GeoMetron is essentially Chris Porter. If you don’t know who Chris Porter is, do a Google. Just make sure you have a brew ready before you dive in.
Singletrack Magazine
All the features, tests, opinions and more that have been published in each issue of the printed magazine dating back to 2001
Review: Santa Cruz Bronson
Maybe the Santa Cruz Bronson does need an introduction. The latest Bronson is a massively different beast to the Bronson Mk1.
Review: Starling Twist Trail
Starling Cycles is Joe McEwan. Joe used to work as an aerospace engineer and build bike frames in his shed as a sideline.
Issue 143: Shiny Happy People
Alf Alderson was enticed to South Carmarthenshire by a local tourist board promotion – but did the riding live up to the hype? Words Alf Alderson Photography Alf Alderson vs Discover Carmarthenshire Sometimes the best riding is right on your doorstep and while you may…
Mountain Bike Hip Pack Buyers Guide – Kit Essentials
Benji tests out some modern hip packs that can cater for all but the furthest adventuring of riders. Words Benji Photography Amanda The return of the humble water bottle and the widespread ditching of hydration backpacks has been one of the more unexpected developments in…
Review: Bontrager Rapid Pack Hydro Hip Pack
This Bontrager Rapid Pack Hydro hip pack is reviewed as part of our Kit Essentials grouptest from Issue 143 of Singletrack World Price: £94.99 Capacity: 1.64L Bladder: 1.5L Included From: Trek, trekbikes.com Colours: Black The non-hydro version of this bag has been much loved amongst…
Review: Deuter Pulse 3 Hip Pack
The Deuter Pulse 3 hip pack is reviewed as part of our Kit Essentials grouptest from Issue 143 of Singletrack World Price: £50.00 Capacity: 5L Bladder: 1.5L (not included) From: Deuter GB, deutergb.co.uk Colours: Bay (blue), Cranberry, Black The square shape of the Pulse 3…
Review: Patagonia Ultralight Black Hole Mini Hip Pack
The Patagonia Ultralight Black Hole Mini hip pack is reviewed as part of our Kit Essentials grouptest from Issue 143 of Singletrack World Price: £25.00 Capacity: 1L Bladder: No From: Patagonia, eu.patagonia.com Colours: Borealis Green, Black, Coriander Brown, Forge Grey At first glance this dinky…
Review: PNW Rover Hip Pack
The PNW Rover hip pack is reviewed as part of our Kit Essentials grouptest from Issue 143 of Singletrack World The PNW Rover is a tough, sturdy pack that is clearly designed with a hard life in mind, as opposed to being minimalist, delicate, lightweight…
Review: Polaris Aquanought Waterproof Hip Pack
The Polaris Aquanought Waterproof hip pack is reviewed as part of our Kit Essentials grouptest from Issue 143 of Singletrack World Price: £47.99 Capacity: 3L Bladder: No From: Polaris, polaris-bikewear.co.uk Colours: Black & Green If you’re like me, you’re a middle-aged mountain biker living in…
Review: Rapha Trail Hip Pack
The Rapha Trail hip pack is reviewed as part of our Kit Essentials grouptest from Issue 143 of Singletrack World Price: £60.00 Capacity: 3L Bladder: No From: Rapha, rapha.cc Colours: Old Gold, Black, Green, Navy Unlike a lot of mountain bike journos, I really have…
Review: Thule Rail 4 Hip Pack
This product was selected for our Editors’ Choice Awards 2022, as published in Singletrack Magazine Issue 146 Benji: “This Rail 4L from Thule was the first bumbag that I didn’t begrudge wearing. It remains the one and only bumbag that I reach for when I’m…
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: Things that are important on a bike, in order.
Benji is here to persuade you not to spend lots of money, except where you should. Words: Benji This feature is intended to be a helpful guide – or reminder – to invest in some things more than others. This often involves spending money on…
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.…
Issue 143 Last Word: Clothing Optional
Should Hannah be allowed to make equipment choices, or is the outcome inevitable? Words Hannah I have been here before. That time it resulted in a flight through the air long enough to contemplate my poor equipment choices (bikini, sandals and baseball cap) before landing…
Flat Pedal Shoes Buyer’s Guide: MTB Kit Essentials
What makes a great pair of flat pedal shoes? And, more importantly, who is delivering? Here are the best flattie pumps around.
Issue 142 Editorial: Gambling With Choices
Chipps ponders those moments where the path you choose makes all the difference. We all like to think that we’re, to a greater extent, in charge of our own destinies. Those decisions we make every day propel ourselves towards some ultimate goal. Occasionally, though, life…
Issue 142 UK Adventure: The Shugborough Inscription
Pete mixes fact, fantasy and pure speculation on a tour of Cannock Chase. If any legend has allowed humans to waste more of their time in fruitless pursuit of the truth, then surely the legends behind the Holy Grail have to be chief amongst them.…
Issue 142 FNY Hunt: A Seismic Event
Hannah Collingridge looks at the events scene and asks what bike races, bike gatherings and their organisers need to make them fun (again). Words Hannah Collingridge Photography Joolze Dymond Having recently been roped into helping with some bike events, I’ve been musing about what makes…
Issue 142 UK Adventure: The Art of Not Suffering
Sanny sets off to prove that bikepacking need not involve long periods of misery and discomfort. When it comes to tales of adventure and derring-do, there is a strong correlation between achievement and suffering. Whether it is Andy Kirkpatrick and his wife sitting out a…
Issue 142 Column: Mirror Mirror
Anders struggles to match aspiration to reality. Words & Illustrations Anders Engberg This is not fun. The thought has dug in, made itself comfortable and is not going anywhere. My local trail is treating me with a warm, dappled light that finds its way through…
142 Bike Test – The Big Short
Benji ponders the meaning of ‘short’ as he rags these three not-long travel bikes round his local trails. What is short travel? Too short? Short enough? Shorter than what? What is the average travel of A Mountain Bike in 2022 anyway? It’s hard to say.…
Review: Cotic FlareMAX Gen4
The Cotic FlareMAX Gen4 is reviewed in Issue 142 Bike Test – The Big Short. Gen4 means fourth generation. This is the fourth iteration of Cotic’s shorter travel (125mm) full suspension bike. As with most Cotic bikes, although there are preset complete builds available, a…
Review: Giant Trance Advanced Pro 29 1
The Giant Trance Advanced Pro 29 1 is reviewed in Issue 142 Bike Test – The Big Short. The Trance has been in the Giant line-up for a long time now and the Trance Advanced Pro 29er is the most recent incarnation. Designed as a…
Issue 142 Singletrack Kitchen: Chipps’ Stag Breakfast
When Chipps got married last year, inevitably there was a stag gathering in the mountains with bikes. Much to everyone’s relief it was a rather civilised affair with lots of good wine, many cheeses, and acoustic music from Chipps’s personal troubadour ‘Jazzy Brian’. No one got shaved or tied to…
Issue 142 Pete’s Pro’s: Rachel Atherton
Pete takes in laps and baby naps with Rachel Atherton on her home turf. Of all the routes I’ve travelled to go for a ride with those who make their living from riding push irons, few are as familiar to me as the run that…
Classic Ride 142 – The Glorious Peaks
Words & Photography Chipps Chipps takes on a tour around one of Yorkshire’s iconic Three Peaks with a couple of similarly iconic characters. The other Peaks Planning a decent bike ride can be a hard job. You need a great route in mind, obviously, but…
Issue 142 Interview: Going Downhill
Steve Chapman chats to the unassuming Pearces who have shaped UK downhill racing. Words Steve Chapman Photography As Credited If you look at the movers and shakers of UK mountain bike events, it’s a small, close-knit pool of people. If you then dial in the…
Issue 142 International Adventure: Costa Del Climb
Amanda goes on a beach holiday, turns her back to the sea and rides inland to find trails and adventure. Given the opportunity of a cheap flight, a lift from the airport, and free accommodation, there aren’t many destinations I wouldn’t manage to get inspired…
Issue 142 International Adventure: Nice to see you, to see you… NICE!
Sanny loses himself in the sun and dusty trails of Southern France. Words & Photos: Sanny Sometimes you just have to accept that things don’t always go quite how you hoped. Case in point. A recent trip to the South of France to ride bikes…
Issue 142: Last Word | My Ride Pal
Hannah has found a new friend to ride with.I have a new ride buddy. I’ve known him all his life and when he was younger he rode quite a lot, but somehow life got in the way and he’s only quite recently got into mountain…
Meet the Singletrack Big Hitters
This article is from Issue 136 of Singletrack World. Hannah crosses the paper/internet boundary to unearth some of the truth behind a few of the Singletrack Forum personas we know as ‘The Big Hitters’. Words Hannah Photography Various If you’ve hung around our Forum for…
Editorial: The Eternal Suffering Of The Spoke
I was once on a Mavic press launch, somewhere in the French mountains. Our merry band of bike journalists was augmented by some of Mavic’s sponsored riders, including Jérôme Clementz and the flamboyant Frenchman Cédric Gracia. As we stopped for lunch at an outdoor café,…
UK Adventure: Far From The Maddening Crowds
Fed up with the same old, same old of trail centres? Sanny reckons he has found the perfect antidote just a few miles down the valley from Glentress and Innerleithen. Words & Photography Sanny Ask what ‘Tweed Valley’ means to most riders and you are…
International Adventure: Rocks And Hard Places
Tim Wild packs a bike and his sense of adventure and takes part in the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival in Arizona. Words Tim Wild Photography as credited I’ve watched too much YouTube and now I’m going to die. The cliff face – a 400ft plunge…
Pete’s Pros: Hattie Harnden
Pete Scullion talks fun, work and sleep with the multidisciplinary bike racing dynamo. Words & Photography Pete Scullion Despite being a classic mountain biking destination, I’d never once stopped in Great Malvern. I’d certainly seen the signs from the A50 on numerous outings to South Wales over…
Singletrack Kitchen: Charlie’s Cheesy Chilli Cakes & Roasted Red Soup
This is a nice winter recipe that will warm you through on one of those ‘can’t feel my toes, but can see my breath’ days. Really, it’s just cheese scones turned up to 11, with cayenne pepper adding a constant warmth throughout, and the red…
Singletrack Issue 141 kit essentials: Insulated jackets
Chipps and the team venture out into the chill winds to bring word of the best insulated jackets out there.
Singletrack Issue 141 UK Adventure: Pilgrim’s Regress
Adam Boggon returns to his childhood haunts in this reflective ride through Fife. Words Adam Boggon Photography Peter Munnoch The King sits in Dunfermline toun, Drinking the blude-red wine, ‘O whare will I get a skeelyskipper, to sail this ship of mine.’ It’s carved into…
Behind The Scenes: The Art of the Photograph
Why are Pete Scullion’s photographs so great compared to your own trail shot efforts? Is it the subject, the method, or a big pile of kit? Words & Photography Pete Scullion Social media has made even good photos quickly forgotten. Only the ones that are…
Singletrack Issue 141 – The Joy of Flex
Welcome to Benji, our new Technical Content Manager. He has opinions and he’s not afraid to share them. As the person who’s just been hired to be In Charge Of All Things Tech at Singletrackworld I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but… I don’t know…
Chris Hinds – Unexpected Hero
How much physical and mental strength does it take to finish, let alone win, the 1,800km Great British Divide? More than we could ever imagine. Words & Photography Chipps & Chris Hinds How does that kitsch saying go? To truly appreciate the heights, one must…
Singletrack Magazine Issue 141 Bonus Content: Great British Divide – Chris Hinds’ Day By Day Diary
Bonus content! This is Chris Hinds’ full diary from his Great British Divide 2021. We’ve used a lot of images to try and illustrate the enormity and repetition of the ride, so you’ll likely find this article is best viewed on a desktop or laptop,…
Classic Ride 141 – Wye Valley Wanderings
Jon Woodhouse takes us on a tour of this gem on the Welsh-English border. Words & Photography JON WOODHOUSE Sitting at the easternmost edge of the Forest of Dean, it’s easy for mountain bikers to overlook the Wye Valley – after all, it’s not as…
Singletrack Issue 141 bike test: Going to unextremes
The Singletrack team tests out three hardtails that sit somewhere in the midst of the ride style continuum.
Pipedream Sirius S5 review
The Pipedream Sirius is no match for carbon in terms of power transfer or weight, but the angles on it make it a pleasure to pedal.
Sonder Dial GX Eagle review
The Sonder Dial is marketed at riders wanting more confidence than a gravel bike and a more direct feel than a trail bike.
Trek Roscoe 9 review
As a gnarly trail shredding bike, it won’t surprise anyone that the Trek Roscoe is biased in favour of the rowdier type of riding.
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…
Last Word: Information Threshold
Rhys blinds Amanda with science, but she’s busy looking at the sun. I’m sitting in the passenger seat of the van, watching the rolling hills wake up to the morning sun. The frosty cover from the night before is melting before my eyes, revealing golden…