This article was first published in Issue 109 of Singletrack Magazine. Subscribe today from just £1.99 Chipps tracks down the…
Chipps
With 23 years as Editor of Singletrack World Magazine, Chipps is the longest-running mountain bike magazine editor in the world. He started in the bike trade in 1990 and became a full time mountain bike journalist at the start of 1994. Over the last 30 years as a bike writer and photographer, he has seen mountain bike culture flourish, strengthen and diversify and bike technology go from rigid steel frames to fully suspended carbon fibre (and sometimes back to rigid steel as well.)
Will There Be Open Access For Wales? ‘No’ seems to be the official answer…
The Welsh Government asked for our opinions about a ‘Scottish style’ open access for the Welsh countryside. We responded in…
Mountain Mayhem Returns For 2019. And yes, it’ll be a 24 hour race
Mountain Mayhem, the longest running 24hr mountain bike endurance event in the world, has announced its dates for 2019 –…
Malverns. Classic! Is this the new must-do event of the summer?
What a weekend! With nothing short of the expectations of the British mountain biking world on his shoulders, event organiser,…
Singletrack Issue 119: Was It All A Dream
Chipps looks back at the colossal impact of the original Malvern Classic event and asks if the ‘new’ one can…
Singletrack Magazine Issue 119: Returning To The Dark Side
The former Red Bull trail opened in 1996 to wide acclaim as the first purpose-built trail in the UK. Chipps…
Victorious Underdogs – Number 2 Plates Rule Tweedlove’s British Champs
What a Tweedlove finale! Crowning the midsummer cycling festival (that actually starts in March and finishes at the end of…
Water Pistols, Demos And World Class Enduro. Tweedlove 2018 Fires Up.
The jewel of the Tweedlove festival – the big weekend of the Whyte British Enduro Championships is well underway and…
Jeff Steber Interview: Staying Intense
Chipps visited Intense Cycles in Southern California back in April 2017 Â for an in-depth conversation with the founder of Intense,…
Exclusive First Look: The New Cotic Solaris Max
Cotic’s new Solaris MAX launches today. And it’s in stock. And we’ve ridden one. It’s always an exciting day for…
Mondraker Carbon Foxy 29er – The Most Obvious Bike Ever
Given that Mondraker has already launched a 27.5in carbon Foxy bike, the fact that it was going to launch a…
Success! Expansion Plans Approved For Dales Bike Centre
Everyone’s favourite cake emporium and mountain bike centre, not to mention the literal hub of the Ard Rock Enduro, the…
Propain Hugene – A 29er ‘that doesn’t feel boring’
Propain is a small German maker of carbon trail and enduro bikes and you might have seen or heard about…
Sea Otter 2018: Found! New Giro Shoes Hidden In Plain Sight
The Giro booth at the Sea Otter is always a good source of news and gossip. Not usually because of…
Chris Chance And The New Fat Chance Wicked
After many years out of the bike industry, legendary founder of Fat City Cycles, Chris Chance, returned with a new,…
Bold Unplugged. The Neatest Full Susser Ever?
Swiss company, Bold, was showing off its latest trail bike at this year’s Sea Otter. Featuring 170mm (or 180) travel…
Sea Otter 2018: New Gadgets From Lezyne
Lezyne always launches a load of new stuff at the Sea Otter and 2018 was no different. Concentrating on its…
Sea Otter 2018: OneUp Components New Tools (And Dropper)
Earlier this week, we brought you word of OneUp’s new dropper post. A visit to its Sea Otter booth brought…
Niner Shows Integrated Luggage And Teases Full Suspension Gravel Bike
Niner, which many people know for its fast race mountain bike hardtails and full suspension bikes has been developing a…
Praxis Works Will Lighten Your e-Bike
With most e-bikes weighing in at the high 30lbs or mid 40lbs mark, saving weight is still a worthwhile exercise,…
Behold The Pole Machine
The Pole bike company (confusingly from Finland) has always done things a little differently. And rather than go to Taiwan…
Kona’s 2019 Newcomers Go Big On 29ers
Kona is 30 years old this year and has many treats in store for you. There are new carbon bikes,…
Continental Revamps Its Entire Tyre Line
Things have been pretty quiet from Continental Tyres for the last couple of years. The company has been busy with…
GT Bicycles Celebrates 25 Years Of Suspension With Retro Showcase
GT Bicycles has a pretty extensive heritage to call on. It also apparently has a pretty good retro bike library…
Syncros Launches Lightest Wheels Ever?
Syncros has just, cryptically, launched a new wheelset that, on (digital) paper at least, appears to be one of the…
TyreWiz – Real Time Tyre Pressure Monitoring
Quarq, the SRAM division that brought you the ShockWiz, has just announced TyreWiz, which promises to offer the same kind…
Could this be the most adjustable dropper post ever?
OneUp Components is used to causing trouble and doing things a little differently. For proof, just see its cassette expander…
Cane Creek’s hollow welded titanium cranks are here – and they’re only a thousand pounds
When was the last time you saw welded, hollow cranks like these? While it’s not a new idea, it’s not…
First Look: The Marzocchi Z1 Bomber Returns! Own The Trails Again…
One of the most iconic mountain bike fork names has returned, and it’s doing so in a typically unapologetic fashion.…
Cane Creek’s Helm Goes 29in (And 27.5Plus Too)
After a successful introduction of the 27.5in version last year, Cane Creek Cycling Components has announced the release of its…
The Full Stache! Trek’s New Full Suspension 29 Plus Adventure Trail Bike.
‘Anyone who likes to go long and get weird will like Full Stache’ is how Trek is introducing its new…
Shimano Apologises For Its Factory Catching Fire
Yesterday, British cycle trade news website, Cycling Industry News broke the news that local Japanese media were reporting a fire…
Hit The North Returns Again. Again.
The Singletrack Forum’s favourite event ever* is to return this May. Run by 24 hour racing legend and Guy Martin’s…
Exclusive First Look! The Ibis Ripmo Long Travel 29er
Today, Ibis Cycles has announced a (quite literally) huge bike for it – the enduro-ready, long travel trail bike, dubbed…
Monday Morning Debrief – Spring Has Sprung Edition
What a weekend! It appears that spring has finally decided to visit (ahead of this week’s forecasted snow) and so…
Bristol BikeFest Returns! Popular South West Event Is Back By Popular Demand.
Rather quietly, this last week or so, Bristol BikeFest announced that it was well and truly back! Teased first on…
Wireless Shifting Is Here! As Is Wide Rubber! Pumps! Bikes! Shoes! Glasses too! It’s Fresh Goods Friday 388!
No one ever reads this bit, but how else will they know they're missing Fresh Goods Friday 388?
The Renthal Fatbar Is Dead! Long Live The Fatbar!
The venerable Renthal Fatbar (and Fatbar Lite) have been around on bikes for, well, we can’t actually remember a time…
Making Carbon Bikes Is Easier Than You Think – Carbon Wasp Is Hiring
Want to build carbon bikes, but don’t know where to start? Well, Leeds-based Carbon Wasp might have just the job…
2019 Is Here Already! Here Is RockShox’ Lineup For The Future
Just when you were just getting used to 2018, and starting to pay off the credit card accrued in 2017,…
Singletrack Magazine Issue 118: Editorial
Make The Moment Last Words Chipps I’ve never heard of Ben Hogan. I’d assumed that he was the lesser famous…
Singletrack Magazine Issue 118: No Mercy In The Mountains
Backcountry Tour of the Pyrenees? You can’t handle the backcountry tour of the Pyrenees! Words & Photography CHIPPS It took…
A Grand Day Out With Canyon
When Jack from Canyon turns up to go for an easy spin, it's best to pretend that you're out
Which Saracen Would You Choose? The Full Sus 29er Or The Full Sus E-Bike?
Saracen launches new Ariel E, e-Bike and first full suss 29er
To Be Honest, We Didn’t Expect This Top Enduro Manufacturer To Make Such Nice Clothing
When enduro and downhill brand Nukeproof said it was launching clothing, we reached for the sunglasses. We were pleasantly surprised
£300 To Sort Your Suspension Out? Are You Crazy? We Reckon You’re Crazy If You Don’t
With a sixty quid price drop, perfectly tuned suspension is even closer
The very best of 2017 – Chipps’ picks for the Singletrack Editors’ Choice Award
Chipps' favourite products and events from last year.
First Look: Brand New Flux Helmet From Fox Head
Chipps gets his hands on the new Flux helmet from Fox Head
Build It And You Will Ride – Chipps goes on a framebuilding course
Our Editor goes on Downland Cycles’ TIG welding framebuilding course, to see if his office skills can be turned into…
Singletrack Magazine Issue 117: Editorial
Strength through respect Words Chipps 2017 saw car brand Porsche retire from endurance, Le Mans-style bike racing (it’s off to…