This review was part of the Singletrack World Issue 139 Kit Essentials Feature Tested by: Amanda (Modelled by Hannah)Price: £114.99 From: Endurasport.com The Endura MT500 trouser is designed to be a do-it-all solution for winter riding. They feature a waterproof and seam-taped seat panel, DWR…
Does New Trek Box Signal A Shift To Consumer Direct?
Eagle-eyed patent analyst Daniel Bacon of Wheelbased spotted this application from Trek for protection of a box design. With many brands looking carefully at packaging, at first glance you might think ‘so what?’. But as Daniel points out, this box transforms into a mini home…
UK Adventure: Wrongpacking At Helvellyn
Amanda, Rhys and James head up Helvellyn in an effort to see whether a stiff climb for tea and an enduro descent for breakfast is a recipe for fun. Words: Amanda Wishart Photos: James Vincent Bikepacking, touring, camping… it’s not a new activity, but it’s…
Access Rights: Be Nice, Say Hi, Ask Why
Recently, I’ve been thinking again about access rights. Previously I was definitely on the side of ‘ride legal, or keep it quiet if you’re not’. Now, I’m not so sure. Increasingly, I’m coming to the conclusion that access is a right, and that the proposals…
International Adventure: Kiwi Beervet
A point-to-point, 450km off-road adventure, joining together the finest remote New Zealand country pubs with great riding, great mates and a lot of beer. Words & Photos: Tony Hutcheson Kiwi Beervet is the product of too many midweek whisky sessions. Spitballing ideas with mates, a…
Singletrack Reader Awards 2021 – All The Finalists Revealed!
Thanks to all of you who submitted nominations to this year’s Singletrack Reader Awards, sponsored by Kona Bicycles. It’s been heartwarming to read all the nominations for all the projects and people who have made your mountain bike world a bit better this year, and…
A Closer Look At Trek’s Sustainability Report
Tom is a Climate Change and Green Infrastructure Officer, a mountain bike guide, Cytech mechanic, Greenpeace activist and holds a BSc in Outdoor and Environmental Education and MSc in Marine Environmental Protection. We asked him to take a closer look at Trek’s recent sustainability report.…
Two days until Bespoked #10 Opens!
Fancy yourself some shiny bike part gawking? Want to go and admire the finest in hand built bikes and accessories? It’s hard to imagine that the answer is ‘no’. All your bike drooling desires can be sated at Bespoked in Harrogate this weekend. Get your…
Kids Ride Shotgun Pro Seat review: smile maker
Effectively a mini extra seat that fixes to your bike's top tube, the Kids Ride Shotgun Pro means your kid can come mountain biking with you.
2022 Specialized Stumpy Evo Alloy boasts adjustable headset, BB height and mullet wheel compatibility!
Specialized announces details and pricing of the 2022 Stumpy Evo Alloy sporting a host of adjustable features. The longer, lower, slacker movement started in Europe and it took U.S brands a very long time before catching up, but once they did they went all in!…
Singletrack Reader Awards 2021 – Nominations and Deliberations
We’re excited about this year’s format for the Reader Awards and it seems you are too. Your nominations are in, so we sat down with Scott Belshaw from our Awards Sponsor, Kona Bikes, to have a chat about some of the names that have been…
2021 Down Hill Season Review – A Gripping Year!
We’ve asked George to take us back through the 2021 DH World Cup, letting us relive the highs and lows, the dramatic finale, and already turning our thoughts to what comes next year. Coming into the 2021 season, the women’s title race was the most…
Fizik Gravita Tensor flat shoe review: do your feet a favour
After trying and being very impressed with the Fizik Gravita flat shoe, Extra UK sent over the more gravity friendly Fizik Gravita Tensor for me to review. Editors’ Choice 2021 This product features in our Singletrackworld Editors’ Choice 2021 round-up. Andi: “I mentioned there were…
2022 YT Capra Core 4 29 Review – The GOAT returns but does it live up to the hype?
Forget the big-budget movie launches featuring Hollywood stars! What we want to know is does the 2022 YT Capra Core 4 29 live up to the hype? Think of YT, and most people will automatically think of the Capra – YT’s flagship long-travel enduro bike.…
Surly Dunoon Dirt Dash or Bramble Bash?
Photography by Markus Stitz “If you sort of straighten one of your legs, push the bike upwards at the same time and immediately apply both brakes, you might be able to put your foot on that rock next to your left arm, using the bike…
The Tarpless Tour | A Celebration of Mountain Biking Friendships
Up and down the country, clusters of riding friends navigate their way round local trails and personal challenges. The bikes help them fall apart, and stick together. Stephan Fowler brings us a tale from one such group. ‘The Tarpless Tour’ is possibly a somewhat confusing…
Video Vault: A Downcountry Rampage?
Grab yourself some downtime with this round up of videos from the bike world. Vittoria Syerra What is downcountry? What makes a downcountry tyre? This new video from Vittoria will reveal all… Wild and Loud It’s nearly Rampage, so all the riders’ fancy paint jobs…
The new Trek Top Fuel mixes uphill efficiency with downhill performance
The Trek Top Fuel was once considered the goto XC bike, but times have changed and the Top Fuel now blurs the line between XC and trail. We know that you don’t like the term ‘Downcountry’ but it’s hard to ignore especially when Trek are…
FGF 569 – The Week That Social Media Broke
It seems a long time ago now that some poor employee at Facebook HQ had to stand on a colleague’s shoulder, shimmy in through an open bathroom window, crawl through some ventilation ducting and make their way to the server room in order to turn…
OS Maps and Cycling UK – How to wild camp responsibly
As part of Cycling UK and OS Maps’ joint work encouraging more people to discover and enjoy the outdoors more responsibly, the two organisations have launched an awareness film on how to wild camp responsibly. As has been remarked on many times before on these…
Afan Valley and Neath Port Talbot | For Adventures Big and Small
When riding a trail centre route I do not usually expect to find myself eating emergency bilberries. Sure, I might stop and pick a particularly enticing blackberry, or savour a few wild raspberries while taking in a view, but this is different. I’m picking every…
On the Rampage: Behind Freeride’s Biggest Freakshow
Everyone knows about the riders of the Red Bull Rampage; the drops and hucks. but no one ever sees the hundreds of faithful fans who camp in the Utah desert and trek miles to watch and help make it the spectacle it is.
Funded cycle mechanics training for women, trans* and non-binary folk
We all know that the bike industry has been a very male dominated arena, and while that’s changing, progress remains slow. Projects and funding aimed at under-represented groups seek to redress the balance, and we’ve perhaps seen a greater number of projects aimed at getting…
Back From The Dead – How To Fix A Broken Maxle
Dieter is the kind of bike nerd mechanic that every good bike shop should want. He is endlessly enthusiastic about getting people of all kinds onto bikes of all sorts. He can fix your bike even when the outlook looks bleak. Go for a ride…
The “Be Excellent” Reminder Device.
It’s more than just a watch. I recently visited Elliot Brown watches down in my old stomping ground of Purbeck, Dorset. They had organised an adventure weekend for their ambassadors, and it all sounded like jolly good times were had by all, in what is…
Sram Flight Attendant is an electronic suspension wizard built into the new RockShox Ultimate family
You’ve likely heard some rumblings about a new electronic product from SRAM, well we can finally tell you all about it. Here’s everything you need to know about SRAM Flight Attendant. It was only a matter of time before SRAM launched a product like Flight…
The Carbon Chameleon is dead long live the aluminium Chameleon
Santa Cruz kills off the carbon Chameleon but replaces it with a new alloy Chameleon starting from just £2399. Wet muddy trails mean it’s about time for some hardtail hooning, and if you’re after something fresh Santa Cruz has the goods. The Santa Cruz Chameleon…
Mullet Commencal Meta SX and Meta Power SX models get SHORTER reach and LONGER chainstays!
Have we finally reached peak reach? Perhaps Commencal believes so with new shorter reach numbers on both the Meta SX and Meta Power SX! Commencal has offered a mullet version of the Supreme for most of this season, and now the Meta follows suit with…
Nukeproof Blackline Trousers
This review was part of the Singletrack World Issue 139 Kit Essentials Feature Tested by: Ross Price: £80.00 From: Nukeproof.com Riding pants just make sense. They offer added protection and warmth, keep nettle stings at bay and best of all, I can whip them off…
How do we improve the domestic XC scene?
Hannah Collingridge has been enjoying some XC racing, but thinks there is room for improvement, and plenty of room for more riders. How can we make it a more attractive experience for all? She’s got some ideas… Images by Joolze Dymond unless credited. Internationally it’s…
Patrol 691 Evo Review | This Indonesian enduro puts the SUPER in Superboost!
Patrol Mountain has taken input from riders and testers from around the world and brought the geometry of their 691 right up to date. I do bring this up as often as I possibly can, but a few years ago, when pandemics were something only…
New Blue Doon Trail – Full Run POV
The Nevis Blue Doon, the longest Blue grade uplift mountain bike trail in the UK, has been opened at Nevis Range Mountain Experience near Fort William. Joe Barnes and Pete Scullion shot us this POV of the full run. The Nevis Blue Doon, is a Blue graded downhill cross country mountain bike trail at Fort…
Internet Rummagings | Hubs, Brakes and Ti Curiosities
After so much time spent in our Forum, we felt that Tom Howard was well prepared to seek out the furthest niches of the internet. We’ve enlisted him to seek out the curious, the sublime, and the ridiculous. As a rider with something of a…
Come Celebrate Zoe’s Birthday With Us!
Go shorty,it’s my birthday,gon’ sip Bacardi like it’s my birthday!! Well its here, 2nd October and it’s my birthday, but not just any old birthday… I’m 40! Woohoo! I remember as a kid thinking 40 was practically dead! lol. To celebrate, Singletrack is giving you…
Could Northamptonshire Be Your Next MTB Destination?
It hardly has a reputation for being a mountain bike destination, but the flatlands of Northamptonshire might just be about to deliver a dose of trail excitement. Proposals currently at planning permission stage seek to turn a former golf course into a mountain bike park…
Singletrack Elliot Brown Watch Available Now. But not for long.
Less than a week to go ’til the order book for the Singletrack Elliot Brown Watch closes. Thanks to all the Singletrackers who committed to support the one off Singletrack Elliot Brown Watch collaboration, it is now a real thing. Myself and the Singletrack team…
Fresh Goods Friday 568 – Vive La Revolution!
Welcome to the corner of smug. Hasn’t it been a great week? All that sailing past queues of cars, all that totally not worrying about fuel because you don’t need any and you’re not actually that sure if your car still works. Some of you…
Trails for Truth and Reconciliation
September 30th marked Canada’s first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, a newly created statutory holiday to commemorate victims and survivors of Indigenous residential schools. These were state run Christian boarding schools that children were forced to attend in an effort to assimilate them into…
Remember the Alpinestars Ti Mega? Well, it’s back with modern geometry… sort of
The car world has resto-mods and even born again classics, and now so too does the mountain bike world. There are many many mountain bikes from the past that I still lust after. Now and then I’ll even scroll the classifieds to see if I…
Throwback Thursday: 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…
Video: It Has Become Beauty Again
There are many reasons to ride, here’s a video that illustrates some of the more meaningful ones. Jon Yazzie struggled to connect to his cultural identity for some time, leading him to make the wrong life choices and lack a sense of belonging. It wasn’t…
From Enduro To E Cargo | A New Perspective on 2 Wheels
Aran Francis is giving teenagers – and cyclists – a good name. What has this keen enduro rider learnt from riding for a cargo bike delivery service? This morning I got up ready to go for a ride, but instead of putting on my knee…
Making Up The Numbers Podcast | Vali Höll and Thibaut Dapréla
They’re the two young guns taking the DH World Cup by storm, but their 2021 seasons were diametrically opposed! Thibaut Dapréla started the season strong, podiuming at each of the first four rounds but crashed out in Snowshoe and lost his grip on the overall.…
Weight weenies rejoice! Canyon releases updated Lux and Exceed for 2022
Canyon releases details of the 2022 Canyon Exceed and Canyon Lux, no new frames but new lightweight builds! If your idea of a good ride is one where you power up the biggest hills you have locally then power back down them again with your…
EXT Superlight V2 springs weigh less than Zebedee on Keto
EXT’s first Superlight series springs were launched in 2015, now 6 years on they get a lighter V2 update. We don’t tend to think ‘lightweight’ and ‘coil shock’ together, but while a super plush coil might not be a low-weight as an air shock, there…
What A Year Of XC racing! A look back at 2021
Vedangi takes us on a romp through the fast and furious world level 2021 XC racing, and takes a peek into the future. (Featured image credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com) The 2021 XC season has been a nail-biter. With the Olympics sandwiched into the season and all…
Behind the Build: Race Track Design with Léandre Alegri
It’s impossible to mishear the noise in the woods. A commotion growing bigger and coming nearer, the sound turns the heads of scattered spectators on its way through the terrain. A figure flashes between the trees, its arrival only preluded by the sharp warning of…
Schwalbe British 4X Series after a Dislocated Elbow with Scott Beaumont
Just a week after he dislocated his elbow in Val di Sole, Scott Beaumont raced in Afan to ensure he took home the overall title. Round 5 and 6 of the Schwalbe British 4X Series was held in Afan, South Wales earlier this month. Not…
Readers’ Rides: Tom’s Steampunk Deviate Highlander
What are you all riding? This is where we find out! You send us your submissions, and then we cast our judgemental expert lustful eyes over them and bring them to the world to ooh and ahh over. We’re picking the prettiest, the most curious, and the ones with…
Last Chance To Nominate! The Singletrack Reader Awards
Nominations close on Monday 27th September! Make sure you’ve told us who you think should get our attention this year, in a range of new awards. This year has been a bit different, again. Rather than grumble about the shortage of this and that, this…
FGF 567 – The Duvet Edition
This Fresh Goods Friday comes to you from under a duvet. We’ve kissed goodbye to Drink Beer At Your Desk Friday and said hello to Drink Hot Chocolate Under Your Duvet Friday. It’s less rock and roll, though the risk of disastrous spillages remains high.…