrage of shred-gnar imagery putting off newcomers and infuriating land managers?
Issue 164: Guiding Lights
In a world with few remaining secrets, why are mountain bike guides still in demand?
Issue 163: Trials – it’s not just hopping about
We look into the tightly-knit British bicycle trials scene and asks if Danny MacAskill helped nearly kill it off.
Issue 162: Whip it up and start again
Back in Issue 158, Steve was flying high having taken to big jumps ‘later in life’. Will a crash landing clip his wings?
Issue 162: The Joy of Tall Bike Absurdity
Built from scrap or converted from (two or three) cherished bikes, Tall Bikes are built for style over speed and fun over performance.
Issue 161: What Happens After Bikes… Is More Bike
When a downward spiral found him jobless, homeless, but still riding a bike, David decided to ride himself back into his life.
Issue 160: Dual Rules
For one group of mountain bikers, the winter months bring an extra dose of camaraderie, friendship and stiff competition.
Issue 160: What The Hike?
Is hikeabike just for masochists with no friends to go and ride with? Or is there real pleasure to be found in carrying your bike?
Issue 157: MTB Culture – Rain Stops Play
Chipps looks at the increasing influence the changing climate and other pressures are having on off-road events. As the climate changes, it is bringing more unpredictable weather with it. We’re seeing everything from unusually dry Februarys to snow in May and floods in August, which…
Issue 156 – Earning your descents
In our next head to head debate, Chipps is a big fan of earning your descents – he thinks they’re all the better for having put in the effort to get there. Hannah is just in it for the kicks and thinks that ‘earning’ it…
Issue 154 MTB Culture: Having The Wrong Thing
Necessity is the mother of invention, and stupidity its cousin. We bring you a selection of instances where ‘Having the wrong thing’ (or forgetting the right thing) brought the family together. Don’t chuckle too hard – next time, it might be you. Thanks to our…
Issue 154 Away Day: Farmer Johns MTB Park
Amanda, Benji and Mark go for a trip out to Farmer Johns bike park to see what’s there, what to wear, and which bike to take. Farmer Johns (yes, without the apostrophe) is a downhill-oriented mountain bike park with ever-growing dirt jumps and downhill trails.…
Issue 153 MTB Culture: Minority Rapport
What is it about women’s rides that is proving so attractive? Fi Spotswood has been trying to find out. Words Fi Spotswood Photography Credited I’m ashamed to admit that when I was younger I rarely questioned where all the women were. The races I did,…
Singletrack Issue 151: A Clarion Call
Hannah examines the rise of a new type of cycling club: the collective. Words Hannah photography as credited Some of the earliest cycling clubs were formed by people with a shared philosophy who wanted to cycle together. Way back in 1894, the first Clarion club…
Singletrack Issue 151: Finding The Flow
The full member paywall on this article has been removed in association with Endura Skipping school and heading to the woods might get some kids a telling-off. Ina de Smet discovered it was exactly what her sons needed. Words Ina de Smet Photography Nils Bussink We’ve all had…
The Aberdeen Scene
What’s the recipe for building a thriving mountain bike destination? Antony heads north to find out. Words Antony de Heveningham Photos Pete Scullion Scotland is a good place for mountain biking. That’s an accepted fact, on a par with the earth being round. In the…
Issue 144: Singletrack Kitchen Taking The Rough With The Smoothie
I love smoothies. They tick the ‘healthy’ box with minimal effort, skills or fuss. Just lob it all in and whiz it up, and you can say you’ve had your five a day. Literally smoothing over the cracks in my diet.
Issue 144 Building for the Builders
Who makes all of those pieces that make a bike more than a pile of tubes? We meet the people who make the bits for the people who make the bikes. Words by Hannah and Fahzure Freeride, Pictures by Hannah Many of us never give…
Issue 143 Hans Rey: Lasting Legacies
Hans Rey learns from new hotshots and old legends to work out his place in mountain biking’s legacy. Words & Photography Carmen Freeman-Rey Looking back on life can be a funny thing, thankfully we have a knack for forgetting the bad and our recollections are…
Issue 143: Lost In Time
A few rolls of lost camera film bring back memories of older times. Words & Photography Chipps The fading art of the analogue photograph was always a wonder to me. I can remember watching, amazed, as my first black and white print appeared before my eyes in the college darkroom.…
MTB Culture: Meet The Minehead Mentors
Chipps takes a ride with the Minehead mountain bike club that’s just for youngsters. Words & Photography Chipps Saturday mornings are busy for parents, with many different demands on both their time and their mum/dad taxis with myriad choices for youngsters to spend the hours…
Singletrack Issue 126 | The Quiet Revolution
A safety and navigation essential for long-distance riding? Or another bleeping digital crutch for those who shouldn’t be in the wilderness in the first place? Rich Rothwell looks at the dramatic influence that GPS units have had on our sport. Words Rich Rothwell Photography Singletrack…
Singletrack Issue 1 – Shoes
The subject of shoes seems to stir up some very passionate feelings in people. While you may have many sets of riding clothes, it’s unlikely that you have more than one, or two, pairs of shoes. And as you ride them, you inevitably wear some…