Aaron Chamberlain has been in the bike industry since 2012, and was a member of the Singletracks staff from 2015 - 2018. He's written dozens of product reviews and travel reports and is an expert on mountain bike components.
Aaron says, "I love any kind of mountain biking, but especially all-day rides with plenty of climbing and descending. Used to race a lot and I still do the occasional endurance event or stage race. Most of my rides now are just about enjoying my time in the woods."
The Starling Cycles Murmur (all images courtesy of Starling Cycles) The vast majority of boutique, custom framebuilders use steel as their material of choice. It's relatively…
The new Niner Air 9 RDO (photo: Aaron Chamberlain) Over the past year and a half, Niner has been busy... really busy! They have launched entirely new…
A trail bike is a well-balanced, full suspension mountain bike: a moderate amount of travel, moderately slack geometry, weighing in the 25-30lb range.
It slices, it dices, it chops, it peels...and it does a bunch of other stuff too. Photo: Tom Joy Photography / @tomjoyphoto I first came across Full…
We take a look at the average trail bike geometry for 2016 and compare bikes.
A guide to exploring the best mountain bike trails in Slatyfork and Snowshoe, West Virginia.
photo: Robert Milks // Wilderness Adventure Photography. Rider: Jeff Barber If you're a mountain biker in the Southeast, chances are you've at least heard of the Snake Creek…
Chances are high that during a visit to Pisgah, you will break something on your bike. When that happens, where do you go?
The Edge series of GPS units from Garmin runs from the diminutive "20" which has only the most basic features, up to the "1000" that rocks a 3-inch color touchscreen.…
Gamut's Podium pedals (photo: Aaron Chamberlain) Most of my riding is done in clipless pedals, but I still like to break out the flats every now…
Pisgah from the Blue Ridge Parkway (photo: Aaron Chamberlain) During a recent trip to Western North Carolina, I stopped by Cane Creek's headquarters for a tour…
When I rolled up to the Ibis tent at Cyclofest, I was a little bummed to see they only had plus versions of the new Mojo 3 available to demo.…
Orange Mountain Bikes have a cult following in the UK, but are relatively unknown in the US market. A new distributor, Aventuron, is looking to change that. I have always…
SUP brah? Trek made some major changes to the Remedy line for 2017. They eliminated the 29er version of the bike and then totally redesigned the…
All images courtesy Niner Niner completely redesigned two of their most popular bikes this summer - the RIP 9 and JET 9. Both bikes got a…
During our reader's survey conducted this summer, we asked you to tell us what your favorite treads are.
Cool bike tools spotted at Interbike 2016.
Industry Nine has had a rim named "Enduro" in their line long before it became a buzzword. For 2017, Industry Nine has widened the Enduro rim's internal width to 31mm. The…
The new Pantera line of plus hardtails from GT GT is getting in on the plus game for 2017 with a line of affordable hardtails called…
DT Swiss has taken their 1501 Spline One series of wheels and expanded the number of rim widths offered. No matter what your discipline is or what tire size you…
The new Ritchey WCS Trail dropper post Ritchey is an interesting company. On the one hand, Ritchey has frames made from steel with classic profiles. But…
The new Rocky Mountain Slayer equipped with 26x2.8" Maxxis Minions Maxxis didn't have too much in the way of new mountain bike tread patterns at Interbike…
The $13,000 BMC fourstroke team BMC is a large brand, but they are known predominantly for their road bikes. While they have a full line of…
9point8 is a small Canadian company with a unique take on the dropper. The post is entirely mechanical, which they say makes it more durable and reliable when compared to the…
Bikepacking. It's so hot right now. Seriously though, bikepacking seems to be one of the few bright spots in an otherwise down industry. Bikepacking is nothing new, but until recently…
The DBX 5.0 hardshell jacket Leatt is known for their neck braces and pads, but for 2017 the company is making a big push into the…
Feedback Sports Team Edition tool kit Feedback has a reputation for building some of the best portable workstands around. In fact, we've had their Pro-Elite stand…
The last bike I rode at Outdoor Demo this year was Transition's Patrol Carbon. With 155mm of rear travel, a 160mm fork, and long, low, and slack geometry, the Patrol…
The Turner Flux v4.0 To be perfectly honest, I had no prior intention of testing the Turner Flux. It just so happened that they had a…
A test ride review of the 2017 Marin Rift Zone.
The Transition Smuggler (photo: Aaron Chamberlain) With the Smuggler, Transition shows that geometry plays just as big a role as travel when it comes to capability.…
The Fuji Rakan 1.1 The Fuji Rakan is designed to be a do it all trail bike. With 120mm of travel front and rear, a top-drawer…
Riding the Fuji Bighorn in Bootleg Canyon (photo: Jeff Barber) There are two bikes in the Bighorn range - the 1.1 that I tested is the…
Just when you thought 11 speeds were enough, along comes SRAM with their new 12 speed Eagle drivetrains. The biggest news (pun intended) apart from the addition of one more…
Unless you follow pro road racing, chances are you won't be familiar with the Spanish brand Catlike. Back when I used to care about watching the Grand Tours, I would always…
Downtown Asheville, NC (photo: Aaron Chamberlain) Industry Nine occupies a unique position in the world of mountain bike components. Not only do they engineer, design, and…
Each year, we survey you--our readers--to find out what you think are the best products of the year. Last year, we asked you what you thought was the most innovative brand,…
The 2017 Specialized Stumpjumper Carbon Expert 650B (photo: Aaron Chamberlain) Forgive me, for I must confess that I committed a cardinal sin of bike travel. I swapped out…
When it comes to price, the Yakima HoldUp presents a good value compared to the competition.
Hot on the heels of the new carbon fiber RIP, Niner is releasing a more affordable aluminum version. The metal bike shares all the same features of its fibrous brother--150mm of…
Florian Nicolaï aboard the new Rocky Mountain Slayer (photo: Paris Gore) Gone from Rocky Mountain's line-up for the past couple seasons, the Slayer is back for…
Commencal's new META V4.2 range (all images courtesy Commencal) Commencal has announced an updated version of their popular META trail bike. I rode the META V4…
Otso Cycles may be a new brand, but the crew behind the company is the same that founded Wolf Tooth Components. Otso is launching their brand with two bikes. The Warakin is…
The new Cane Creek DBCoil IL - think of it as a slimmed down DBCoil, or a beefed-up DBInline Today, Cane Creek announced their latest shock--the…
Devinci launched the Django earlier this year as a shorter-travel alternative to the Troy. With 120mm of Split-Pivot rear suspension, 27.5" wheels, and modern trail geometry, Devinci sought to create a bike…
Smith debuted the Forefront Helmet a few seasons ago, and it was polarizing. After all, it didn't really look like any other mountain bike helmet on the market. It was less…
Bikepacking, or "amatuer homeless personing" as my friend Dicky likes to call it, can seem intimidating. You need all this special gear, right? You've got to pack it all just so.…
Justin Mark/1st Place ST6 40+ Solo Men The 2016 edition of the Singletrack 6 in British Columbia, Canada, wrapped up yesterday. Stages 5 and 6 saw the…