Matt lives in the Front Range of Colorado and started working at Singletracks as a staff writer in 2018. He served in the Marines and has a journalism degree from MSU-Denver. Since joining Singletracks, he’s covered every corner of mountain biking, from racing, to tech development, and trail building efforts in remote corners of Central and South America.
Though he writes about all aspects of mountain biking, he's used his journalism education to excel as a reporter covering trail access issues and the intersection with wildlife, and population growth, and competing recreational interests. Still, he loves writing about a $30 camp stove or must-have piece of gear that elevates the outdoor experience. Want to talk MTB news? Send him an email.
Author snapshot
MTB Background and expertise
- Riding experience: Primarily trail, with occasional dabbling in XC and enduro racing and bikepacking
- Mountain biking since: 2012
- Number of products reviewed: Too many count—I started reviewing MTB and outdoor products full time in 2018.
- Current stable: Canfield Lithium, Ibis Ripley AF, Obed Boundary
Education and writing experience
- Bachelors of Arts, Psychology, University of Colorado, Denver
- Bachelor Arts, Journalism, Metropolitan State University of Denver
- Other publications: Colorado Community Newspapers, VeloNews, The News Station, 5280 Magazine, Eskapee, GearJunkie
Matt tries out the new Viathon M1 hardtail mountain bike in Sun Valley, Idaho, and tries to figure out who it's really meant for.
A city in Iowa repurposes a former landfill into new mountain bike trails.
Lots of summer products are hitting the shelves, including a new DJ bike from Norco, affordable GPS units, more shoes from Ride Concepts, wheels from Hunt, and Cane Creek titanium fat bike cranks.
The FSA Flowtron dropper post, named after a Seattle area flow trail, holds up to unpredictable conditions.
Riding a new mountain bike discipline is a perfect way to progress your skills or fitness even further. Matt reflects on the benefits of cross-country riding after years of shredding long-travel bikes.
Katerina Nash takes another BC Bike Race win and Felix Burke dethrones Geoff Kabush.
The talk about fork offset continues to rage in new bike releases, but what does it mean?
BC Bike Race requires more than the average XC mountain bike. Here's what some of the pros are doing to dial in their bikes for this demanding race.
With new geometry, suspension updates, and endless traction, the new Salsa Spearfish is more than just an XC 29er mountain bike.
Not everyone wants baggies all the time. Matt looks at four modern lycra kits for gravel and XC riding.
The Fezzari Signal Peak is an upsized cross-country bike and Matt will put it to the test at BC Bike Race.
Santa Cruz updates the Hightower, slackening the head angle almost two degrees, and adds a Juliana version of this popular trail bike..
Enhanced helmet protection has grown dramatically and many brands are taking their own unique approach to reducing rotational impact.
This week marks a hard week for EWS racer Martin Maes. We have new flat pedals from e*thirteen, and the 2020 BC Bike Race registration opens today.
A new housing development in St. George, UT preserves existing MTB trails and incorporates them into the community.
G-Form has updated the Pro-X knee pad to be even lighter and lower profile. We test to see how they stack up against the previous version.
We spend a day in Palisade, Colorado and check out the best riding and local amenities.
The new RockShox dropper post has return speed adjustability, a new "Vent Valve" feature, and travel lengths up to 200mm.
The latest Pivot Vault drop-bar bike is made for any kind of surface.
The Vee Rail Escape mountain bike tire resembles the shape and pattern of a Maxxis Ardent, but costs quite a bit less. How does it perform?
We check out the new Pivot Mach 4 SL mountain bike on the trails in Fruita, Colorado in this video review.
This week's News Mix includes more aggressive 29+ tires from WTB, updated flat pedals by Race Face, pocket-packable PB and J, and news from the inaugural Red Bull qualifying event.
What is power and why is it important for mountain biking? Pro mountain biker Jeremiah Bishop shares his tips for getting stronger.
Professional mountain bike racer Payson McElveen talks about his drive to set the fastest known times for iconic routes like the White Rim Trail and also shares his training tips.
A Washington mountain biker struggling with chronic illness finds the bike of his dreams, and buys from two of the sport's best.
Bruni and Hannah take the win in Leogang, 2019 MTB Hall of Fame nominees are announced, new Evoc photo bags, updated shades from SHRED. and bike park openings.
Matt checks out an updated version of the clipless Five Ten Kestrel Pro Boa mountain bike shoe.
We wanted to find out which mountain bikes and brands are the most dominant on the XCO World Cup circuit. Here they are.
The public comment period is open until June 6 to keep the Lionhead area mountain bike trails accessible by bike.
Matt tries out the Grand Junction Off-Road, a 40-mile mountain bike race with enough elevation gain and rocks to challenge anyone.
The Ribbed trail in Leavenworth, WA was once illegal, torn down by the Forest Service multiple times, and inspired a movie. Now, it's opening again as a sanctioned trail.
New shoes and a cockpit from Shimano, a lightweight carbon crankset from Rotor, and information on Granby Ranch bike park opening day.
Shimano clearly has a solid, affordable, 12-speed mountain bike group at the table now with SLX.
Kate Courtney wins back-to-back World Cups and Chloe Woodruff takes gold in short-track, putting the US back in the World Cup mix.
This week's mountain bike news mix: a new XC bike from Trek and Kate Courtney takes gold in Albstadt ahead of this weekend's round in the Czech Republic.
Pivot replaces the Mach 4 and Mach 429 SL with the Mach 4 SL and blurs the lines between XC and trail bikes.
How far can you go mountain biking without a hydration pack? We try to find out with day packing frame bags by North St.
Matt tries out the first trail collection from the ski brand Flylow including shorts, jersey, and packable rain jacket.
Trail Taxi in Moab offers a distinct service from the regular group of shuttles. Customers like it, but some of the shuttle companies might not.
On this reader bike check, we look at Patrick Goral's Salsa Fargo. He's created a bike that will devour anything from long, gravel roads to technical singletrack, all while hauling bikepacking gear for days.
As the sport of enduro settles into the overall mountain bike racing landscape, we learn not every race series will last.
Bikepacking Roots debuts a way to bikepack from Canada to Mexico, with 80% of the route on natural surface. The Wild West Route is 2,700 miles and goes through Arizona, Utah, Idaho, and Montana.
The Silca Viaggio is a high-quality, Bluetooth-enabled pump that offers both power and portability.
How do we teach proper etiquette like yielding so trails aren't as damaged? Matt has a couple crazy ideas.
The Waltons are building new, public mountain bike trails on their private land in Colorado.
Matt takes out the innovative and unusual Structure Cycleworks SCW 1 front-end linkage mountain bike for a test spin to see how it climbs and descends.
Matt gives us a feel for the new Salsa Spearfish which just came in for review.
World Cup results, new sunglasses, a big route through Arkansas hills, and International Women's MTB Day.