Gear

After reading a glowing review of the Garmin Motionbased online service from an Edge 305 owner I was stoked to see what the hype was about. After wading through system errors and software downloads I have to say I just don’t get it. Motionbased accounts are free and they allow you to do advanced visualization …

Apparently I’m still stuck in the 1990s when it comes to the mountain bike gear I own – I ride a 1999 hardtail Trek 7000, I rock fingerless gloves, and I still wear lycra bike shorts on trail rides. Gross, I know but I guess I wasn’t paying attention when mountain bikers decided to go …

After a less than spectacular experience with the Magellan eXplorist 200 I decided to upgrade and give the eXplorist 400 a try. I purchased the GPS unit as part of the “Wilderness Bundle” which included the Magellan MapSend Topo USA software, an extra memory card, and a carrying case for a little under $250. When …

Somehow I missed this one back in February but apparently a software engineer in Dublin, Ireland invented a bicycle that can be ridden sideways. The BBC News did a good write up about the bike and the article even includes video of a rider demonstrating the bike. The chief advantage of a sideways bicycle seems …

I’ve been collecting mountain bike trail data on my GPS for a few years now and I thought it would be helpful to share some tips for those just getting started. Collecting GPS data can be a great way to build trail maps to share with friends but unfortunately most consumer GPS units don’t make …

Mudhunny spotted an ad in Endurance magazine for North Carolina’s first Trek concept store in Raleigh and since the trails were wet Saturday we decided to check it out. Before heading out we searched the Google for directions and came across the store website which left us a bit underwhelmed. The site looked like some …

Picture this: You’re riding your mountain bike down a remote section of trail when suddenly, out of nowhere, a mountain lion starts to chase you. You pedal faster and faster but the powerful cat stays just inches behind you. You swerve from side to side but you have no idea if it’s working. If only …

I’ve been a Garmin guy ever since I got my first GPS for Christmas in 2000. I’m on my fifth Garmin GPS now (the latest: Garmin Edge 305 which is sweet by the way) but I decided it was time to try out another GPS brand for comparison sake. Magellan’s eXplorist series seemed like a …

Over the past year we’ve looked at a ton of GPS mountain bike trail data from all over the country and we started noticing a pattern: many of you are using TopoFusion to manage your GPS data. Since singletracks users are perhaps the smartest mountain bikers on the planet, we decided to check out TopoFusion …

If you’re a GPS mountain biker and you use an Apple Computer, you’ve been left out in the cold by many of the popular GPS software programs. Fortunately Google Earth for Mac came along last year but up until that point, most of us relied on shareware programs and National Geo-crap-tic TOPO! software to view …

A little known feature of Google Earth is the ability to use custom map overalays. Several people have found ways to use topographic maps as Google Earth overlays and the Google Earth Blog has a good post with links to the more popular solutions. Google Earth is great for viewing mountain bike trail map data …

I’m selling my beloved (and gently used) Garmin Edge 205 GPS on eBay and I’m throwing in a free 1-year full access singletracks membership to the winning bidder. If you’ve read my review of the Edge 205 you know I love the Edge but you’ll also know I already upgraded to the more expensive 305. …