The new issue of Singletrack features an interview that Chipps did with world adventurer, Cass Gilbert when the two met up at the southern tip of Baja California Sur a week or two before the world shut down. You can read the interview in the print or digital version of the magazine, which covers a lot of Cass’s thoughts on travel and the bikepacking life that he’s adopted. However, there wasn’t enough room to cover the bike(s) that Cass rides on these trips and we thought that you might enjoy this little excerpt here instead:

Imagine… the Mexican cicadas are chirping in the warm night air, with the moon glinting off Sea of Cortez just down the hill. Chipps and Cass are sat around an old table with a chilled bottle of Modelo Especial, chatting about bikes…

The response to our ‘Ten things the bike industry needs to stop doing’ feature a couple of years ago has been very good, with readers outraged and in agreement in equal measures. So, just because we like giving the hornets’ nest a prod every now and again, we thought we’d…

We took a road trip down to the Forest of Dean to meet up with Allen Millyard and his sons Stephen and Sam and check out their latest creation, the Hyper Ride Suspension system.

It was a baking hot day in the midst of a heatwave when we rolled up to Pedalabikeaway in the Forest of Dean to meet up with the Millyards. Hot as hell, humid like a jungle, but dusty dry on the trails, it hardly seemed the ideal conditions for riding mountain bikes or motor bikes. A float down the river Wye seemed much more inviting. But since they’d made the hour and a half trip – Allen on a motorbike, his sons in their pickup truck – we were committed. Some obligatory mechanical faffing later, and we sweated our way up the fire road in the Forest of Dean for a quick descent down before catching up with Allen for a chat.

It was a hairy ride down for our US rider Fahzure as he borrowed Stephen’s bike – brakes still in UK orientation – and followed Sam blind down trails that might have been called Sheepskull and Ski Run, but on the tail of Sam went by in such a blur that it’s hard to be sure. Drops, ruts, turns and enough roots to make us glad of the dry conditions, we emerged at the bottom to find Allen and sit down for a chat in the shade before he headed home to cool off. As well as making things in his shed (oh how we wish we had arranged to see in there) he’s busy shooting a series of ‘Find It Fix It Flog It’ so this was his second day out in the heatwave in a row. Maybe he really was tired, or maybe he had a plan for whipping up some super efficient new cooling system and he was eager to get home to the lathe?

Quietly spoken, with his reading glasses on his head, he looks more like a sound engineer at a Stones gig than he does a mad inventor. And while he might not set much store by technical drawings, elaborate plans and mathematics, he’s no madman. He turns the idea that he has in his head into a finished creation using his hands rather than any computer model, but there’s plenty of thought going on in that head. With his sons riding the suspension systems he’s created, he’s safety conscious and has built them to withstand all the pressure that their construction – and the riding they’re out through – can throw at them. Watch the video to learn all about how Allen made the system and what he’s planning to do next.

Here we have another hardtail build by Amanda, only this time she’s gone alloy with the Identiti AKA. For her first stray away from steel, she’s gone for ultimate comfort by choosing all her preferred components, and some very noisy wheels. Identiti AKA 27.5 / 29 The Identiti AKA features…

Pushing the boundaries of bicycle technology, taking innovation to the next level, and setting new standards, it’s Hannah and Fahzure’s lockdown creation. No, it’s not a baby, a sourdough loaf, or a pizza oven: it’s a bike made from wood.

With so many cancellations of events, there were no creative outlets left. Frame builders and artisan welders were left with no option but to create YouTube how-to videos, or go and ride their bikes. Frustration was mounting, and there was a risk that it would lead to a sudden proliferation of new bicycle standards as so many brilliant minds were left to work without structure or distraction.

Recognising the risk to the future well being of mechanics around the world, Bicycle Pubes launched an event that is as much humanitarian effort as it is a showcase of craft and skill: the North American Scrap Lumber Bicycle Symposium (NASLBS). The rules were simple: it had to be made of scrap wood you already have; no welding was allowed; it must have expensive wheels. Clarification of the rules was sought, and it was confirmed that bamboo did not count as wood. In addition, the requirement for expensive wheels was dropped, but all entries had to be accompanied by a donation to World Bicycle Relief.

With the Diversion Diaries concluded and partner BK (aka Fahzure Freeride) safely quarantined at home with me, I found myself with time on my hands and plenty of wood. A plan was formed: we would participate in NASLBS, with our own home crafted entry. It would be the pinnacle of bike design, setting a template for the future of the bike industry. Every possible detail would be considered, with the finished product a bike that would be a true quiver killer: from bike park to bike packing, whether down country, back country or alt country, there would be a design feature to improve your ride experience. Come with us now and check out the result.

Antony brings us some tips for new mountain bikers (and perhaps old hands too) that he thinks will help add fun to your off road rides. We’ve all been there. Some of us still are there. Riding bicycles off road isn’t the easiest sport to get into, and there are…

This is a public service broadcast! Masks are now required to be worn in shops, on buses and trains and in the commission of bank robberies. Here at Singletrack we are taking that responsibility seriously – in fact we’ve been following a masks in the office policy for the last…

Hannah’s partner, BK, lives in the USA, and lockdown has kept them apart. Each week in the Diversion Diary she has brought us some lonesome ramblings, plus a selection of internet finds. But this week, they’re reunited. Sorry this is a bit late, but I’ve been a bit busy being…