Singletracks welcomes submissions from all mountain bikers, but we ask that you take some time to review our guidelines and our coverage to get a sense of what we do and don’t write before sending your pitch. We recommend searching the site as well to make sure someone hasn’t already written the article you have in mind.
Generally, our coverage falls within a few different categories: product reviews, reported features, and essays and opinions. We are not interested in listicles, overly obvious statement pieces, or opinions that are meant to divide.
Product reviews
We take our product reviews seriously and so do the brands that send us their prized gear for testing. If you are an experienced mountain biker with writing samples to back it up, we may be interested in working with you on product reviews. Quality photos are a necessary part of our reviews, so those with photography skills are preferred.
Our gear reviews are scrupulous and we publish positive and negative reviews in the interest of our readers, with careful consideration regarding both.
Because of this delicate balance, we need gear reviewers who can offer a balanced perspective and who are not motivated to review just so they can get gear; so more often than not we work with freelancers we have existing relationships with, whom we trust. If you think you can offer us an informed opinion on gear though, reach out to our Editor in Chief: [email protected]
If you don’t have any prior published samples, review a piece of your gear in 500 words or less and send a note on why you think you’d be a good fit for a gear tester. Also be sure to read through some recent reviews we’ve published to get an idea of what we’re looking for.
Essays
We look for essays that are open, honest, and/or emotive, with the intent to motivate and inspire, while reflecting on greater mountain bike culture or adventure. We also love to shed light on our sport which can often be taken too seriously, so well-written, humorous essays are welcome too. Here are some examples of essays from our contributors:
Mountain Biking Through the Rocky Trail of Grief by Scott Jensen
It’s Like Riding a Bike: Becoming a Beginner Again by Maureen Gaffney
Opinions
Opinions attempt to prove a point, some better than others. Love e-bikes, flow trails, or carbon frames? Hate e-bikes, flow trails, or carbon frames? We welcome all opinions and are a site that encourages discussion, but make sure your argument is rooted in as much logic as emotion. We are not interested in your opinion piece if it can’t be backed up by facts or logic. Ideally, opinion pieces are timely, offer a fresh perspective, and are well thought out. Opinion pieces are marked as such, so that they are distinct from our reporting on related subjects.
Dismantling the Myths and Expanding Upon the Latest Bikes in Wilderness Bill [Opinion] by John Fisch
Reported features
Feature stories include anything from athlete interviews, to destination coverage, to long-form news and trends in mountain bike tech, where we go deep and find out any and all relevant information. If there’s something interesting going on that you’d like to bring to the attention of Singletracks readers, be prepared to have a solid direction for your story and an idea of who you would interview.
5 Times Women Made Mountain Bike History by Anne-Marije Rook
Are MTB Crank Arms Too Long? Here’s why the Might be Slowing us Down by Richard Shoop
For features, essays, and opinions, send your pitches to our features editor Matt: [email protected]
Pay
Singletracks pays all of its contributors and the amount is determined based on the writer’s experience and the type of article, its length, and other variables.