You might have noticed our ‘Get On My Land’ story about Cycling UK’s plans to improve off road and rural access for bikes, as they launched their new strategy at the London Bike Show. Well, they liked our headline so much, they’ve used it in…
Video Review: Is XC dead? After testing these three bikes, we don’t think so
In Issue #116 of Singletrack Magazine, Wil and the crew tested three new generation full suspension XC race bikes. Is XC dead? Or is it just a little out of fashion? For Issue #116, we focussed our magazine group test on full suspension XC bikes to…
Review: The 2018 Norco Sight C2 is ready to shreddy straight out of the box
For the past few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of soaking up some (much needed) Vitamin D during a holiday Down Under in Australia. Aside from the obligatory family and local pub catch-ups, it was also an opportunity to take a smug, momentary pause from…
RockShox beams 2019 Lyrik RC2 from the future, along with a new-new DebonAir spring
We may have literally just finished off our longterm review of the 2018 RockShox Lyrik RCT3 fork, but already RockShox is ready to announce the 2019 model – in March. Yes, there are new 2019 suspension products coming your way, including the new Lyrik RC2…
MakingUpTheNumbers – Gravity Events Round 1: The Race That Didn’t Happen
George Thompson, our regular reporter of mid pack (if he’s doing well) downhill action, is back in action. Well, sort of. He’s got a new team, a new fan club (he’s breeding his own), and he’s got a full race season ahead of him. He’ll…
Crossing The Deepest Lake In The World, By Fat Bike, In Midwinter
Us UK riders often fantasise about riding holidays in places like Spain, where there is dry mud, and a warm thing in the sky, and olives taste better. It seems that Spanish riders have other ideas (though we note that they haven’t gone in search…
First Ride Review: Santa Cruz Highball 3 CC X01 Reserve
In a refreshing change of programming, Santa Cruz is going all-XC on us for the start of 2018. Jib-specific trail bikes and Beyonduro™ shred-sleds may still whip up the majority of the marketing whirlpool, but cross-country riding and racing is quietly making a comeback, and…
First Ride Review: Santa Cruz Blur 3 CC XX1 Reserve
It’s been about five years coming, but the Santa Cruz Blur is finally back First introduced back in 2002 alongside the V-10 downhill bike, the Blur was one of the original VPP suspension bikes from Santa Cruz. Sporting 26in wheels, 115mm of rear travel and…
Santa Cruz launches the brand new Blur 3, plus its lightest carbon hardtail ever
Today you lovely readers don’t just get to find out about one shiny new bike. No ma’am. Because you’ve been on your very best behaviour (well, close enough), today the hip Californian mountain bike brand that is Santa Cruz Bicycles is releasing two brand spankers to…
Bristol BikeFest Returns! Popular South West Event Is Back By Popular Demand.
Rather quietly, this last week or so, Bristol BikeFest announced that it was well and truly back! Teased first on the page of the 2018 The Ex event, which asked riders to save the date of June 30th 2018. It said “The Bristol Bikefest (including…
Monday Debrief 118 – Notes from another planet
We signed up to an early deal with Elon Musk and this Monday’s Debrief comes to you from Uranus. We’ve been out exploring and the terrain is pretty hostile. Tests are being carried out to determine if these are possibly carvings depicting lifeforms from this…
Update: Orange Factory Rider Seriously Injured At Gisburn Forest
Update: We’ve received news via the PMBA on Callum’s condition. After having surgery Callum is now able to sit up, is in good spirits and already planning for his future. While the surgery went well there is only so much modern medicine can achieve and…
Women’s Specific Geometry On The Canyon Spectral WMN CF SLX 9.0 – How Different Can It Be?
By Amanda Wishart, Singletrack Magazine Back in March I was fortunate enough to be one of a select group of journalists to be invited to a Canyon women’s specific bike launch in the south of France. This is kind of a big deal (Ed: the…
Wireless Shifting Is Here! As Is Wide Rubber! Pumps! Bikes! Shoes! Glasses too! It’s Fresh Goods Friday 388!
No one ever reads this bit, but how else will they know they're missing Fresh Goods Friday 388?
Macclesfield Forest Trails Could Be Closed For Good If You Ignore This!
Forest trails have been shut after serious storm damage, with repair work currently underway.
Review: Scream if you wanna go faster! We test and review 3 carbon fibre full suspension XC race bikes
In Issue #116 of Singletrack Magazine, Wil and the crew tested three new generation full suspension XC race bikes. Read on for a short summary of each bike, along with the links to each individual review. Images by James Vincent. Progression. It’s a pretty hot…
Review: You may hate the Brain, but the 2018 Specialized Epic Expert is ready to prove you wrong
In Issue #116 of Singletrack Magazine, Wil and the crew tested three new generation full suspension XC race bikes. Read on for the full review of the 2018 Specialized Epic Expert. As one of the most decorated full suspension race bikes on the market, the…
Singletrack Issue 118 – Sneak Peek
Subscribe to Singletrack from as little as £1.49 Hark! The twittering of birds, the bleat of lambs and the scent of daffodils on the breeze! The Spring edition of Singletrack, Issue 118, is published on 6th April. It’s time to put the bleak midwinter behind…
Review: Suspension tinkerers rejoice! The Formula Selva fork has all the bells & whistles
The Selva fork is the newest enduro fork from Italian motorcycle and mountain bike suspension/brake manufacturer, Formula. We got one a huge 160mm travel 29er version to test, and gave it to our similarly long-legged Yorkshireman, Mr Tom Hill, who’s spent a solid four months…
Video: Is carbon all that it’s cracked up to be? We test three alloy versions of popular carbon superbikes
In Issue #115 of Singletrack Magazine, our former Tech Editor, the great Mr Barney Marsh, tested and reviewed three alloy iterations of popular carbon fibre mountain bikes. These days, carbon fibre is the material that many of us lust over. And why wouldn’t we? It’s lighter. Smoother.…
Review: The TwinLoc system on the 2018 Scott Spark RC 900 Team is this bike’s secret weapon
In Issue #116 of Singletrack Magazine, Wil and the crew tested three new generation full suspension XC race bikes. Read on for the full review of the 2018 Scott Spark RC 900 Team. It was 2007 when the first Spark blew minds and broke records…
Review: The 2018 Anthem Advanced Pro 29er 1 is Giant’s best full suspension XC race bike to date
In Issue #116 of Singletrack Magazine, Wil and the crew tested three new generation full suspension XC race bikes. Read on for the full review of the 2018 Giant Anthem Advanced Pro 29er 1. The Giant Anthem was first introduced in 2006 as the successor…
Could this be the final nail in the coffin of online scammers?
Produced in association with YOTI Enter the Ejit – like Enter the Dragon with neither the Kung Fu nor the intelligence! I will hold my hands up from the start. When it comes to smart phones and digital technology, I have a skill level somewhere…
Which would you choose? We spend 6 months aboard the 2018 Fox 36 Float and RockShox Lyrik RCT3 to see which comes out on top
Despite mounting opposition in the high-end mountain bike suspension market from the likes of Cane Creek, Öhlins, MRP, Formula and DVO, there is still somewhat of a duopoly when it comes to the fork market. A duopoly made up of two industry titans: Fox Racing…
Review: The new Rudy Project Sintryx is a sunglasses transformer in disguise
Ben Gerrish is one of our crash test dummies based up in the South Lakes, who also makes a regular habit of travelling further afield to embark on riding adventures of the gnarlier kind. A speedy human on a bicycle, Ben also has a tonne…
If you like Orange Bikes & titanium, you better get in quick – there are only 15 of these worldwide
No, this isn’t breaking news. But when we’ve got all these pretty pictures to show off, do you think we give two hoots about that? Pah – just look at this thing! So the bike is called the T7, and it’s from Orange Bikes. The ‘T’…
World Cup XCO And Street Dual: Live on your TV this weekend!
The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup kicks off this weekend with the XCO racing from Stellenbosch. It’s an early season opener, and it’s the XCO riders kicking off the racing this year, with the Downhill not starting until Lošinj in Croatia, in April. If you’re…
2 Frames, 3 Gifs, And Really Hilarious Jokes! ROTFL with Fresh Goods Friday 387
Erm. Well. Sorry. Wil promised you last week that this week would be a bumper edition of Fresh Goods Friday on the grounds that there were very few courier deliveries last week due to the snow, so all the goodies would be turning up this…
Review: The Shimano AM901 is good enough for Rachel Atherton, but is it good enough for regular trail riding?
If you’ve been flicking through fresh pages of the current issue of Singletrack Magazine, you may have already read our in-depth technical feature about the latest generation of platform clip-in pedals. As part of that feature, we took eight sets of these new generation clip-in pedals and…
Interview: Rachael Walker – bringing Hope to the masses.
We hope that STW is pretty good at featuring female riders, heroes, and contributors in the same way we do men, but there’s always more that we can do. So, to mark this year’s International Women’s day, rather than a one off feature, we’re launching…
Dropped From The Range: major retailers join boycott of bike brands for NRA connections
US and Canadian co-ops pull orders for Camelbak, Bell, Blackburn and other Vista Outdoor brands
Review: The adaptable ION Haze Gloves have a very clever trick up their sleeve
To be honest, finding the right pair of cold weather riding gloves can be a bit of a battle. There are plenty of them on the market, but finding a pair that doesn’t feel like you’re suiting up to operate heavy agricultural equipment is another…
Review: Endura adds a new ‘Pullover’ option of its popular MT500 Waterproof Jacket – but is it more comfortable?
Forgive me if March seems a little tardy to be reviewing a full-blown rain jacket. But really – who are you trying to kid? A jacket like this can be a handy wardrobe addition during any month of the year in the UK. Additionally, I didn’t…
Longterm Review: Is the 2018 RockShox Lyrik RCT3 the butteriest of them all?
For 2018, both Fox and RockShox have come out swinging with updates to their long-travel suspension forks: Fox with its new 36, and RockShox with the new Lyrik. Over the past six months, Barney and Wil have been back-to-back testing one of each. Both forks…
Poll: Does Prize Money Need To Be Equal?
Sparked by a recent press release from an event organiser, we’ve been having a bit of debate about prize money, so we thought we’d see what you have to say. We know you might argue ‘it’s the taking part that counts’, and that prize money…
Review: Starling Cycles Taiwanese-Made Murmur Factory 29er
Our very own in-house office wildebeest, Rossco, has been playing about on the new Murmur Factory from Starling Cycles. With its slender steel tubing and progressive frame geometry, would it challenge Rossco’s preconceived ideas on what numbers are ideal for riding a bike over all…
Starling Cycles Murmur Factory Edition Announced!
Big news today for anyone who has a soft spot for steel full suspension frames, as UK bike maker Starling Cycles announces an all new model into its range.
Miss your twin rings but nowhere to hang a mech? The Vyro FrEn 1 could be the answer
Is this the future of front shifting? Sanny takes a look at the latest tech from Austrian design gurus, VYRO.
Cheap on price, but not on performance; we test and review Shimano’s entry-level Deore M6000 groupset
With very little fanfare, Shimano quietly unveiled its new Deore M6000 groupset last year. We got our test groupset in before Xmas, and put it in the hands of a mile-munching Huw Oliver to put the new drivetrain and brakeset through its paces. Over to…
How we survived the snowpocalypse and made it to Monday!
BANG! It’s not just Monday, it’s March! Flip. For anyone who has just had an extended weekend of sledging and snow fun, this is probably not feeling like too bad a Monday. Since everyone else was off too, the email is not quite so overflowing…
Review: Syncros integrates a pump, multi-tool and bottle cage into the Matchbox Tailor HV+
The bike industry is falling over itself at the minute to develop ways of stashing kit on your bike, rather than on your back, but many of the solutions on offer don’t offer much improvement over the traditional electrical/duct tape. Syncros has put a bit…
Warm your cockles and melt that snow with the 386th Fresh Goods Friday!
SNOWMAGEDDON! BEAST FROM THE EAST! COLD WINTER CONDITIONS! Have you survived it? Are you currently huddled in your living room with your loved ones, circling around a fire on the floor with the front door jammed shut behind a huge snowdrift? Considering which family member…
London Bike Show 2018: We chat with Orange about the new Stage 4
Produced in association with Orange Bikes How much travel is too much travel? Is there such a thing? Surely it’s always better to have more travel than you need, not less, right? Those are all very good questions, and depending on where you live, where…
9 tips to unlock the trail-slaying potential of your fat bike
Sanny loves fat bikes - here are his suggestions for loving them even more
Women’s Specific Geometry On The Canyon Spectral WMN CF SLX 9.0 – How Different Can It Be? Read Our First Ride Review Here
Amanda has just returned from the south of France with a huge smile on her face, and it's not down to the wine.
The Renthal Fatbar Is Dead! Long Live The Fatbar!
The venerable Renthal Fatbar (and Fatbar Lite) have been around on bikes for, well, we can’t actually remember a time before them, to be honest. Anyway, it was time for a complete revamp and Renthal has used that opportunity to go wider with both bars…
29in front, 27.5+ back, and Shimano STEPS in the middle. Canyon welcomes you to the e-Party with the unique Spectral:ON!
In huge news from the German direct-to-consumer brand, Canyon is launching its first e-MTB. Called the Spectral:ON, this is an e-bike that has been a long time in the making, and Canyon is very, very excited about it. We sent Dean over to the launch…
Making Carbon Bikes Is Easier Than You Think – Carbon Wasp Is Hiring
Want to build carbon bikes, but don’t know where to start? Well, Leeds-based Carbon Wasp might have just the job for you… We first saw the company at last year’s Bespoked Show and were impressed to hear that it builds bespoke carbon bikes in its…
Video: Rocks And Drops – the new Losinj World Cup trail in Croatia
Ever wondered what goes into building a trail suitable for a World Cup? It’s got to be challenging, and it’s got to be built well enough to stand up to plenty of practice sessions and riders hammering their way down the trail – whatever the…
Review: Is it pants or trousers? When they fit as well as these ION Shelters, who cares!
According to my unofficial trailside surveys over the past six months, 78% of UK mountain bikers seem to be growing curious about the concept of riding trousers. Or pants, as we call them where I’m from. Commuters and XC winter pluggers have long been accustomed…