Slow reply, I don’t get in here much these days… Thanks for all the kind words though guys – it makes it all worthwhile. Things have been quiet the past few years after my business ‘partner’ screwed me over and I had to go back to a regular job. I’ve been keeping my hand in with some custom Ti frames which are lovely, and as John said I have a new batch of Peregrines on the way (there should be a review in ST/Grit coming soon). Also just wrapping up an order for new Gryphons which ought to arrive in spring 22 – then some new Swifts next summer, production lead times are crazy at the moment.

inflation is picking on cyclists

In a sense, yes. Most bikes sourced in the far east are paid for in USD. When I started Singular GBP/USD was in a very different place from where it is now. Plus, you are not comparing like for like – a new Swift will be cheaper.

Sam – a new Puffin that could take 5″ tyres would be nice

Working on something like that in Ti at the moment for someone of this parish. TBH I don’t see enough demand for production full fat bikes at the moment – but never say never. If I could find a steel builder to do what the guys I’m working with on Ti do, but at a more affordable price I would be all over it.

Ftfy

Thanks, northern softies welcome as well :-) Nearly every steel hardtail I see these days seems designed for riding down very steep rocky stuff. I don’t do that, and IMO the design attributes which make them do that well make them feel horrible on relatively level (and -god forbid- uphill!) flowing trails, which is what I love to ride.

Not been in these parts for a while so it’s nice to see people have not forgotten about Singular :-)

It’s true, we went through some tough times and I haven’t had any new production frames since 2016. A year or so ago I started making the custom Ti stuff to order (which is not expensive really if you compare to similar) – firstly because I’ve always loved Ti, secondly to try to get the brand rolling again with a view to re-launching some production steel frames. The new Peregrine is the first of those. Other models are in the works (Swift and Gryphon most likely) but let’s see how this goes first.

^ Are those new models/prototypes or a pic-bomb of old ones ?

Yes, these are both new ones, as mentioned – flat mount, thru axles, different cable routing, more tyre clearance and some geo tweaks.

’tis looking a bit front-mechy.

Yes, it can take a front mech, you don’t have to use one if you don’t want to!

various: it’s expensive

Peregrines were always far too cheap – due to the lugs, paint and EBB they are expensive to produce. Again, compare it to similar things (Crust Romanceur, All-City Spacehorse) and I think it stacks up well. If you can find a custom builder to make you a lugged, disc braked, thru axled frame and fork from quality tubing for under a grand please let me know who as I’d like to work with them.

I’d like to see a new Swift. Perhaps Singular could buck the trend and not do a slack and stiff as a plank lump of lead…just a thought.

That’s the plan – just like the old Swift – a southern softies’ singletrack slayer with some flex and zing. Maybe Brexit will do one good thing and let us have frames which don’t need to be built like a girder to pass CEN tests!

The colour code is RAL 5014 – you should find some online auto touch up paint suppliers which will be able to make up a pot for you.

Not really a new shop, it’s the webshop of the company with which I had a partnership for a time. That has now been discontinued and they are selling off all old stock – yes, some deals to be had! I hope to have some new versions of old favourites available via a different distribution model in spring 2019.

Big fan of Salsa Cowbells in the widest version for moderate off-road stuff.

As per the current info on the website I entered in to partnership with the shop in Germany which sadly hasn’t worked out as either of us had hoped. I am presently working towards a solution which will keep the brand alive and allow models such as the Peregrine to be available once again. It’s still somewhat early days but I intend there to be some concrete news in the coming months. If anyone would like more info you can reach me on my email as in profile.

After doing a grand total of 0 cx races last season I’m intending on hitting a few central league races this winter. Will be riding V40 with the sole aim of not being lapped….

Stunning spectacle in the TTT but I bet the riders hated it…

It’s much more likely to be something positional/muscular than a matter of how your foot is attached to the pedal.

Running the excellent 42mm Cazaderos in my Kite disc and loving it.

I have been a few times for the 24h rave and done some extra riding in the area. Amazing trails and highly recommended in general. Haven’t used the uplift/guiding services per se but iirc Riviera Bike are involved with the organisation and always seem sound guys who come recommended by others.

Standard Thule here and it’s fine with 3″ tyres.

Jelle, my man in the Netherlands, seems to have some in stock, that’s where I got mine. http://www.justpedal.nl/en/tiretires/1219-soma-cazadero-700x42b-skinwall.html

Nice one, thanks guys, some planning to do!

Is that you Jane (Tillydog?) Aren’t you at Crufts?! :-)

You need to be registered and to do that you need an account with Madison I beleive.

I’ve been using some of the Cazaderos on my Kite for a while now and they are excellent. Really amazingly good tyre off-road for the level of knobliness. Remind me a lot of a great mixed terrain tyre I liked years ago – the WTB Allterrainasaurus.

I’ve been using 3M 77 adhesive spray for numbers on skinsuits (track) and it works really well. You just need to work on the technique a little to get the right amount of glue and tack time. They stick well enough not to come off over the course of a night’s racing but come off when you need them to without leaving any residue on the suit.

On a green frame you will get a 2.4 Ardent on a 45mm rim in the back and a 3.0 in the front.

I have seen even wide based cogs chew through alloy freehub bodies.

Continuing with the ‘post pics of your own bike’ theme…

I didn’t realise Polar wasn’t ANT+. So if he was buying all new bits (HRM, speed sensor and dongle) why would you go for BT rather than ANT?

Trainerroad is what you want. In addition to your HRM you will need an ANT+ dongle like this so your laptop can read the signal from the HR strap, and a wheel/cadence sensor which is ANT+ compatible so the computer knows how fast you are going. You will also need a compatible trainer – which is pretty much all of them these days. I also recommend a female/male USB extension cable for the ANT+ dongle, the closer it is to the speed sensor the better it seems to work.

Diesel is the best all-round degreaser going. If you then need to remove the oily residue it leaves behing IPA is your friend.

Halo Vapour 50 rim on Shimano hub. Happy to build you one.

Oh you are kidding me! Nooooo!!!! Gutted for Nick, will post on the Singular FB.

+ bikes burst the fat bubble. And as others have noted, Surly was an early adopter (in fact inventor) so are now feeling the heat from the mainstream producers – I expect it’s more the Treks and Specialized which are hurting their sales more than the el cheapos.

They’ll work with the mech, but he’ll need a 9 speed chain and cassette.

Sorry for previous glib answer but IMO the main concern should be a set up that is comfortable to ride in the drops, hoods comfort is secondary. On my flared drop bar bikes I almost never ride the hoods – it’s either drops or tops. I can appreciate that for touring though you want as many positions as possible. I agree with what others have said – experiment. A bit of tape between the plastic lever body and the hood grip could work well.

Yes, the Rooster has better standover (20mm shorter seat tube) than an equivalent size Swift.

Oh, and as MrB said – Turbos are supposed to be excellent but I can’t get them at trade so haven’t tried them :-)

Good shout on Veloflex at that price. I was on Vittoria Open Corsa SC until recently and they were lovely but a little fragile for these parts – great fine weather and race tyres though. Now on some Rubino Pro G+ and they are definitely a little more agricultural but seem quite bombproof so far.

Another vote for noce tyres – but also nice tubes! Latex tubes are a revelation. Combine with some nice ‘open tubular’ tyres like Vittoria Corsa or Challenge Strada and they will make a big difference.

Set them up to be comfy in the drops, hoods position be damned.

The seat tube angle is nowhere near as slack as the number on the drawing makes it sound. The head angle is super slack and way beyond anything I’ve ever used, not that there’s anything wrong with that…. it looks interesting, the tyres are definitely narrower than I’d choose for that style of bike, but it seemingly has clearance for 27+ so I’d think can also fit wider than 2.1″ 29er rubber.

We can do complete builds Nipper, in fact I’m just in the process of putting together some ‘stock’ complete builds.

Had a look at a Singular Kite?

Looks fantastic! Must get up to he highlands again….