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I've been around these parts since Issue 1 of the magazine and a lot of what it means to me has already been covered.
The early Friday EDL (Eating, Drinking, Listening) threads were epic and went on till the early hours - I can still here my wife yelling from upstairs - "are you still on that ****ing computer!?"*.
STW is always the first browser tab I open when I arrive in work, even though I've not ridden in anger in over 5 years.
...still think MTB Pro was the best ever UK mountain bike mag though! 😜
(*when computers had their own special desk downstairs!).
STW biking - it's about proper biking! It's not about racing, though an STW rider might go to an event for the craic. It's not about hucking, though an STW rider might dick about in the woods. It's about the journey, the ups and the downs. The cake stops and the post ride beers. And the views - definitely the views. An STW rider considers a bike as a tool. It might be a coveted and mollycoddled tool; but it's there to make the ride day a good day.
I have been on STW for many years but mainly here to point out other's "errors", yes you. 🤣
No, that's not true.
Initially, I started as trying to cycle and to buy cycling parts for cheap, but after many years of stressful career/work and lifestyle, I just reduce myself to a forum user.
As far as I know, it's the male version of Mumsnet with the main sticky being cycle related.
In no particular order ......
- Luv the magazine, great articles, like reading something I can touch and feel. Books and magazines over Kindle/laptop/PC/phone anytime.
- My wife hates it, but I luv the smell of the magazine straight out of the packet 🙂
- The forum, occasionally snarky, but 99% of the time very helpful
- The occasionally e-mail exchanges STW staffers, especially those with Hannah
- Hannah's weekly word, going to miss that 🙁
- Covers all aspects of MTB'ing
- Focussed on the customer/reader
- Lastly I guess that, given the number of times I agree with views on the website, we are like minded people
I think I first came across singletrack as a magazine in North West Mountain Bikes.
unsure if I was first on the forum before or after that. Irrespective, the lure of the topics and the replies keeps me coming back to STW more than any other site. Mostly it’s the eclecticism of the topics and the expert, and not so expert, information and opinions shared. Plus the wit.
The magazine first filled a big gap that I had for wanting to see what was going on in mountain biking but without the super-gnar BMX-like shredding on MBUK or the dullness of mbr. Since then it’s provided a range of aspirational adventure stuff, some great pro/expert interviews, and lots of informative and useful articles. Plus some surprisingly honest reviews.
I like that ST/STW gives me the illusion of being in touch with mountain biking when I’m not riding and offers some vicarious experiences.
Came here when I got back into mountain biking, when I found some shades at Cannock and wanted to see if anyone had lost them. This forum has been my browser home page since I found it - it can in turn be incredibly funny, incredibly informative, incredibly sad, incredibly argumentative and, above all, an absolutely fantastic place to come for advice - the more obscure the question, the better the likelihood of an in-depth answer. 🙂
Been on here for decades. I'm often fascinated by obscure technical discussions (and political ones) and often a laugh a day, at the very least, thankyou Kayak. Advice here has helped me buy lots of bike related stuff, household kit and even a house. In the past I went on rides with some outrageously funny and technically able mtbers, plus rides with a few towering figures who are sadly no longer with us. It inspires me to get out and ride.
back in the day it was great place to chat and take the abuse from other singlespeeders and nichewhores and talk about making our frakenforks with random offsets, tests with plus size wheels, how to ghetto tubeless old surly endomorph tyres onto fatsheeba rims and so on.
The classifieds was an ace place for picking up weird bikes, my first jones and my first Maverick ML were from here, many many moons ago.
To be honest most of the chat and banter about odd bikes is on various social media platforms these days and a lot of the folks that were on here are friends or on facebook and we go out on rides/see each other at races/events etc, so I pop on here now and then to see if there's anything interesting going on and then bugger off again.
This place is astonishing. The knowledge, the camaraderie, the advice, the humour, the photos, the worldly wiseness, the friendships all make this place special imo.
As a lurker back in the early days it was leap as a woman to join this mostly male forum, however I've been made very welcome and now have some good, close friends from here and been riding with so many forum members (I've lost count).
Another example of superb insider info, was when the two cargo ships collided not long ago. Lots of speculation and one or two conspiracy theories, when up pops an ex pilot and another chap who still sails these things, wonderful.
It's been very educational.
As far as I know, it's the male version of Mumsnet with the main sticky being cycle related
Just me wondering what Mumsnet's main sticky is?
I believe it’s Centre Parcs
I thought he was referring to Mumsnet?
"What does Singletrack mean to you?"
It means a magazine with mountain biking content (or MTB adjacent content) which is the 'Singletrack' element, and a forum for biking and everything else in life which is the Singletrackworld element.
Both parts form the whole for me.
It's better than a drop in center for the mentally disturbed.
I rode a lot around the dales when I was younger, stopped for many years, then started again in my 40s. Came for the mag (which I still read), stayed for the daily fill of stuff I didn’t know (and probably don’t need to anyway, but is nevertheless interesting). Whenever you have a problem it’s also helpful to know you’re not the not the only one, and to hear the experiences of others.