Fresh out of the oven from Specialized is the brand new S-Works Recon shoe, which is designed to be both superlight and super-stiff for XC racing. Giving the boot to…
Wil Barrett
Did you forget how to get Fat? Eddy Masters didn’t
The seasons, they are a-changing. In the upper most hemisphere, the days are getting shorter, the climate’s getting colder and wetter, and the warm embrace of the fireplace at the…
Longterm Review: 2019 Scott Ransom 900 Tuned
It’s been three months since we first got our hands on the brand new Scott Ransom. Fully redesigned for 2019 and beyond, the Ransom glides into the Scott lineup as…
Helmet Review: Bontrager Rally MIPS vs Specialized Ambush
Both of these are what I'd refer to as 'trail' helmets. They're heavier than a XC race lid, though they do come with more coverage to add protection around your…
Don’t Skewer Yourself With A GoPro – Camelbak Sternum Protector Review
I’ll make a bet. If you were drawing up a shopping list for new bits of body armour right now, I reckon it’d be highly unlikely that you’d have ‘sternum…
Tested: 5 Cheap Upgrades For Your Mountain Bike You Didn’t Know You Needed
Here are five little upgrades that I've been using on my test bikes over the past year, all of which cost less than 20 quid.
Don’t Bonk! 5 Nutrition Products For Your Next Riding Trip
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been travelling around parts of Europe on a road trip to check out some absolutely mint riding destinations, such as Punta Ala, Finale Ligure…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Review: Bontrager Flatline Flat Pedal Shoes
Ask any mountain biker what flat pedal shoes they’d recommend, and there’s one brand that inevitably comes up in conversation: Five Ten. With its gooey Stealth rubber-soled shoes, Five Ten…
Review: Don’t like wearing bulky, uncomfortable knee pads? Leatt’s Airflex Pro is made for you
Most famous for pioneering the modern-day neck brace, South African company Leatt also produces a broad range of protective wear for mountain biking that includes helmets, body armour, spine protectors,…
Why Tyre Pressures Matter – And Why You Need A Pressure Gauge
Modern mountain bikes come with a dizzying amount of adjustability. To get your riding position nice and comfy, you’ve got things like bar height, saddle tilt, saddle height and brake…
Group Test: 6 Tyre Pressure Gauges Tested & Reviewed
Ensuring your tyres are set to the right pressure can feel like a chore, but it's a relatively simple adjustment that can have a huge effect out on the trail.…
Review: The 2019 Scott Ransom 900 Tuned Is A 170mm Travel All Rounder
The big news from Scott Sports for 2019? The return of the Ransom – a model that first appeared in 2005 as a genre-bending All Mountain bike with a high-tech…
All You Need To Know About The 2019 Scott Ransom
When Scott unveiled the brand new 150mm travel Genius platform last year, there was a suspicious absence of the long travel version. That seemed a little odd, because the Genius…
Review: The Topeak Smart Gauge D2 has been around for yonks, but is it still the best?
Just how important is it to set your tyres to the right pressure? According to Wil, it is VERY important, and it can make a huge difference to how your…
Review: Oxford Products makes a killer digital tyre pressure gauge for under £30
Just how important is it to set your tyres to the right pressure? According to Wil, it is VERY important, and it can make a huge difference to how your…
Review: The Schwalbe Airmax Pro may be the cheapest pressure gauge on test, but its damn useful
Just how important is it to set your tyres to the right pressure? According to Wil, it is VERY important, and it can make a huge difference to how your…
Review: Lezyne’s Digital Check Drive is a new standalone tyre pressure gauge
Just how important is it to set your tyres to the right pressure? According to Wil, it is VERY important, and it can make a huge difference to how your…
Review: The Fabric Accubar is very close to being our favourite tyre pressure gauge
Just how important is it to set your tyres to the right pressure? According to Wil, it is VERY important, and it can make a huge difference to how your…
Review: The EVT Bleedin’ Gauge is the most expensive tyre pressure gauge we’ve ever tested
Just how important is it to set your tyres to the right pressure? According to Wil, it is VERY important, and it can make a huge difference to how your…
Review: SRAM Guide T Hydraulic Disc Brakes
Announced earlier this year as a brand new entry-level hydraulic disc brake from SRAM, the Guide T slots into the current line as the cheapest option to wear the popular…
Singletrack Recommended: We review the superb Enduro Backpack from Henty Designs
Bum bags (or Fanny Packs, as they’re also affectionately known) have evolved to become one of the hottest trends in mountain biking of the past few years. Though fashion surely…
Video: Watch this custom Santa Cruz Blur frame turn into a complete bike
Earlier this year I was given the opportunity to check out the brand new 3rd generation Blur from Santa Cruz Bicycles. Following a 5-year hiatus, the Blur has returned to the…
Bike Check: Two Custom UK-Made Steel Hardtails From Islabikes
The 2018 Pivot TwentyFour12 was held over the weekend down at the historic Newnham Park venue in Plymouth, and despite the wild weather that rolled in through Sunday morning (and…
Review: Bell’s brilliant Super DH MIPS convertible helmet really is 2-in-1
Stemming from a long lineage of mountain biking lids from the 64-year old helmet brand, Bell’s flagship Super DH helmet represents the 4th generation of the popular Super model. The…
8 Bikes From The 2018 Pivot TwentyFour12
Of the hundreds of competitors that turned up for the 2018 Pivot TwentyFour12, there seemed to be just as many different bikes. Singlespeeds, fat bikes, full suspension enduro bangers, retro…
We Interview 13 Of The Most Outgoing Dogs At The Pivot TwentyFour12
It’s the middle of summer and we’re currently camped out at the Pivot TwentyFour12 event in Newnham Park in Plymouth. This is the 13th edition of the TwentyFour12, which has…
Go on board for a course preview of the Pivot TwentyFour12!
This weekend, Newnham Park in Plymouth will play host to the 2018 Pivot TwentyFour12. This is the 13th edition of the event, which encompasses a whole host of races and…
Video: See the Cotic SolarisMAX in action!
For the past two months, I’ve been testing out the brand new SolarisMAX from Cotic Bikes. The SolarisMAX is the Peak-district based brand’s steel 29in hardtail, and it’s designed to…
Review: The huge Shimano Deore XT PD-M8040 flat pedals come with vicious pins, but not all of them made it
First announced over a year ago at the Fort William World Cup alongside the new Saint flat and Saint SPD pedals, the PD-M8040 is the first ever flat pedal from…
Review: Smith Optics Attack Max ChromaPop Sunglasses
Adding to its growing line of performance eyewear targeted at cyclists, last year Smith Optics debuted the all-new Attack and Attack Max sunglasses. Joining the PivLock Overdrive and PivLock Arena…
Review: The latest Cotic SolarisMAX is one of the fastest hardtails we’ve tested
In case you hadn’t noticed, Cotic has been on absolute fire lately. The small Peak District-based company launched a new BFe hardcore hardtail just on a year ago, which then…
Talking Trickstuff: Factory Tour
Back in Premier Edition issue 116, Team Singletrack caught up with German precision engineering company Trickstuff, in its hidden factory deep in a German housing estate. Photography: James Vincent We’re…
Long Term Review: Did Wil ruin the Scott Genius 900 Tuned test bike with these 3 changes?
It’s now been six months since we first received the Scott Genius 900 Tuned longterm test bike. In that time, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to put it through its…
Merida Has A Brand New One-Twenty Trail Bike For 2019
Merida has a brand new One-Twenty trail bike for 2019, and with a raft of frame and suspension updates, this one promises to be even more the versatile and capable…
Review: Thule’s lightweight & flexible Vital 8 hydration backpack is ideal for all-day rides
Last year the Swedish storage specialists at Thule announced their first ever range of mountain bike hydration backpacks. Three packs were launched in the Vital series, including a compact 3L…
This ain’t no HTTP Error – It’s Fresh Goods Friday 404!
The humans are dead. Beep-boop-boop-beep We left their salt-preserved corpses behind in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Beep-beep-ba-beep-boop Their tiny brains could not handle the critical levels of stimulation from all of the…
Eurobike 2018: Pipedream has a new titanium Moxie
UK brand Pipedream Cycles brought out the Moxie hardcore hardtail just under a year ago, which wowed onlookers at Eurobike with its hyper-pink paint job and uber long geometry. Long…
Syncros’ stupid-light carbon wheels, new handlebars and a convertible pump
Filling a substantial portion of the Scott Sports booth, Syncros debuted a smattering of new products at Eurobike 2018, including some new handlebars, a yet-to-be-released convertible floor pump, and some…
19 Hot Products From Eurobike 2018
After three days of non-stop action, the Singletrack Eurobike Dream Team has finally returned to the motherland! It’s been an absolutely mental few days of running around the 12 huge…
The new Funn UpDown dropper post is ‘self-healing’ and it even fixes itself on the trail
Funn has had its Updown dropper post available for a couple of years now, but it has very recently introduced a brand new version that features internal cable routing and…
Get a really good look at the stunning DT Swiss F 535 One fork
Last week we brought you a news story on a long-awaited suspension fork from DT Swiss called the F 535 One. Coming into the suspension lineup as the biggest and…
Spotted! A New Suspension Platform Like We Have Never Seen Before
After all the endless sights of Eurobike, it was on the train back to our apartment that we spotted what is one of the most interesting things we’ve seen. We’ve…
Video: Check out the brand new 2019 Lapierre Zesty & Spicy
Just yesterday we brought you the news on the brand new 2019 Lapierre Zesty and Spicy models, which have been shown off for the first time at Eurobike. It’s actually a…
This 2019 Scott Genius has a very clever lever on the rear shock
Looking similar to the current Fox Nude shock on the 2018 Scott Genius, the new version now has a small external lever on the front of the air can that's…
Eurobike 2018: New Shimano & Giro shoes, ropey spokes, and a heavier Orange
Swedish brand Thule is expanding its range of hydration backpacks for mountain biking, and chose Eurobike to debut its new Rail series. Available in 8L, 12L and a 12L Pro…
Specialized Pumps Up The Epic With The New 2019 Epic EVO
Specialized overhauled the Epic lineup around this time last year, dropping the horst link FSR pivot and a whole load of weight in the process. A new, refined Brain shock…
Is This The Goldilocks Casing? Maxxis Launches EXO+
Maxxis has announced a brand new casing option, which we think is going to get a lot of you quite excited. It’s called EXO+ and it’s designed to close the…