Forestal Bikes has been a mystery since we first learned Cédric Gracia would be working with them so Andi went on the hunt for a scoop. Forestal is possibly the most exciting bike company that you have never heard of. This start-up plans to enter…
UK Singlespeed Champs 2019 ends in beer and fancy dress. As usual…
Who said that singlespeeders were a bit slack, eh? We’ve just had this report in from the UK Singlespeed Champs – that happened a month ago… It’s a good job it wasn’t a race. Oh, wait… On Saturday August 24th, around 75 riders competed in…
Motion Ride E18 Linkage Fork | Anti-dive That Works
It might look unusual, but how will it ride? David checks out the Motion Ride E18 Linkage Fork. Around 2011, there was a conversation I kept on having over and over again. It concerned an object I carried and used a lot, about which everyone…
#MakingUpTheNumbers | HSBC National Downhill Series Rd 5 – Ae Forest
George brings us his ‘race’ report from the HSBC National Downhill Series Round 5 / SDA Round 5 – Ae Forest “It’s your worst nightmare this isn’t it?” Binnsy isn’t wrong. After two days of glorious sunshine and dusty trails we’re on the first uplift…
One Bigger! New Ibis HD5 bids for enduro and trail glory
Ibis Cycles has just announced the new Ibis Mojo HD5. It’s a complete new take on the firm’s hard-charging 27.5in wheeled heavy duty trail bike. Having taken cues from recent changes to the 29er Ripley trail bike, as well as the 29in Ripmo enduro bike,…
RockStop Tubeless Insert | Review
Can’t Stop The Rock. We’ve been warned repeatedly. It’s been received wisdom for decades, but now, thanks to Rockstop, could Apollo 440 be wrong? There’s a chance. The rock might be stoppable. Rockstop is made by a UK company, based in Cumbria and named Urofoam.…
Goodyear Newton EN Premium Tyres | Review
David checks out this pair of Goodyear Newton tyres, the latest MTB rubber from Goodyear. Despite starting out making bicycle tyres at the end of the 19th Century, from the mid-seventies, Goodyear took a 40 year break from bike tyres. That was, until they signed a…
Video | Riding Across The Generations
Don’t sit and think about your age, or that ‘is that arthritis’ knee… get on out there and keep riding! The next issue of Singletrack Magazine is whirring its way round the printing presses right now, and one of the features in it is ‘My…
Singletrack Reader Awards 2019 | And The Winners Are…
Your award winners at the 2019 Singletrack Reader Awards, revealed. This year’s award finalists, bike industry dignitaries, Singletrack Lifetime Subscribers and bike industry undignifieds were welcomed to Hebden Bridge’s Trades Club for an evening of Indonesian food, refreshing beers, and – of course – trophies.…
FGF 466 | The closest you’ll get to sitting on Ben Deakin’s face
This week’s Fresh Goods is brought to you by the past, just a few days in the past, but the past none the less. A time before the Singletrack Readers Awards, a time when our heads were much less fuzzy and hungover. It was a…
Ard Rock Donates £50,000 to Swaledale community
Ard Rock mountain bike event has just handed over almost £50,000 to storm damaged Swaledale Community. Following devastating flash flooding across parts of Swaledale, Arkengarthdale and Wensleydale, the Two Ridings Community Foundation got a major boost to its fundraising efforts to assist residents affected by…
Deaneasy ABS Fork Tune | Foam Inserts Reviewed
Foam! Truly this is mountain biking’s era of foam. No longer confined to the bit we sit on, there are now foam tyre inserts, vibration dampening foam-filled bars, rims filled with foam, and more recently foam fork volume spacers. Like this, the Deaneasy ABS Fork…
Singletrack Reader Awards Watch Live
You’ve nominated and then voted. We have now counted the votes and the winners are about to be unveiled. Join us tonight at 7:50pm for the awards Live from the Trades Club, Hebden Bridge. Watch here or over on our Youtube channel here.
Moab | 50 Years of the Slickrock Trail
It’s 50 years since the Moab Slickrock Bike Trail was established and this documentary has been produced to mark the occasion. Tracing its history back to the late 1960s, when motorbikes and early jeeps first started venturing out into the petrified sand dunes around Moab…
Video | Mates Race On New Antur Stiniog Trails
George checks out the new trails at Antur Stiniog – there’s more than ever before, and more to come. Antur Stiniog Trail Launch – Saturday 14th September 2019 Coming into 2019 it’d been a good while since I’d ridden at Antur Stiniog. It’s one of…
RedBull Hardline – Bigger In Real Life, But Is It Worth The Effort?
What’s it like to be at RedBull Hardline? Should you make the trip to Wales, or stay home and watch on TV? James finds out. RedBull Hardline 2019 2.11pm, Saturday 14 September 2019. A pack of four sparrowhawks circle ominously in the sky, while butterflies…
Banshee release the new big travel Titan and 26in wheel compatible Rune V3
Banshee bikes has announced 2 new models that are guaranteed to sell out before we even get this press release posted! Banshee Bikes is still a rider owned brand, and despite being just a team of 4 people, the company remains to be one of…
Review | The Bontrager Blaze is the first MTB helmet with WaveCel technology
Antony checks out the new WaveCel technology from Bontrager, as fitted into its Bontrager Blaze helmet. Recently, mountain biking has seen a big increase in the awareness of the long-term risks of concussion. The vast majority of mountain bike helmets use expanded polystyrene (EPS) to…
Shimano Expands MicroSpline Licensing
Shimano today has announced that it is expanding its list of companies able to license its MicroSpline hub standard. And about time too! First announced early last year when XTR was launched back in May 2018 and it came with a new hub standard. While…
Fresh Goods Friday 465 | 3 Bikes, Maximum Waffle
Did you vote in the Reader Awards? Well, it’s too late if you didn’t – you’ve lost your democratic right to pick your favourite. Next week there will be some pro-rogueing, with Chipps donning his nattiest of outfits to present the awards to all the…
2019 Cotic BFe First Ride Review
James Vincent grabs a first ride on the new Cotic BFe hardtail. When launching a new bike, some bike companies whisk a select group of lucky journos off to some exotic location on the other side of the world, wine them and dine them, and…
Updated: Big Pile Of Sick! Names revealed!
In another twist in the tale of Sick Bicycles, a batch of frames built for Sick is about to go on sale – as On One branded frames. When we heard the rumour last week that a builder in Taiwan had built a batch of…
2020 YT Capra 29 AL Ltd First Look
While at Eurobike, we had the opportunity to check out this limited edition YT Capra 29 AL, of which only 400 will be produced. Last year YT released a limited edition build of the 27.5in Capra. Only 400 of those bikes were produced and each…
2020 Nukeproof Reactor First Ride Review
Ross throws a leg over the 2020 Nukeproor Reactor then throws it down the nearest rut infested trail to see how it rides. Today sees the launch of the brand spanking new Nukeproof Reactor, a mid-travel, do-it-all, trail bike that fills the gap in the…
2020 Nukeproof Reactor switches from trail to rail in 30 seconds
Nukeproof enter the trail bike race after exiting the market for a few years with the new 2020 Nukeproof Reactor. The Nukeproof Reactor is an old name attached to an all-new trail-orientated full-suspension bike. The original Reactor launched back in 1996 and was a hardtail…
2020 NS Bikes Define and Synonym at Eurobike
NS Bikes were a must-see brand at Eurobike 2019, and as usual, this exciting bike company had a couple of very intriguing bikes for us to ogle. If you don’t know the history of NS Bikes then we recommend that you dig into it a…
The new Cotic BFe – ‘Burly Iron’ is unleashed!
As Cotic rightly says of its burly hardtail, the BFe – ‘right from its introduction in 2005, the Cotic BFe has always been the tearaway of the Cotic family. “The Soul’s stockier, rowdier younger brother. You know the one – loads of fun, but a bit on the wild…
Ibis Ripmo AF. It’s the Ripmo ‘Aluminium Frame’
We can’t say that we saw this one coming… Today, Ibis has announced the new, aluminium framed ‘Ibis Ripmo AF’ – complete with some aggressive street-style images and video. If you’re having trouble remembering when Ibis last made an aluminium frame, join the club. The…
Singletrack Salvation Cycling Chamois Cream– It saves our souls
Do you ever get a sore bottom whilst cycling? Salvation is here in the buttery form of Singletrack Salvation chamois cream. Four ways to avoid a sore bottom when cycling. Cycling can put huge demands on your “downstairs” regions leading to everything from general sore…
2020 Kona Bikes at Eurobike 2019
Last week we spent a few hours over at the Kona booth during Eurobike to catch up on what’s new in the range for 2020. Once again Kona had erected their impressive booth for Eurobike 2019, and once again, the Canadian brand were delivering the…
Review | Jamis Dakar A2 – A Budget Full Bouncer
Antony hops aboard the Jamis Dakar, a full suspension bike that won’t empty your wallet. If you’re a regular reader of this website, you’ll probably notice that we feature a lot of very posh spangly bikes. And when you think about it, that’s quite understandable.…
Celebrate Mountainbiking With The Singletrack Wisecracker Beer Bottle Opener
You should always be near the ones you love… and that is why you are never that far from your bike or your beer… and now you can always be near a beer bottle opener too with the Singletrack Wisecracker beer bottle opener and headset…
Eurobike Tech Randoms Including a budget 1 x 13 drivetrain!
From knock-off Fox forks and budget 13-speed drivetrains, to the latest long travel linkage forks, here are our top tech randoms of Eurobike. Lone Bikes Parabellum The Lone Bikes team were back at Eurobike 2019 with their clever full suspension bike that can take various…
There and back again – putting the mountains back into mountain biking
In association with… There are some places you ride that stick in the mind long after you’ve brushed yourself down, cleaned the dust off your bike and moved onto places and adventures new. The towering peak of Binnean Mor, an imposing edifice of possibility and…
Eurobike 2019: Oil Slicked Funn, QR GoPro mount and more!
Funn shows us its limited edition oil slick pedals, new goggles, a clever GoPro mount and more! Funn’s booth at Eurobike is bubbling to the brim with parts and components so varied that it’s easy to forget where you are. First up is this pair…
Fresh Goods Friday 464 | The Back To School Edition
All the kids are back at school. The kids in Scotland – who have been back for weeks – are already looking forward to half term. The teachers in England are already looking forward to half term. Daytime gin consumption is suddenly reducing. Soft play…
Eurobike 2019: Prototype DMR DJ bike and single-sided SPD
DMR proves that the best way to get your bike shot is to place a “prototype do not photograph” sticker on it, plus new single-sided SPD pedals. DMR is best known for its steel dirt jump bikes, so when we spotted this prototype alloy bike…
Eurobike 2019: Hellion bikes for Lil Shredders
Hellion is a new sub-brand of Early Rider that hopes to bring aggressive full-suspension and hardtail bikes to young riders. Last year, Early Rider bought the popular kids bike brand Lil Shredder, and at the same time took on the Lil Shredder team to create…
Manitou Mattoc Pro Long Term Review
James Vincent checks out the Manitou Mattoc Pro Boost fork – how does it stand up to the competition? Another month, another set of suspension forks for review. No fancy linkages on these ones though, just standard telescoping tubes, stanchions, bushings and a not so…
Ard Moors Trail Crew Get Their Build On With Chris Akrigg
With Ard Moors just over a week away, the Build Crew have been hard at it shaping and crafting some of the finest trails in Yorkshire and possibly the world. Trials legend and EVOC athlete Chris Akrigg will be taking part this year and joined…
Eurobike 2019: Convert your Hope Pro 4 to Microspline for $25
When it was revealed that Hope couldn’t get a license to make a Microspline freehub there was uproar, luckily this Chinese company came to the rescue. Microspline is a new standard that Shimano came up with when it released its long-over-due 1 x 12 drivetrains.…
Trek SuperCaliber | The 60mm travel World Cup race bike
As World Cup race courses get more technical, with less and less chance to recover between ‘features’, the big question in top level cross country racing is whether to go full suspension, or to keep with a lighter and stiffer hardtail. Well, the new Trek…
Eurobike 2019: Clarks M4 4 Pot brakes just £70 a pair!
Clarks is showing off the new Clarks M4 4 Pot disc brake at Eurobike that cost just £70, and that’s for a pair with a set of disc rotors too! The Clarks M4 is a new 4 piston brake aimed at downhill and E-Bike riders…
Eurobike 2019: Prototype Privateer 161
From the same people who bring us Hunt wheels, the Privateer 161 is a radical 29er aimed to shred the trails, not your wallet! We had heard rumours that the big wheel, big travel, progressive prototype was being shown off around Eurobike (having originally been…
Lee Quarry Riders Robbed By Masked Attackers With Crowbars
On the evening of Wednesday 4th September, two riders had driven up the access road to Lee Quarry, in Lancashire to go for an evening ride. They parked in the ‘top’ car park before the quarry gate and while they were getting ready to ride,…
Eurobike 2019: Ceramic Speed Electronic Drivetrain on a Prototype Canyon
Last year, Ceramic Speed broke the internet with its radical 13-speed drivetrain solution, this year they’re back with a mountain bike version. Ceramic Speed’s very novel 13-speed drivetrain from Eurobike 2018 was cool. It was unlike anything we had ever seen before. It used a…
Last Chance To Subscribe! Singletrack Issue 127
We’re still wearing shorts, despite the unsightly nettle rash (they do get more concentrated as the summer goes on, we’re sure of it). Each day the socks are getting a little longer and a little woolier, and eventually we’ll be force to admin that it’s…
Production Privée and Forestal Join Forces Titanium PP coming soon
Big news away from Eurobike this week is that Forestal, the tech brand Cedric Gracia is riding for, has now joined forces with Production Privée. Production Privée, our favourite Andorran steel bike maker, and Forestal, a new tech based bike start up, have announced a…
Rudy Project Keyblade Photochromic Glasses – Multipurpose frames for many light levels.
Launched today are the latest 2020 products from Rudy Project, including these new Rudy Project Keyblade frames with photochromic lenses, which we picked up at a preview at Impact Sun Valley, Idaho earlier this summer. Rudy Project has a background in road and triathlon, though…
Eurobike 2019: This custom-built King isn’t from 1993
Custom frame builder King, has taken inspiration from a 1992 Klein and built this absolute stunner! We don’t give out awards at Eurobike for the best looking biking on display, but if we did this custom made King bike would be in our shortlist. For…
Vote Here | Singletrack Reader Awards 2019
You’ve done all your research, yeah? If you are ready to cast your votes then head on down to our ballot box below. If you are still unsure then head back to our category index here and learn some more about this year’s finalists. GLITCH…