Now in its second year, the Steel is Real Demo Day, organised by Ben, Dan and Jonah of Steel is Real MTB, followed on from its successes last year featuring some of the finest steel mountain bike manufactures from the UK and further afield. Based…
Singletrack Issue 121: Ley Lines – Don’t Do It!
Barney takes a good hard look at whether the legend of ley lines might hold spectacular secrets of sumptuous singletrack. Words & Photography Barney Marsh
10 Outerbike Bicycle Innovators
Our roving (raving?) US correspondent, Fahzure, has been on the road again, this time he headed to Outerbike. Outerbike is a bicycle consumer demo event and party that takes place twice a year in Moab, Utah and, for the first time this year, additionally in…
Singletrack Issue 121: Crested Butte 40 Years On
Charlie Kelly and Joe Breeze retrace one of the most important rides in mountain bike history, 1978’s Pearl Pass tour. Words & Photography Charlie Kelly In 1978, a small group of early ‘mountain bikers’ rode over the 12,000ft Pearl Pass in Colorado. That event, and…
Singletrack Issue 121: Shakespeare’s Sister
‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players’. How your ride will play out – whether it results in comedy, tragedy or historic triumph – will depend on your cast of players. Let us head to the casting couch and…
The Great British Bike Off – 3 UK-Made Full Suspension Bikes Tested & Reviewed
In Issue #119 of Singletrack Magazine, we tested three big wheelers made on home soil and designed for modern riding. Words: Wil Barrett Photos: James Vincent Going against the tide of offshore manufacturing in the Far East, there’s been a recent flurry of activity in…
UK-Made Full Suspension Group Test – Robot R130 Review
Robot Bike Co. first shot to fame at the 2016 Fort William World Cup when it debuted a stunning full suspension mountain bike called the R160. Made from carbon fibre tubes and titanium lugs, the unique R160 had a curious mixture of retro aesthetics and…
UK-Made Full Suspension Group Test – Swarf Contour Review
In comparison to the other two on test, our third bike comes from a much smaller outfit. Founded in Dorchester in 2011, Swarf Cycles is currently a one-man show that is owned and operated by a chap called Adrian Bedford – a man who, prior…
These Are The 3 Cheapest Ways To Upgrade Your Bike To 12-Speed
So your current drivetrain is in dire need of replacing. Your chain has stretched, your rear mech has more play in it than a Hillman Imp gearbox, and a hen has sharper teeth than your cassette. If you find yourself on a 10 or 11…
Cotic Brings Manufacturing To The UK With 2019 Cotic RocketMAX. Full Details.
Cotic has done it again! Yup, a last minute email about another bike launch, but we forgive them because this is the bike many of us have been waiting for, the updated Cotic RocketMAX! The Rocket MAX sits just above the Cotic FlareMAX James reviewed a few…
Discovering the undiscovered – Finding new trails on your doorstep
In association with… I thought I knew all my local trails I had a revelation a month or so ago. I discovered a local trail that I’d never ridden. Finding local trails is always a beautiful thing but I was filled with equal amounts of…
October Online Deals – Save Up to 73% Off RockShox Forks!
October looks like a great time of year to pick up a new pair of suspension forks, save on bike lights or pick up some water repellent gear. 2017 RockShox Sid World Cup Solo Air Boost – £299.99 These 100mm travel RockShox SID forks did…
Wearables for the body and the bike. Plus a free poem! It’s Fresh Goods Friday 416
This week at Singletrack there has been some drama. Someone used the last of the oat milk without saying anything, there was a birthday cake with no candles, and thanks to the changing of the seasons, half of the staff have got a cold. But…
UK-Made Full Suspension Group Test – Orange Stage 4 RS Review
When it comes to UK-made full suspension bikes, there was one brand that was always going to be in this grouptest. Put simply, few manufacturers can rival Orange Bikes’ rich 30-year history within the UK mountain biking scene. And unlike the recent flurry of newcomers,…
Jumpack Transforms From Backpack To Dirt Jump In Just 10 Seconds!
If you’re a registered user you may have read our trail tool article from earlier on in the week (if you haven’t read it, register for FREE and check it out now!). In that article Antony tested a bunch of tools to tidy up your…
It’s Here! Singletrack Magazine Issue 121 – Where Will Your Read Yours?
Singletrack Issue 121 has landed! Whoop! If you’re a subscriber your copy has probably landed. Have you ripped it open eagerly, or are you saving it for some quality me time? Why not tag us on Instagram or Twitter so we can see how you read…
Five Ten And Adidas Eye Up The Olympic Effect
Five Ten has been the name in flat pedal sticky shoes for so long that it’s easy to forget that it started out life as a climbing and outdoor brand. With some bright spark having the idea that sticky rubber could prove useful at gripping…
2019 DVO D1 Fork Range Announced Along with Topaz And Garnett Updates
For the 2019 season DVO, a brand made up of ex-Marzocchi employees has created a whole new premium range of suspension forks named D1. D1 forks have already been spotted on top of the range 2019 Giant Bikes and Giant Factory Team race bikes, but…
Video: Nick Craig At Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross 2018
We often refer to Nick Craig as ‘the nicest man in cycling’. If you’re ever lucky enough to meet him, we’ve no doubt you’ll experience his kindly soft spoken voice, enthusiasm, encouragement, and love of all things bike. Nick is a veteran of the Three…
Flying the flag for British design – a visit to Ison Distribution – Part 1 – Gusset Components.
The skies are bigger and there seem to be people everywhere. It’s not somewhere that I would have expected to find one of the UK’s most progressive and innovative bike manufacturer and distributers.
Norco Reckons The 2019 Norco Fluid FS 1 Is The Best Bike Under £2000 They Could Be Right
Canadian brand Norco reckons it’s on to a winner with the 2019 Norco Fluid FS 1 and we might have to agree. For 2019 Norco continues to work closely with Evans Cycles to offer UK only bike builds that rival buy direct models for value…
First Ride – Focus SAM 2019, 170mm Of Enduro Travel With Trail Bike Handling
Our guy Rik Legge got the chance to ride the new Focus SAM at for a day at the recent launch event. Here are his first impressions. Focus has just launched the updated version of its SAM enduro bike. There are now two models in…
First Look: Pilot Cycles DURO Titanium Pinion Hardtail With 2 Pages Of Options To Pick From!
“Modern, fast agile and low maintenance wrapped in fluent lines.” is what Dutch frame makers, Pilot Cycles, says about its new DURO hardtail. We can’t comment on all of those points just yet as we’ve only just unboxed it, but “fluent lines” yes sir! This…
The 10 Most Attention Grabbing Bikes Of Cycle Show 2018 Plus A Few #teamrumours
We’ve collated our top favourite bikes of the 2018 Cycle Show from over the weekend, and come away with a list of 10 bikes that grabbed our attention for some reason or another. We’ve got race bikes, new bikes, retro bikes, custom bikes and weird…
“It looks like the worst 90’s mountain bike reimagined” – Rocker Mini DH Bike Launched
The mini BMX craze may have settled but could we be on the verge of an all-new mini bike craze? Nah, we don’t think so either, but Rocker BMX do and they’re hoping that the “Mini Rig” miniature downhill bike will be the Christmas must-have…
Not just #MakingUpTheNumbers – Gloopy Glory at the final round of the HSBC National Downhill Series
‘You just need to commit.’ I know Binnsy’s right but there are far better riders than I going face first into the mud. ‘Come on, give it a go at least’ I tell myself. I commit fully. I crash faster. The bike remains prone in…
Review: Crank Brothers reinvents the wheelset with Synthesis
Oh look, another expensive carbon fibre wheel review! But before you roll your eyes and click the ‘back’ button, allow me the opportunity to wow you a little. If I said that this is one of the most interesting wheelsets to launch in the past…
The Trillion Shug Becomes The Shand Shug And Shand Cycles First Hardcore Hardtail
Are you looking at the ‘new’ Shand Shug and thinking to yourself “Huh, I’m sure I’ve seen this before” well that’s because you probably have. You see that Shand Shug wasn’t always a Shand but a Trillion. Remember now? or more confused? Let’s try and…
New Ibis DV9: A carbon hardtail you can pay for with your summer job?
Ibis has just announced the launch of its new carbon hardtail, the DV9. Following the current trend for XC-but-slacker (which Ibis is calling Downcountry), this new bike will be offered in two build options to suit the racers and the trail riders. Ibis co-owner Hans…
Subscribe to Singletrack today and butter your bum for free
It started with Kevin the Pirate, starting a small cosmetics company in his kitchen. He is a real pirate, sails up the river and invades the next town of Wareham occasionally with his gang. So over a few ciders he asked “eeeear Charlie what do…
Intense Tazer Relaunched! But As A Full Suspension Enduro e-MTB
After months of being teased with Instagram posts by Mr. Steber, today Intense has officially released details of its brand spanking new, and first ever, Tazer e-bike. Currently only available in one build spec – Tazer Pro – and sporting 150mm of rear wheel travel…
4 Retro Dream Bikes Spotted This Weekend – Which Would You Own?
The 2018 Cycle Show wasn’t all just about seeing the 2019 range of Whyte full-suspension bikes, or super expensive carbon XC race bikes. No, there was also a good selection of retro machinery on show, but of the following 4 mountain bike classics which would you most…
Meet The £12,799 Mondraker F-Podium Carbon RR SL
Possibly one of the most head-turning bikes of the 2018 Cycle Show was this, the Mondraker F-Podium Carbon RR SL 2019, it also won our award for the least sexy name of the show, possibly of all time. It goes without saying that the F-Podium…
Review: Commencal Meta Trail V4.2 Race 650B: Fun and confidence inspiring
When the bike first arrived, aside from being blown away with just how damn good the bare aluminium with orange and black graphics looked, I was puzzled; Commencal Meta TR 4.2 Race. Race. What sort of race? XC race? Nah, can’t be – it’s got…
Interview: Dan Jarvis – it doesn’t take much to sell women’s racing, they’re the ones serving up the drama
Dan Jarvis has been involved in promoting women’s mountain biking for many years, first through his university club in Brighton, then as the head of the BN3 DH team, and finally in his commentary and advocacy for all things MTB
The Cotic Soda – Flagship Titanium Hardtail – Returns! Longshot, but Limited
New Cotic Soda They’re like buses, eh? New bikes… You turn your back for a minute and a load have turned up without you noticing – and now you have to work out which one is going to be the one to take you to…
Review: Cotic FlareMAX. Is Longshot Geometry a step too far or a step in the right direction?
The Cotic FlareMAX 29in/27.5+ was first introduced by the Peak-district based purveyors of made out of metal bicycles, in 2016. This bike here is the second iteration of Cotic’s 120mm travel, do-it-all, up-for-most-things, full suspension trail bike. While at first glance it looks familiar to…
2019 Whyte S120 and G170 C Works 29er First Look
More hot new bike news from the Cycle Show and more from the Whyte stand with a first look at the brand spanking new Whyte S150 and Whyte G170 bikes. Both models are 29er bikes, although the G170 will also be offered as a 27.5in…
2019 Whyte T130 – Now with 140mm travel! First Look
Along with the incredible looking Whyte T120 kid’s bike, Whyte also has a few more very exciting full-suspension bikes on display at the 2018 Cycle Show. We’ll have details of the Whyte S120 and G170 published later, but first of all, let’s see what Whyte…
Are these the most expensive glasses we’ve ever had? Fresh Goods Friday 415
FGF this week started off with just 2 products, but the last minute haul at the 2018 Cycle Show has fleshed it out into another bonanza of bike booty (not the ‘B’s again!). Before we get to the squawking, have a giggle at Hannah’s expense:…
Cycle Show 2018: Whyte T120 A Proper Kids Full-Susser First Look
We saw lots of nice new bikes over on the Whyte Bikes stand at the 2018 Cycle Show yesterday including the all-new Whyte S120, updated T130 and updated G170, but what took us by complete surprise is this, the Whyte T120 kids bike. The T120…
Cycle Show 2018 – Stanton Switchback FS First Look
We’ve only just arrived at the NEC for the 2018 Cycle Show but already we’re seeing some very lovely stuff. Case in point, the all-new Stanton Switchback FS. The Stanton Switchback FS shares the same suspension platform as the larger wheeled Switch9er we’ve already seen,…
Feeling Flat? 12 Tubeless Repairs that nearly all work
Back in the not so dim and distant past, when it came to repairing punctures, life was pretty simple. Pull out your half deflated tube, pore over it to find the offending hole (or two if you had experienced a pinch flat), open your Chemco…
WTF: Just what we all need – zip on tyres?
Amazing things have been achieved since the invention of the zipper in 1909 or thereabouts. We can now get dressed without the assistance of a button butler. We can leave it until the very last minute before dashing to the loo. We don’t have to…
Review: Want to run non-Boost wheels in your Boost frame/fork? VeloSolo has you covered
Remember when you could walk into a bike shop and buy a mountain bike wheel, any wheel, and then put it on your bike and it would fit? No, me neither. In fact I can barely remember going into a real bike shop unless it…
Sick Bicycles Ceases Titanium Production
Makers of titanium madness, rad T-shirts, and self proclaimed industry shakers and agitators Sick Bicycles has just announced that it is ceasing production of its titanium frames. A newsletter just issued reads (published here complete with apparent typos and odd formatting): Say goodbye to Ti…
Danny MacAskill and Claudio Caluori Take Fans On An Epic Adventure Around Graubünden
Superstars Danny MacAskill and Claudio Caluori take a group of fans for an epic ride on the trails around Graubünden, while taking in some of the locations used in the video “Home of Trails”. With over 17,000 kilometres / 10,500 miles worth of trails to…
8 Top US Metal Acts From Interbike 2018
Rather than making the long trip to the sunshine of Reno, Nevada, for this year’s Interbike trade show, we stayed home in the comfort of Todmorden rain and let roving reporter and almost-local Fahzure risk the wildfires of the American west to make the trip…
Review: Stan’s Podium SRD Wheelset Weighs Less Than 1300g
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve read somewhere or been told by fellow bike riders that the best place to save weight on a bike is on the wheels. Personally I’ve always thought the best place to do that was somewhere in…
Interbike 2018 – Any Better Than Before?
Interbike has fallen off our Singletrack Towers calendar of late, as the lack of new product, declining attendance and cost of being there just didn’t stack up for a UK based publication. However, this year there was a new venue, and the offer of a…
Mountain Biking – the untold British story – Watch in full here
Watch the full length feature documentary Mountain Biking, the untold British story in full right here.
