Shimano Deore XT M8100 and SLX M7100 see 12-speed technology trickled down from the XTR M9100 groupset In a move that will surprise literally nobody, Shimano has just revealed its brand new 12 speed Deore XT M8100 groupset – almost exactly one year after XTR…
Review | 2019 Norco Fluid FS 1 – A Sub-£2k Full Suspension Bike
Hannah checks out the 2019 Norco Fluid FS 1, a sub £2k full suspension bike. Norco is sold exclusively in the UK by Evans cycles, and at this price point with that high street access, this is likely a bike that will catch the eye…
Alpinestars Trail Attack Heads to Antur Stiniog
We’ve just heard that Alpinestars’ popular ‘It’s a knockout/devil take the hindmost/battle to the death’ downhill trail racing event will return at the end of June. And this time the venue moves from Hamsterley to a new venue of Antur Stiniog in North Wales on…
The Met Parachute Helmet Returns. Now With Removable Chinbar
The Met Parachute has been a feature in the Met Helmets lineup since 2007 and it’s no coincidence that that was around the time global Enduro racing really began to gather momentum. The original helmet was more a full face trail lid offering an increase…
Cash reward for the return of Aaron Gwin’s stolen bike in Edinburgh
Aaron Gwin’s bad luck continues, after hurting his ankle he’s now dealing with a stolen bike ahead of this weekend’s Fort William WC downhill race. The Intense Factory team has suffered a theft on the way to Fort William with Aron Gwin’s bike stolen during…
Review: Northwave Clan flat shoes gives you gecko grip plus
Andi slips on a pair of the new Northwave Clan flat shoes featuring a tread and rubber collab from the rubber wizards at Michelin. We first spotted the Northwave Clan shoe way back at Eurobike in 2018. There the shoe was shown alongside the Northwave…
MilKit Tubeless Sealant Launches Today To Solve Common Sealant Issues
The tyre sealant market is a crowded one, but Swiss company miKit reckons that its new sealant, simply called milKit Tubeless Sealant, is different enough to win fans. milKit Sealant promises to be lump-free, so that it doesn’t need vigorous shaking and when it dries,…
Bike Check | Chloe Woodruff’s Live Valve-Equipped Pivot Mach 4 SL
For America’s Chloe Woodruff, everything clicked into place on Friday the 25th of May at the second round of the UCI World Cup at Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic. During the Short Track XCC race, Woodruff made a powerful move during the 6th lap…
Review | Hellkat Pro AEC Tyre – For When The Going Gets Steep
David tests out the Hellkat Pro AEC, an enduro tyre from Kenda. Way back in the day, Kenda had a solid reputation in mountain biking and seemed to dominate. By a decade or so ago, that seemed to have fallen to competitors, who’d quickly made…
Longterm Review | FSA Flowtron Dropper Post
After six months of testing, James Vincent delivers us his verdict of the FSA Flowtron dropper post Which has revolutionised trail riding more; 1x drivetrains or dropper posts? Now there’s a question. Sure, 1x drivetrains have made gear shifts easier, cockpits less complicated and given…
Fresh Forking Goods 449: Meet the RockShox Ultimate family, and have fun in the sun
The long weekend approaches and naturally our minds turn to fancy new RockShox forks, comfy saddles, fresh threads, and suncream. Oh, and pickles… Fabric Scoop Shallow Race Ti Price: £69.99 (model shown is not available to buy) From: Fabric.cc Ross has been sent an ambassador…
New 2020 Trek Top Fuel Is As Much Trail Bike As Race Bike
Trek has announced an update to its very popular XC bike, the Top Fuel, that takes it further into the realms of other fast trail/XC race/marathon bikes rather than it being a dedicated World Cup machine. The new Trek Top Fuel is longer and slacker,…
New SRAM DH Drivetrains And Troy Lee Camo Colab
Downhill riders get new SRAM drivetrains and a Troy Lee collaboration. While most of what we hear from SRAM involves singing the praises of wide range cassettes and 12 gears, there’s a group of riders for whom getting up hills is of no interest whatsoever.…
Ibis Collaborates with Stan’s on new carbon wheels, creates cheesy video all by itself
Ibis rolls out new Carbon S-Wheels designed in conjunction with Stan’s No Tubes Ibis Cycles has been producing complete mountain bike wheels for a good while now, having been one of the earlier brands to jump on super wide rims back in 2014. The latest…
Hayes Performance Systems Introduces New Enduro Fork, Shock, Wheels AND Brakes
New Performance Products from Manitou, SUNringlé, Hayes and ProTaper MTB For the 2020 model year (yes, it’s only May…) Hayes Performance Systems, which includes the Manitou, SUNringlé and ProTaper MTB brands, will be launching a swag of new products aimed at the enduro crowd. For…
Review | Pivot Cycles Mach 4 SL Team XTR
Wil reviews the brand new Pivot Mach 4 SL The Mach 4 SL debuts in 2019 as a freshly baked model for Pivot Cycles. With a sleek carbon fibre frame, 29in wheels and 100mm of efficient dw-link suspension, it slots into the Pivot lineup as…
Pivot Cycles Launches New Mach 4 SL
Brand new from Pivot Cycles is the all-new Mach 4 SL Standing in the Pivot mountain bike lineup as the flagship full suspension XC race bike, the Mach 4 SL replaces two existing models; the Mach 4 Carbon and the Mach 429 SL. The Mach…
Osprey Raven 10 | Women’s Hydration Backpack For Long Days Out
It’s getting harder and harder for women to choose kit these days, because we seem to have more choice than ever before. The Osprey range alone features women’s specific packs for commuting, racing, big mountain days out and everything in-between. In this case I have…
Met Helmets Teases New Convertible Parachute Helmet
Met Helmets has today released a cool video, shot in the Highlands of Scotland, showing Kevin Miquel and Liam Moynihan winching up hills before hooning back down them. And it’s all in the name of promoting an as-yet announced new Met Parachute helmet. The video…
FINDRA Stroma Jacket | Eco-Friendly Doesn’t Sacrifice Performance
Amanda tests out the FINDRA Stroma waterproof jacket, made with…coffee? Tweed Valley based clothing designer FINDRA has only been on the market since 2014, but has already established a great reputation for its womenswear range. With a strong belief in the importance of layering clothing for…
Marino Bikes Announces Sell Off Of Sick Bicycles Frames
The long and complicated saga of Sick Bicycles continues, with Marino Bikes, Sick’s Peruvian manufacturer posting this announcement on its Facebook page: Marino previously posted that it had made the frames for Sick Bicycles and the delay was due to non-payment rather than manufacturing or…
Podium battle set to be fierce at TweedLove’s Transcenduro
With an impressive list of the top international pro enduro riders signed up for TweedLove’s Transcenduro, hosted at the Transcend Bike Festival in Innerleithen, Tweed Valley from June 7 – 9, the battle for the podium top spots is set to be fierce. Canyon…
Review | Shimano SH-XC901 SPD Carbon Soled MTB Shoes
Jason reviews the latest go-fast SPD MTB shoe from Shimano; the S-Phyre SH-XC901 If you’re serious about riding bikes fast and going faster than other people, you’re probably going to be interested in the S-Phyre SH-XC901 shoes (or the XC901 if you want to keep…
The 2019 Boltby Bash Was How All Bike Races Should Be
The Fourth, modern-era Boltby Bash event took place this weekend in the tiny North Yorkshire village of Boltby, somewhere near Thirsk and Sutton Bank, in the middle of some stunning green Yorkshire hills. The main event is a modern-style enduro, but it has proved so…
Review | Chromag Contact Flat Pedals – Nip Your Cranks, Not Your Shins
Amanda tests and reviews Brandon Semenuk’s favourite flat pedals – the Chromag Contact For the past six months I have gone from trail bike to enduro bike, back to trail, and eventually ended up on a steel hardtail. I’ve been changing shoes and bikes as…
Extreme Sports Enthusiast – 8 ”Good To Know” Ways To Prevent Long-Term Injuries
Advertisement feature As most sports enthusiasts know, injury risks never go away. Racing downhill or simply riding in unknown territories comes with its own risks. At some point, every sports enthusiast has dealt with an injury. But it doesn’t mean that many injuries can’t be…
Review | 7Mesh Women’s Revo Shorts – Waterproof Your Bum
Hannah has been grinding these 7Mesh Revo waterproof shorts through a winter of slop. Is her bum still dry? 7Mesh is a clothing company based in Squamish, British Columbia. If you are British, this is of interest, because they have weather that is not too…
Pace RC529 review: the business in front, party in the back hardtail
Andi reviews Pace Cycles’ low-slung Pace RC529 steel 29er to see what this versatile hardcore hardtail is made of. I remember leafing through mountain bike magazines in the mid-’90s and being drawn to Pace Cycles’ radical products. The Yorkshire based brand was at the cutting…
Fresh Goods Friday 448 | The If Only It Had A Freezer In It Edition
Move along. There’s nothing to be read here. And if there was one of us would probably misunderstand the other’s intention and we’d all end up hacked off with each other. It’s been one of those weeks where words shouldn’t be allowed. He said, she…
Newsdesk 12: How to save 47% at Canyon UK, Rich Energy vs Whyte and more
In Newsdesk 12 we take a look at Canyon UK new cycle to work scheme that could save you 47% off a new bike, dip our toes into the Whyte vs Rich Energy saga and spy that new Cannondale It is Newsdesk 12 although I…
10 More Stunning Steel Full Suspension Bikes You Cannot Ignore
Steel remains real in 2019 with no sign of steel full suspension bikes disappearing from the market, in fact, there could be even more on offer than ever before. 2019 Production Privée Shan No5 Price: From €1,499.00 frame only From: Production Privée For 2019, Andorran…
#MakingUpTheNumbers | Fort William – The Warm Up
National Downhill Series Round 2 & SDA Round 3 – Fort William. George Thompson brings us his latest downhill race report from the shadows of the podium. “Let me message Jules and see which one she wants to go to?” “No, no, no, no, NO! Don’t…
Review | Stanton Switch9er FS – UK Made Steel Full Suspension Play Machine
Hannah reports back on her time on the Stanton Switch9er FS, a hand made steel and alloy bike from the UK. Stanton Bikes has a well established reputation for building steel hardtails, so it was with some excitement that the move into full suspension frames…
Tuesday Treats: Ty Beic the MTB friendly cottage in Wales you have to visit
Premier Dealer Ty Beic fills us in on what has changed in the past 4 years since we last spoke to them, and tells us all about their all new personal MTB track. Tuesday Treats is a chance where independent MTB related companies have a…
Video: Danny MacAskill goes retro in his latest edit
Forget drones, 4K cameras, and video stabilisation! Danny MacAskill has gone back to old skool VHS for his latest edit. Watch Danny MacAskill’s latest video below and check out the range of Endura kit he is wearing here. Endura Press Release Follows “Danny MacAskill chooses…
€72.000 worth of bikes stolen from Propain Bicycles
Propain Bicycles has reported that 17 bikes worth a total of €72.000 have been stolen and they want them back! Press Release Follows “Bikes wanted! We came back from Bikefestival Riva unscathed! That’s the good news. Unfortunately, there are also some bad news to report:…
There are only 50 of these Nukeproof Mega 290 WORX available!
Nukeproof has announced details of an ultra limited edition Nukeproof Mega 290 WORX bike built up with some of the best kit on the market. If you’re a fan of the original Nukeproof Mega with brushed alloy finish then you’re going to love this 2019…
Making Up The Numbers World Cup Podcast | Episode 1 | Part 2
Part 2 In part 2 of Making Up The Numbers Podcast, Joe Breeden describes his race run and how it felt to be on the Red Bull live feed for the first time, before George gives Mojo’s Chris Porter a call. Listen to Part 2…
Review | The 2019 Merida One-Twenty 8000 is a zippy, fun-loving trail bike
Wil reviews the 2019 Merida One-Twenty – a zippy, fun-loving trail bike Following a 2.5 year gestation period, the Merida One-Twenty arrives on the scene as a brand spanking new trail bike for 2019. Following in the footsteps of the longer travel One-Forty and One-Sixty,…
SRAM SX Is The Cheapest 12 Speed Groupset You’ve Never Heard Of
SRAM is usually great at letting us media-types know about its new components, often giving us a chance to try it a few weeks before the news breaks to the public. However, we’ve had a couple of instances of ‘SRAM SX’ turning up in the…
Is It Summer Yet? No? Then Enjoy Fresh Goods Friday 447 Instead!
Oh, woe is us! The sky is falling down! Well, wet bits of the sky are falling. The woodburners of the forum have been lit again and Jess the dog won’t come out from underneath the Swobo jacket that she’s adopted to keep the wet…
Newsdesk 11: DJI Action Camera rumours, Sam Hill’s 29er, Trust Price Drop and more
In this week’s edition of Singletrack Newsdesk 11 we take a look at the DJI action camera rumours, get a first look at Sam Hill’s new 29er Mega, and check out what’s hot from China. Watch the Newsdesk 11 video or skip below for the…
Making Up The Numbers World Cup Podcast | Round 1 With Joe Breeden
Our very own racer of mediocrity, George Thompson, has started a brand new Downhill World Cup Podcast for the 2019 season in association with Hope Technology, Revolution Bike Park and us, Singletrack. Intense Factory Racing UK’s Joe Breeden joins George and co-presenter Richard ‘Binzy’ Binns…
Video: Are Mountain Bikers Faster Than Roadies? Madison Gets Two National Champions To Find Out
Ever wondered if the time you make up on the descents would be enough to give you enough head start on the climb back up to the top? Or are you a climbing god who’s merely average at descending. It’s always a fun challenge to…
Longterm Review | 2019 Giant TRX 1 Carbon Wheelset
After four months of testing, Wil gives us his longterm review of the Giant TRX 1 carbon 29er wheelset Giant has been producing wheels for a good few years now, primarily for its own range of mountain and road bikes, but also for the aftermarket…
Sick Bicycles – Are Things As Bad As They Sound?
What is going on with Sick Bikes? Hannah has been trying to get to the bottom of it. ‘Sick Bicycle Co‘ first came to my attention in May 2017, when I ran a story on its rather entertainingly named company and bikes. I liked the…
Review | The Specialized Fast Trak GRID 29×2.3 is a fast AND tough XC tyre
Wil reviews the Specialized Fast Trak; a fast-rolling XC tyre with a tough GRID casing When it comes to choosing race-worthy components for XC and marathon bikes, the traditional approach has been to go as light as possible. After all, it’s your legs that have…
Review | Specialized connects you to earth with the Ground Control GRID 29×2.3 tyre
Wil reviews the latest version of the venerable Specialized Ground Control tyre I seem to have been riding a lot of chunky tyres lately. I’d say it has a lot to do with the influence of living in a steep valley amongst the Pennines for…
Dyfi Difference – Popular New Course For 1000 Riders At The 2019 Dyfi Enduro
Nearly 1000 riders turned out to ride the 2019 Dyfi Enduro in Machynlleth in west Wales this bank holiday weekend just gone. After the disappointment of last year when the event had to be cancelled due to a waterlogged camping field, over 600 riders kept…
Wales360 Event Cancelled
Wales360 cancelledWe’ve just heard from a couple of sources that the Wales360 event, which was due to take place in mid/north Wales this July has been cancelled, with the organisers, Sweetspot citing a lack of entrants. Riders who had already entered were emailed with this…
Video: Remy Morton thrashes his Commencal Clash in New Zealand
Watch Commencal rider, Remy Morton, throw his Commencal Clash around the dry and dusty trails of New Zealand. “After CRANKWORX ROTORUA we went for a ride in NZ with Australian Remy Morton. We traveled with him to legendary spots in New Zealand, COMMENCAL offices in…