Singletrackschool 

I attended the fundamentals, improver part 1 and part 2.

Danielle is an great mountain bike coach who teaches the proper techniques for fundamentals skills needed to ride faster, safer and with better style. Her approach to explain the why not just the what is refreshing and effective. My confidence and flow riding trails after completing 3 days with Danielle is the evidence that her method works if you follow it through until the end.

Positives:
- Well structured progressive courses.
- Effective coaching methods, and gives good constructive feedback to improve immediately.
- Refreshing humour and a genuinely nice person.

Negatives:
- Being group courses, they run at a slower pace to cater for multiple people and different abilities.
- The discussion on tyre pressures and suspension settings in the car park could have been much, much faster. A suggestion to do a warmup ride and skills and then the more stationary content midway through instead of at the start.

What to consider when booking:
- Due to quiet times for bookings, if there aren't 2 other participants for the course it will probably get cancelled and you will need to find a new date that works for you. It might be worth checking which dates are likely to run in advance before booking as refunds are not offered.
- Consider what is your riding styles and areas you want coaching for, this course is about the fundamental skills, body position, braking, corners, manuals etc... and not jumps, steep terrain etc.
- Consider what is your learning style: do you like a slower pace, social, group atmosphere, then go for the group courses! If you like to learn quickly, and go practice in your own time, you could probably cover the content in a day private coaching.

Read the 1 star reviews first. I have done many of these types of courses over the years and this is the worst experience I have had.

Booked 2 months before and the day before the course I was told there weren’t enough people to do it and so got moved to the following weekend. I reluctantly agreed to change but arrived slightly late to the course the next week by 40 minutes due to bad weather. Daniele was extremely rude to me and then said I wasn’t allowed to join the session because I didn’t have lunch on me. I explained I had already eaten and didn’t want anything and I didn't want to carry a backpack. To my horror she said I can’t join the ride and I wouldn’t be getting a refund.

Never been spoken to like that. Didn’t get a refund and after all the flexibility I offered she offered none.

Never book this course - choose another one

Sam

A brilliant day with Danielle on the Fundamental course. As the name suggests we learned the fundamentals - the seemingly simple skills that you've never stopped to think about whether you're doing them wrong!
Danielle was incredibly patient, thorough and made the day light hearted and fun. What's more she really knew her stuff, and was always able to explain why what we were learning was important. Would definitely recommend.

Following on from my initial experience with Singletrack School, when my only " final and non negotiable " option was to either extend the voucher for another year at the cost of £20 or book it before 19th June , I decided to go ahead and book it. The next day I received the below response. Abusing , threatening , falsely accusing and simply robbing people in broad daylight that’s what this company is about !

At the moment this voucher has been cancelled due to breach of our terms and conditions. Specifically an unsuccessful attempt was made to sell, trade or transfer the voucher to a third party without our consent.

We have processes in place to prevent this from happening as this behaviour contravenes United Kingdom money laundering/fraud law.

Despite informing you of the terms and conditions of our gift cards several times, you have chosen to leave negative feedback of our business on Trustpilot and perhaps other review sites. This behaviour is unfair and unjustified as our actions and regulations are merely complying with the law and you have been adequately warned of the terms of conditions of our gift vouchers from the day you received your gift card.

We are not therefore mindful to reverse the cancellation of your card, but may be prepared to do so under the following conditions:

1. You remove your review from Trustpilot and any other review sites
2. You undertake to not leave any further reviews of our company
3. You pay the £20.00 fee to extend your voucher (as of today it has expired)

These conditions are non-negotiable.

If you are happy with these conditions we will extend your voucher until 19/06/23 once we have received the administration fee and seen evidence of the removal of your review from Trustpilot we will send you confirmation of the extension.

Great weekend and highly recommend. Danielle was very informative, made the weekend enjoyable and also very patient with the years of bad habits I had. Well paced and good mix of sessions for future practice. Suspension and tyre pressure setup made a huge difference too. Thanks!

More standing than riding bikes & more fireroad than singletrack which was completely different to what I was expecting and hoping for. The main reason we ride bikes is to have fun and this was not fun for sure. Just make sure you read the schedule in detail before booking.

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I did not expect a guided ride - I expected a skills training session but I found the slow training on fireroads to be dull so I then found it hard to give it my full.

I left early as the instructor really had no patience and began to destroy my confidence. I highly doubt I would have found the remainder of the course fun.

The reply from Singletrack is an example that there is no understanding and a lot of impatience. I am a competent rider but thank you again for putting me down. I simply did not get interested in what they had to offer and the condescending, rude tone did not make me want to carry on. I do not accept their reply to this review, I am simply trying to give other riders an idea of what they can expect. I am sorry they are offended by this, they just need to understand that their way of teaching is not going to suit everyone. I tried to keep this review about the structure of the course only, yet the reply from Singletrack is disgusting and very personal for no reason and I did nothing other than pull out of the course, I definitely did not annoy anyone I was with.

We contacted Singletrackschool to enquire about a mountain bike experience for our 21 year old son who has moderate autism with associated learning difficulties. Danielle was extremely supportive and understanding to talk through his needs and abilities. That was over 3 months ago!! He has now successfully completed the 1-2-1 skills beginners course and now thoroughly enjoys meeting Danielle regularly for coaching/rides in the beautiful Surrey Hills. She has been wonderful in her flexibility, with adapting the sessions to suit his needs. As well as learning many things and becoming proficient on a mountain bike, he has gained so much from the whole experience. It has given him a wonderful new lease of life, and a social experience of adventure, fun and freedom, which has built his confidence and self esteem and most of all his happiness. He really looks forward to his sessions and so enjoys them whatever the weather! I too have learnt a lot from her wealth of knowledge.
Thank you so much Danielle for your flexibility, patience, kindness and humour!!
The world could do with a few more people like you!

Thoroughly enjoyed both days with Danielle. Knowing the general area it was so enlightening to see trails I ride regularly in a completely different light.

I left both days feeling more confident and better-prepared for my next ride. We covered so many things both on and off the bike which I either didn't know or thought I knew but was "doing it wrong".

Danielle was very cool too. Great combo of clear comms and humour delivered in a calm and reassuring way. I could easily have done a week riding with her!

Thanks so much - I'll be back soon for the next level.

Massive thanks to Danielle and Singletrack school for such a wonderful experience. Quality and professionalism was top class from start to finish , excellent communication and information enabling my friend and I to have everything we needed for a successful days coaching .

Danielle is an excellent instructor and her technique was informative and encouraging, pointing out error and helping to correct in a wonderful manner

The selection of like minded and equally skilled pupils made for a great day in the company of like minded individuals.

I personally ended the day feeling very positive about my future mountain biking and can’t wait to hone my skills and return to learn more .many thanks one again , highly recommend

I attended the Fast Track Singletrack two day course prior to the lockdown.

The course was fantastic, with practical explanations to help you remember techniques, as well as plenty of opportunity to practise and hone the skills. The sessions on setup, plus some bike upgrade tips were al very useful too. I found Danielle's teaching style to be very positive, with a mix of humour, encouragement, and also reminders when old bad habits were setting in - all of which helped cement the learning.

Thank you to the team and I will be back for the next module in the future.

My car broke down on the day of my class and despite this Singketrack was not willing to flexible about letting me rebook my lesson. I tried up until it was not longer possible to make it that day.

I understand they have terms and conditions but when it's a situation being ones control, this lack of flexibility means I will never ever ever use them for MTB courses. Never ever.

Further Update:18/12/2019
At No point in time did I try to blame Singketrack for my misfortune. Even if I could change the tyre by myself, my spare is a doughnut and there is no way I would have been able to drive it from Kent to Surrey and back feeling safe and comfortable. And for whomever it was that responded to make a snarkey remark that I should know how to change a true is totally uncalled for. Just goes to show how much they want new business. I wish them all the best but I stand by my review that they were inflexible, snaeky remarks notwithstanding

This was my second course with Danielle and Singletrack School (Fundamentals and Singletrack Improvers part 1). I have really enjoyed both courses and learnt loads of great skills to improve my riding. Already looking to book up on my next course in the new year.

Still buzzing from this weekend's Fast Track Singletrack Skills course with SingletrackSchool at Holmbury St Mary with Danielle.

Not long ago, I didn't even have the confidence to ride up or down a curb, let alone survive a muddy track with wet roots, rolling drops and bomb holes, nor could I have imagined myself manual relatively comfortably over logs.

On the road bike and TT bike second nature has always been 'to be one' with the bike. So the concept of 'moving around the bike' was quite alien to me. Cornering not just by using your head, but also actively use your heels and hips makes sense, but the concept of leaning the bike, not your body, took a bit longer to sink in.

To my surprise I didn't fall off once (I did put my foot down a few times), was scared only half the time and really enjoyed it the rest of the time.

It is funny how your perceptions change as your skills, knowledge and confidence increase. At the end of the 1st course day I couldn't apprehend how I could possibly be doing more challenging things or ride more challenging terrain, but we definitely upped it on the 2nd course day and things that seemed daunting on day 1 no longer faced me as much by day 2.

Doing the intensive course over two days back to back was good as the skills nicely built onto each other and it was also nice to see 3 of the other riders back on day 2.

Danielle was a great coach. I liked her style. Clear and knowledgeable, yet packed with humour. Intensive with a lot of information to take in, yet delivered in a relaxed style and pace. I never felt rushed or pushed beyond my limits and she cleverly adapted the course in parts so we all could learn at our own pace/challenge level.

I don't feel quite a hero yet, but definitely not a zero anymore either. Time to practice a lot now and return for the improver course in due time.

I'd never sat on a mountain bike before doing this course and had no idea what to expect.
For me the course was great. Lots of detailed infomation given in the first hour about set up, equipment and so on. It made me realise that good preparation is essential before getting on the bike.
The skills sessions were incredibly useful and I have no doubt that I wouldn't have been able to ride the trails in the afternoon without them.
Once we started ridng the trails I could see what the fuss was about. I'm sure experienced riders would laugh at my attempts but I was pretty pleased to complete them and it was a great buzz.
I'll look to buy a bike mountain now and book on one of the follow up courses.
Danielle was very knowlegable and had a dry sense of humour which added to the day. The dogs were well behaved.

Great skills course. Danielle was very good with her instructions and made me laugh a lot. Thoroughly enjoyed the two days and gave me a lot to think about and practice. I would recommend the foundation course level 2 to sharpen your skills and boost your confidence.

Adrian, Kent

Read the bad reviews rather than seeing what you want to believe from the positives!!!

I originally booked a weekend course. I'm not local so this meant booking accommodation from Friday to Monday, as well as paying for someone to look after my 2 dogs for 4 days.

The course instructor turned up with 4 dogs who bark at every person or dog walker that goes by, which I think is extremely unprofessional. Regardless of how well trained they are, what if they get injured, the course ends? What if they cause an accident (on the very little trail time I got I had to emergency stop to stop myself running over one of her dogs that had hung back)? What if they are attacked / attack another dog? Very poor judgement in my opinion. The course attendee's should be the main focus of the course, and having multiple dogs joining the course can only lead to complications. I could of seriously hurt myself or the dog when having to make allowances for it on a trail, I should been fully concentrating on improving my skills.

After about 2 hours or so, the Instructor had to go home as she was feeling "ill". Nothing more was offered by any of the other instructors for that weekend. I was offered a FOC course a future date TBC.

I have just had to cancel my rebooking due a knee injury and I've been told by Singletrack I would need to pay to book another course with them.

I couldn't of been more understanding with the instructor wanting to go home ill and have been very flexible towards singletrack cancelling the event, regardless of the loss of holiday booked from work, money spent on food and accommodation as well as dog cover. I would say the weekend cost me around £800 with all things considered, but I was flexible and didn't want to be difficult about it. In hind sight, I should of asked for a refund there and then.

I now wish I had never spent any money with this company. I'm sure Singletrack will post a long response doing their best to contradict and deny all of this, but ultimately these facts remain, and I only wished I'd looked at the reviews harder to begin with.

Fact 1. I booked a weekend course at full price
Fact 2. The instructor went home ill after a couple hours tuition (only 25% of course delivered, at best)
Fact 3. Riding with other instructors was not offered (although they say it was)
Fact 4. I had to cancel the re-booked date due to injury
Fact 5. Singletrack have told me I need to pay to book again or claim on insurance.
Fact 6. Singletrack are more than happy to mess you about through cancellation ON THE DAY, but when it goes the other way they will just keep your money.

Bearing in mind I paid my fees back in Oct 2018, so how this can affect a course taking place in May 2019?

As advised, I would pay more attention to the bad reviews than the responses from Singletrack. There seems to be a few that back my claims.

Singletrack have basically charged me £200 for two hours tuition. Never again.

Great day and great instructor. I was doing tracks at the end of the day that I never imagined I would! The pace of instruction could have gone a little quicker, with a bit less background on bikes and the history or trails etc, but overall a really good day and I've come away a MUCH better rider.

Amazing day!!! Highly recommend

I had an excellent afternoon with Danielle. It's was just me, my friend's 11 year old and Aki (4 year old Shiba). Danielle was professional, easy going and fun. She choose routes suitable to our abilities and Aki had fun with her three dogs, all of them following. The Hurtwood was a lovely location, the bikes all of a high specification and in good condition.
I would highly recommend Danielle and single track school to anyone, either just for a guided tour or training.

Attended all-day L2 Singletrack Fundamentals with guided/coached ride. Very good experience & highly recommend it. Quality coaching made learning basic concepts & putting them into practice a lot of fun. Gained confidence step-by-step, yet surprisingly quickly. This was evident on the subsequent guided/coached ride after lunch. Was so much more confident and quicker on the trails. (And improvements continued in the weeks & months that followed, on events like BHF London to Brighton off-road & Evans MTB Ride Its, etc.) Only regret was that my fitness level was a bit low & was carrying a bit of extra weight. Though one needn't be super-fit either, a reasonable fitness level would allow getting more out of this training.