MY FIRST MOUNTAIN

COMING CLEANER

There ’s a change in the air. It’s not about news and

(Hand) Made In China

Chipps follows the path of an Asian-made bike from concept sketch to mountainside testing.

YOUR SELF-HANDICAP, EXPOSED.

Jason Miles is partial to the odd niche or two: fat bikes and singlespeeds being among them. He’s tolerant of everyone else’s too, provided they don’t keep going on about them.

SNOWDON: THE PRINCE OF WALES

Tom Fenton explores one of the ultimate must-do locations

RECOMMENDED

HERE AT SINGLETRACK TOWERS, WE PUT A LOT OF PRODUCTS THROUGH THE GRINDER. SINGLETRACK RECOMMENDED IS THE ABSOLUTE CREAM OF THE CROP OF THE GEAR WE’VE BEEN TESTING. IT’S THE KIT THAT WE USE LONG AFTER TESTING HAS FINISHED. THE PRODUCTS THAT WE WOULD GO OUT AND PURCHASE WITH OUR OWN MONEY. GEAR THAT’S SO GOOD IT EARNS OUR RECOMMENDED SEAL OF APPROVAL.

ROOM 101

Every issue we highlight some of those niggly aspects

KILLER HARDTAILS

Wil and the crew rode the rubber off these three modern hardtail bikes. And then they took them to Austria for the photo shoot.

KONA

HONZO CR TRAIL DL

NUKEPROOF

SCOUT 290 RACE

TRILLION CYCLES

PRIME

VERDICT

In a marketing landscape that’s dominated by pricey

ENDURO BAG

“To finish first, you must first finish.” - Rick Mears.

ULSTER SAYS YES!

Ian from Rock and Ride Outdoors shows us round his home trails in Northern Ireland.

THE BLACK FUEL

Last issue, Chipps filled his crystal tumbler and took

KEITH BONTRAGER

“Strong, light, cheap – pick two.” Mountain bike pioneer, product designer, agitator.

SIMPLY THE QUEST

Barney heads off to Shropshire to try to answer a question which has been bugging him – why are there so many good riders from such a quiet county?

HI-TECH RUBBER

James Vincent and the Singletrack Rubber Crew have been testing a range of new tyres and picked their top recommendations for you.

STEP INSIDE MY LAB

Even to a self-confessed tyre geek, the array of acronyms

E*thirteen

TRSr

MICHELIN

WILD ROCK’R GUM X 2.35IN

HUTCHINSON

TORO HARDSKIN 2X66

MAXXIS

HIGH ROLLER II EXO 3C

VERDICT

We tested ten set of tyres and these are our favourites

THE COMPETITION

To read the full review of each and every tyre you

Single track

PREMIER DEALERS.

WE JUST WORK HERE

Who we are, what we do (but not why) and what our signature cookery dishes are.

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HAWAII OF THE ATLANTIC

Karen Eller and pals take a trip to the ‘so foreign, yet so close’ mid-Atlantic jungle wonderland - The Azores.

THE GRAND FINALE

Taking a holiday from being a mountain bike guide, Ian Bailey goes mountain biking in Italy and lets another guide take the strain. He also lets his sense of self-preservation have some time off too.

LAST WORD

Event organisers and the cycle of abuse, forgiveness and eventual love.