It’s a heated topic, and it seems like we’re being forced to embrace it in every aspect of our digital lives. Thankfully, riding a bike isn’t digital, and the mental crutch that is non-human thinking should not have a place in your routine. I’ll probably get some flak for this, but I honestly don’t care. I’m all for advocating for neurotransmission in the human brain.

Training Programs

Don’t use AI. Get a coach; talk to a human who understands humans and their requirements. Talk to someone who can actually ride a bike the way that you want to ride a bike or has actually eaten real food and been outside.

There are plenty of places to find an actual coach in your area, or get coaching help online. Websites like TrainingPeaks, GSMBC, and Fluidride all have options depending on what you're looking for.

Maintenance

Go to a bike shop or learn to do maintenance at home. Talk to a real person and ask questions to real people who have ridden a bike before. Don’t ask a computer for answers to a bike-related question - there’s no need.

As a community, we are lucky enough to have had Park Tool put together a catalog of maintenance tips, guides, and walkthroughs on YouTube. We also have years of forum threads on topics that are likely directly related to the issue you’re having. If you can solve it at home, I bet a super knowledgeable person at a bike shop will be able to fix just about any issue.

Route Planning

Look at a map, ask other riders, and collaborate with other human beings to find the best places to ride. There’s a lot of ride tracking and GPS software out there that will give you a good idea of where to ride, plus local IMBA or trail organizations should have records taken and maintained by humans that will be super helpful.

Apps like RidewithGPS, Strava, Komoot, and even Google Maps can be used to manually plan out your own routes.

Also, getting lost on a ride can be super fun.

Diet Advice

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Please don’t use non-organic intelligence for this one. People eat food and have metabolisms; computers do not, and they won't be able to help you here. Ride bikes and fuel the way you want to fuel. Of course, this isn't any sort of diet advice, because I eat like a toddler on bike rides and try to eat plenty of real food when I'm not needing heaps of carbs.

Equipment and Component Suggestions

Again, you should not ask something that has never ridden a bicycle what gear, components, or accessories you should be buying. That's why journalists and gear editors do what they do. Getting equipment advice and suggestions from a computer is like taking medical advice from the barber: they might have some interesting ideas, but that doesn’t mean they know what they are talking about.

Hope this helps.

I've been putting it through the paces for a few weeks this summer; I'm already stoked on it and feel like I have a good idea of who this is for. So let's dig into the Rhythmus Equipment CZ 6L with some likes and dislikes.

Rhythmus CZ 6L Overview

If you’ve been following the stuff that I like, you’ve likely seen me praise the Rhythmus RP9L as the best MTB hydration vest that I’ve used to date. It checks the boxes I want in a vest to ride my bike in: a versatile layout, a comfortable design, and plenty of places to store gear. It’s great for bigger days, and I’ve even taken it on some overnighter bikepacking trips without complaint. But for the everyday ride, the Rhythmus RP9L is on the bigger side, and when not fully packed, it can be a little bit much. That’s where the CZ 6L comes into play.

Rhythmus Equipment is a newer player in the hydration vest game, and they hit the market with one hell of a first product. I came across the Rhythmus thanks to the ever-knowing Meta algorithm and immediately purchased the RP 9L because I liked what I was seeing. As Rhythmus was a newer brand on the scene, I didn’t want to take the “Hey, can I get one for free to review?” approach. Thankfully, I have zero regrets with the purchase of the RP 9L, and feel that I’ve made that known since the initial review. This CZ 6L is a little different, and I did receive it for free, although it does have some defects that make it unfit for selling to consumers. The defects are minor and haven't impacted the use of the pack, but it’s something I wanted to disclose.

Features

• 2-Point Adjustable Harness
• Center Zip Main Compartment
• Two Zippered Harness Pockets
• Two Stretch Harness Pockets
• Magnet Hydration Clip
• Interior Hydration Sleeve
• Zipper Closure Accessory Pocket
• Modular Key Clip
• Elastic Lash Straps
• 70D Nylon/UHMWPE Fabric
• MSRP: $175 USD | Available at Rhythmus.equipment

Who is the CZ 6L For?

You guessed it: the RP9L is 9 liters, and the CZ 6L is 6-liters, so it’s smaller. It’s not just a downsized pack, though; with a smaller storage capacity come some tweaks to features and function that make sense for a smaller vest. The CZ 6L still has space for a bladder and uses the same chest pockets as the RP 9L, but the main storage compartment and external pockets have been reimagined to make the pack slightly more efficient for shorter rides.

Ideal for gravel, MTB, and really any type of riding where you need to carry some extra stuff but don't want the bulk of a backpack.

The rear pocket has been simplified with a full-length zipper and an offset pocket for smaller items like keys or repair kits. The CZ 6L doesn’t feature the magnetic flap like the RP 9L and, of course, has slightly less space, but it honestly feels like a pretty ideal amount of space for the shorter rides where the RP 9L could be seen as overkill. 

Despite the small differences between the two packs that Rhythmus offers, the CZ 6L has been a very impressive vest-pack. Before getting the CZ 6L, I had been riding in the Rhythmus RP 9L, which is obviously a bigger pack, both in storage and in terms of weight.

How Does it Fit?

Between the RP 9L and the CZ 6L, the fit is pretty similar. They both use very similar harness straps at the front, although the CZ does away with the adjustment straps at the shoulders, making it slightly less adaptable to different body types.

For reference, I have mostly had the RP 9L fully tightened, with maybe a little slack at the shoulder harness from time to time, depending on the load being carried. The lower harness straps on the RP get a lot more use than the shoulder adjustment, so seeing those omitted from the CZ isn’t much of an issue for fit.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

Living With the CZ 6L

The major changes come when you move to the main compartment of the pack. The RP uses a combo of magnets and a zipper for the smaller pocket, and a zipper for the main compartment. I haven’t had any issues with the smaller pocket or its unique closure system, but I could see this being a knock against it for some people.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

The front harness pockets have been slightly updated on the CZ 6L, but that change is mostly seen on the larger zippered pocket on the left harness strap. It's now larger, and can fit bigger smartphones, or in my case, an action camera with a wide-angle lens or smaller point-and-shoot camera.

The CZ now uses a top-down vertical zipper to close up the pocket, along with an offset side pocket for storing smaller items like keys and tools, which has been really easy to live with. The main compartment feels about the same size as the pocket found on the RP 9L, and the dividers and organization are intuitive, secure, and make a lot of sense, especially when paired with a tool pouch (like the Rhythmus Tool Roll). As with the RP, the CZ has integration for a hydration bladder via a separate compartment, and uses a magnetic hose clip that can be run through either the left or right shoulder.

View the 3 images of this gallery on the original article

On the outside of the CZ, there are two minimalistic elastic straps that can be used to carry extra layers, kneepads, or anything else that you need to haul around. Although the elastic leashes are minimal, they feel pretty secure, and I have yet to lose anything trailside.

I do feel that the CZ breathes slightly better than the RP 9L and sits a bit closer to the body, and those factors, paired with the lighter overall weight, make it a no-brainer for my everyday rides, especially while facing triple-digit temperatures during the summer. For $175 USD, the CZ 6L is slightly more expensive than the RP 9L, but I think it’s also a better fit for more riders. The RP 9L is very versatile, and if you’re looking for a pack that can be used daily and accompany you on bikepacking trips, ultra-adventures, or you just want a bit more room, it’s still a fantastic option. But if you want the same fit and feel but without the extra cargo space, the CZ 6L is definitely worth considering when shopping for a hydration vest.

I’ve been testing the CZ 6L in a variety of scenarios, from after-work gravel rides to an eMTB enduro race, and I have yet to find a situation it doesn’t meet my needs for. While I’ll still use the RP 9L for bigger days in the saddle, the CZ 6L has quickly slotted into the #1 spot for my go-to vest.

Pros & Cons

Overall, very impressed with this pack, but nothing is perfect. There are very few things to ding the CZ 6L for, but they do matter, and it's important to address the small faults.

Pros: Comfortable fit, easy-to-access harness pockets, breathable materials, lightweight (450g), great internal organization.

Cons: Only comes in black, no adjustability for shoulder straps, zipper pulls can snag adjustment dials on the back of helmets sometimes.

The press release is packed with corporate bush-beating, but it’s clear that this is a result of the COVID-19 bike boom and the prediction that infinite growth is possible in a finite industry. Who would have ever guessed? It’s been a while since we’ve seen news like this in the industry, but it’s a sign that the bike industry ship isn’t totally out of the storm. It’s somber news, as this directly impacts the lives of all the employees building, manufacturing, and getting these bikes out into the world.

A statement from Jonas Nilsson, CEO of Accell Group, can be found below. 

“This is a deeply sad and frustrating situation given all the hard work and everything we have achieved, with the support of shareholders and lenders, to restructure Accell’s operations and finances. It is an especially difficult moment for our employees, creditors, customers, suppliers, and partners. Every realistic option for the future of the business has been tirelessly explored, and none have resulted in a solution to continue the Group in its current form.

Our immediate focus is to support an orderly process, provide clarity wherever possible, and work with the relevant court-appointed administrators to preserve viable activities and employment where circumstances allow.”

For more details, the Press Release from Accell Group is attached below if you feel like combing through it.

In February this year, following a fundamental operational restructuring, Accell reached an agreement with its shareholders and lenders on additional funding and a significant reduction in debt. As part of this agreement, ownership of Accell transferred to its lenders. This was not intended to be a long-term ownership structure.

Since then, Accell and its advisers have explored every possible avenue for the Group’s future, including discussions with several interested parties, the consideration of multiple offers and seeking regulatory approval for a potential merger.

Despite these extensive efforts, it has not been possible to reach a viable solution for Accell to continue operations in their current form. Having exhausted all the available options, the directors of the Group have concluded that it is no longer able to meet its financial obligations as they fall due and that initiating local insolvency proceedings of the relevant Group subsidiaries is the necessary next step.

The 2026 venue boasted a brand new trailhead parking lot with plenty of space for the vendors, podium, and an hours-long DJ-ed dance party (obviously), and the trails were in prime condition after the weeks of time crews and volunteers put into doing everything from clearing overgrowth to making accessibility improvements. A loam-inducing downpour two days prior to race day didn’t hurt, either.

Aid stations were once again under the tender purview of event sponsors evo, Transition, Crank Sisters, and SRAM, and courses were staffed with dedicated volunteers, whose presence and energy truly, deeply, madly made the event the success it was. Courses ranged from Open/Pro to Lite, included Adaptive categories, and took advantage of the full scope of variety and technicality at the Tiger Mountain system.

And the people, across the board, were hyped: “This is my second time racing Sturdy Dirty in the Adaptive category,” says athlete Annijke Wade. “For the first time, the Adaptive category had a Sport class in addition to a Beginner class. I raced in the Sport class this year and it was an extremely competitive class - all of our times were super close.”

Wade credits the Sturdy B’s with creating a challenging, full, four-stage course that didn’t make the Adaptive riders feel like an afterthought. “I loved the trail selection this year. They felt completely suited for our adaptive bikes, but there was still a challenging or two section for each of us to think about the night before race day and put together a plan of action. Courses like this and the inclusion of a Sport class are what’s pushing the sport of adaptive mountain biking forward.”

Winner of the Expert Youth category, Mayumi Wakefield, a multi-faceted athlete who often participates in freeride events, felt similarly pushed by the Sturdy Dirty course. “Sturdy Dirty was such a fun event. I love racing enduro because it challenges a different side of riding compared to freeride. In freeride, you’re thinking about tricks, style, and pushing your comfort zone, but in enduro you have to put together a whole day of riding. You have to be fast, consistent, and smart with your energy. It’s definitely a good reminder that going full send on the first stage isn’t always the best strategy!”

Wakefield said that the women’s-only environment at Sturdy Dirty was what drew her to the event. “It has such a special vibe. Everyone is there to race hard, but also cheer each other on and have fun. It’s really cool not having the dude yelling ‘Rider back, rider back!’ behind you or feeling like you’re holding someone up. You can just focus on your own ride and enjoy being around a bunch of awesome women who love bikes.”

In particular, Wakefield loved how welcoming the event felt. “Everyone was so supportive, and even though we were racing against each other, it never felt like anyone was against each other. There was so much cheering and encouragement throughout the day. It was just really cool being surrounded by so many women who are passionate about riding and creating such a fun, positive community.”

One of those passionate women is Delia Massey. Massey is no stranger to the Sturdy Dirty - or to racing, in general - but 2026 did mark a milestone for her: “This was my first time returning to the Open/Pro class since 2019. In the last seven years, I’ve given birth to two children and gone through a divorce, and while I was in the depths of early motherhood, I never thought I would return to race at this level. It seemed utterly impossible that I would ever have the skills, fitness, and willingness to take risks and go fast enough to be competitive in Pro.”

All that made Massey feel a bit “off” at the 2025 event - so much she wasn’t sure she’d be back again. But as she spent more time on the bike in 2026, Massey says things began to turn around, and a Valentine’s Day Dig Day with the Sturdy B’s did the trick of reminding her how much she loved the community surrounding the event. “I went home and registered for Expert.”

As Massey trained, she started to push herself and found her fitness “wasn’t as bad as I thought it was.” She revisited Predator - the hardest trail on the Pro Course - and cleared it, but didn’t have grand expectations about carrying speed. Attending a pre-event clinic, where she sessioned lines with other riders, including a new friend who went back to Predator with her a few days later for a full pull, changed that, and, less than a week before race day, Massey updated to Pro.

“My 2026 Sturdy Dirty experience was a night-and-day experience from the prior year. I was relaxed, I had fun, I rode smoothly, hit all my lines on Predator, and managed to pull off a mid-pack finish in Open/Pro, which was entirely unexpected. I am extremely proud of myself for taking on the challenge. I could not have done this without the supportive community of women that the Sturdy Dirty has created here in the PNW, and I am so grateful to be a part of it.”

Massey wasn’t the only parent at the Sturdy Dirty this year; the mom squad was rolling deep at the Sturdy in 2026 and included mama-to-be Liz Hawkins - who signed up to race before she knew she was pregnant and decided to keep her entry anyways. 

“If I’m going to do just one race a year it’s going to be Sturdy,” says Hawkins. “It was the first race I ever did back in 2021 and I've been hooked ever since! For one, it’s the most competitive women’s race there is. All the women show up! And secondly, it’s a freaking blast. We moved from Portland to Bellingham a couple years ago and I always get to reconnect with so many friends from Portland and Seattle and Bellingham at that race, so that’s amazing.”

Hawkins says she’d been on the fence about participating because she wasn’t sure what people would think about a visibly pregnant woman racing and worried she might be shamed. She also wasn’t sure she knew how to race “in a less competitive manner and keep it safe.” In the end, however, Hawkins decided to trust herself and her ability. “Plus, I didn’t want to miss out on the party that is Sturdy Dirty and a weekend of camping with some of my best friends from down south,” she adds.

Being pregnant definitely changed the experience for Hawkins: “I would typically race Expert, but the ups are getting significantly harder right now, so I decided to race Sport and just party pace. Even with the reduced mileage and elevation, it was a SLOG.” 

One transfer in particular, to a trail called OTG, was “a mental and physical battle. It felt like that trail would never end! Thank goodness for my ride buddies Landi, Jen and Jenny for keeping a turtle pace with me, and supporting my many pee breaks, snack breaks, water breaks, and glitter breaks to make it up there.” 

But even though the ups were difficult, Hawkins says the downs still provided their usual joy. “I absolutely loved Atlas and The Legend. We rode these trails blind in the race and they’re such fun, intuitive, fast trails. I know Transition's slogan is Party in the Woods,” Hawkins continues, “but Sturdy couldn't emulate this any better. Every year I'm in awe with the amount of badass powerful women racing mountain bikes in one location. The energy is insane. And, you know what, not one person came up to me and said anything negative about me racing while six months pregnant. Everyone was genuinely so stoked and supportive. And racing belly-out felt amazing and so free. I'm still living the high from participating this year, and can't wait to show my little one pictures one day of their first mountain bike race in my belly.”

Hawkins wasn’t the only radass mom to thank for a kiddo’s participation: twelve-year-old Penny Pierce says she signed up for the Sturdy Dirty four years ago when she was nine because her mom had raced it way back in 2016 and wanted to do it again, this time with Penny. 

“I said yes and raced in the Lite category, with her following me. I got dead last,” Pierce recalls. But even though Pierce says she’d done better in other races that year, Sturdy stood out as the “funnest race,” of them all. “And I love racing with all women. I have done the Sturdy every year since then, and each one has been ever more fun than the last.”

This year, with her skill improving, Pierce decided to race Expert for the first time. Bumping up a category also meant she would get to ride some of her favorite trails at Tiger Mountain - and hit more Aid Stations, one of her favorite parts of the Sturdy Dirty. And while Pierce didn’t ride with any of the girls her age, she did get to ride with one of her coaches “and make more friends in the process, even if they are in their fifties and sixties. (Hi Janine and Cynthia!)”

And even though she came away a little bruised by the end, after a crash on Super T, Pierce counts the day as a success. “My goals for this race, as my first Expert race and my hardest race yet, were to finish the day happy and unbroken.” Overall, Pierce says she felt “happy, exhausted, and proud,” when she crossed the finish line. “Happy because it was a day full of aid stations and wonderful people. Exhausted, because it was a long day with a few really long stages and even longer climbs. Proud, because I finished the day and did my first Expert race.”

Personal pride in accepting and confronting challenges seems to be the single most unifying theme throughout all rider categories. Just ask Lily Bellak, who raced in the Adaptive 2W Beginner category just about two months into her mountain biking career.

“I was nervous and excited,” Bellak admits, “with my nerves mainly from how others would see me at the race. I race Adaptive due to invisible disabilities, and was worried that I’d feel out of place, especially since I was a new rider.” But Bellak says her fears evaporated when she arrived at the race.

“No one questioned why I was on an e-bike, said anything about my newness to the sport - coming from a competitive athletics background, I was nervous about looking like a ‘noob’ - or made me feel out of place or unwelcome. Everyone was friendly and supportive-hyping each other up on the climbs, complimenting bikes and outfits, and cheering whenever someone finished a stage. I came into the day feeling nervous and like I was out of place, and left feeling supported, valued, and welcomed into not only the women’s bike community, but as an adaptive rider and a racer.”

And that, perhaps, is the personal achievement that the entire Sturdy B Racing team should feel most proud about, themselves: that the environment they have created at the Sturdy Dirty Enduro allows everyone to feel what Bellak felt - a joyful sense of belonging - and to have one damn good day riding bikes in the process.

PODIUM PLACEMENTS

(Full results here)

PRO/OPEN
P1: Jill Kintner
P2: Chloe Bear 
P3: Amanda Vansant
P4: Bekah Rottenberg 
P5: Jane Livingston

Expert 18-29:
Sophia Lymberis
Maggie Stoegbauer
Mel Koziol
Claire Christensen
Sadie Smith

Expert 30-39:
Jane Shook
Campbell Steers
Steph Miller
Michelle Guy
Madison Westfall

Expert 40-49:
Stephanie Choplin
Jasmine Eucogco
Andi Zolton
Ariel Kazunas
Camilla Chalmers

Expert 50-59:
Angela Bohren
Michelle Bostick 
Janine Robinson
Kelly Constable
Shannon Lindner

Expert 60+
Cynthia Krass

Expert Youth
Mayumi Wakefield
Clare Logan
Sophia Balsiger
Ora Monton
Penny Pierce

Sport 18-29
Mikaela Balkind
Coral Ng
Skylar Mcloughlin
Amelia Goode
Avery Daubert

Sport 30-39
Sunny Nelson
Aileen Cotton
Casey Westbrook
Chandler (C.C) Peddle
Chelsea Darsney 

Sport 40-49
Candice Rodriguez
Danielle Walker
Sandy Ward
Abby Purdy
Alison Chase

Sport 50-59
1 Marnie Zirbel
2 JoAnne Balsiger
3 Dawn Eldridge 
4 Lisa Rasmussen
5  Hahn

Sport Youth
1 Helena Piaseczny
2 Brooke Tu
3 Sabine Lim

Adaptive MTB - Sport
1 Annijke Wade
2 Erin Martin
3 Ryan Barbee

Adaptive MTB - 2W Sport
1 Rebecca Johnston

Beginner 18-29
Jillian Campbell
Alexandra Martinez
Isa Culver
Kelsey Shaw
Kendall Schmidt

Beginner 30-39
Afsaneh Vaez
Ashley Leiker
Megan Powell
Ashley Mcdonald
Carly Johannes

Beginner 40-49
Robin Deligeannis
Ashley Reid
Ashley Paintner
Nancy Fullman
Cindy Dilg

Beginner 50-59
Holly Schroeder
Ashley Kangas
Kristen NyQuist
Elain Irons
Barbara Culver

Beginner Youth
Zosia Piasczny
Lola Gonzalez
June Bennet-Cumming
Alidalyn McDonald
Asa Pierce

Adaptive MTB - Beginner
1 Tammie Thompson

Adaptive MTB - 2W Beginner 
1 Lily Bellak

Enduro Lite
1 Raya Koller
2 Alex Belmaachi
3 Ammy Gluchuk
4 Kellie Henwood
5 Rebecca Earl

COMPLETE RESULTS

Designed with plenty of space for up to 55mm (700c x 2.2”) tires, this new platform features a thoughtfully reimagined rear triangle with a new 3D-printed yoke, a fresh Mosaic-designed gravel fork, updated frame standards, and a geometry that's been refined over years of experience building race-worthy titanium gravel bikes.

Mosaic GT i55 Details

• 700x55mm Tire Clearance
• Fully Integrated IS52 Cockpit
• Double Butted Titanium
• Gravel 1X chainline only
• T47 Bottom Bracket

“The goal was never simply to build a bike that fits bigger tires,” says Aaron Barcheck, Founder and Lead Designer at Mosaic Cycles. “Every change had to earn its place. The rear end, the fork, the frame standards, everything was designed together so the bike would feel every bit as lively and responsive as our previous gravel bike while giving riders the capabilities they’ve been asking for.”

The GT i55 Updates

• 55mm Tire Clearance: Mosaic’s most capable gravel platform to date
• New Mosaic-Designed Gravel Fork: Designed in-house with 55mm tire clearance, fully internal routing, suspension-corrected geometry, and fender mount-ready
• Ground-Up Rear Triangle Redesign: New frame architecture increases capability while preserving responsive handling and ride feel
• First 3D-Printed Titanium Component: An exclusive titanium rear yoke meets the tire-clearance demands of modern gravel bikes while maintaining stiffness and drivetrain clearance.
• Modern Integration: Updated routing, UDH compatibility, T47 bottom bracket, and clean cockpit integration across both models
• Batch Built or Made to Order: Available for fast delivery through the Batch Built program (ships in 3-5 business days), or offered as a Made to Order bike where riders can fully personalize the build with custom geometry and finish work

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

Availability and Ordering

While engineering has evolved along with the sport, the philosophy behind every Mosaic bike remains the same. Each GT i55 is still hand-built in Boulder, Colorado, and can be tailored to its rider through Mosaic’s Made to Order program with custom geometry, personalized builds, and any current finish work, including Mosaic’s Artist Series colorways. Visit mosaiccycles.com for availability, lead time, and to find a partner near you.

• GT-1 i55 framesets start at $8,250
• GT-2 i55 framesets start at $5,000

For riders looking for faster delivery, both models will be added to Mosaic’s Batch Built program later this fall, which offers eight standard sizes and several paint options. Once available, in-stock bikes ship within 3-5 business days, with backordered models shipping in approximately 4-6 weeks.

Batch Built bikes will be available through Mosaic’s new e-commerce platform. Color options and pricing will include:

GT-1 i55 Batch Built framesets

• Pearl Dark Graphite Matte
• Starting at $7,500

GT-2 i55 Batch Built framesets

• Ghost Finish
• Starting at $4,250

"San Francisco is a city built on progress, structure, and systems. It sits at the edge of technological development, but beneath that polished exterior is a landscape full of hard edges, industrial scale, and unlikely opportunities.

For Teddy Hayden, that is where things get interesting. This new video follows Teddy as he moves past the city. Not the cleanest route. Not the most obvious answer. The stranger one. The one that takes a bit more imagination.

In Teddy’s world, a wall is not just a wall, a ledge is not just a ledge, and a dead end is rarely the end of anything. When reality imposes boundaries, the bike offers a different equation."

• Riders: Teddy Hayden
• Video: Spencer Miller
• Logos: Shredder's Digest 
• Music: Talisa - Danielle Luppi, Parquet Courts, Karen O Empty and Silent - Mount Kimbie (feat. King Krule)

When most people think of E-mountain biking, they think of taking the easy route, cheating on climbs, and a rider who puts in no effort to work for the descents. And that’s wrong. I might be in the small group of people who ride eMTBs a little differently and see them as much as a tool as they are super fun for unlocking more rides, but my recent trip to British Columbia, Canada, to race the Bosch eMTB Challenge at Crankworx reminded me of some things I’d forgotten: Racing is really fun, E-Bikes are very different than mountain bikes, and when you step back from the comments section, people seem to hate eMTBs less.

To be fair, the Bosch eMTB Challenge isn’t technically a “race”, but it does have timed stages, a feed stop, and you need to get to the start of each stage with some navigational know-how and the spares to keep you rolling if anything goes belly up. It makes for a really interesting event, with a similar vibe to that of a traditional MTB enduro race mixed with motocross enduro elements, thanks to timed uphill sections and route navigation.

Overall, the experience was super engaging, a ton of fun, and pretty eye-opening. This was the second year that Bosch has held the EMTB challenge at Crankworx Whistler, and I’d say it’s well worth considering if you’re curious about racing e-bikes on some of the best trails around. Hell, I even got to ride some laps with Hans "No Way" Rey, which was pretty special.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

The Bosch EMTB challenge consists of three groups: Amateur, Advanced, and Elite, each of which rides a slightly different course than the other. I rode in the Advanced group, which was packed with notable names from all over the world. Despite some missed turns and riding most of the trails totally blind, I wasn’t dead last, which was a win in my book.

Thanks to Bosch for putting on such a cool event, EVO Whistler for the rental, all the volunteers on course, and the weather for letting up for race day.

With XC bikes all getting "bigger" and "better", it's no surprise to see Santa Cruz give the Blur a refresh to follow suit after almost five years since the last iteration. It might seem like the Blur is straying from the XC race bike palmares of the last version, but from my perspective, it's just becoming more versatile without abandoning its lineage of lightweight speed, even if it's now running a shorter stem, more travel, and downtube storage.

Blur V5 Geometry Updates

• 66-degree HA
• 75-degree STA
• 475mm reach (large)
• Short seat tube for more insertion
• Lower BB (334mm/13.15in)

The biggification of Cross Country bikes is a trend right now, and many brands are now positioning what was once their XC race bikes as genre-bending bikes that can pull double-duty as both trail and cross-country (within reason). That seems to be what Santa Cruz has just done with the Blur V5.

They’ve increased travel, added a glovebox, and adjusted the geometry to really blur the lines. The new Blur has a slacker HTA up front, a steeper STA out back, and chainstays that are somewhat proportional throughout the sizing. One thing that remains unchanged is the flex-stay suspension, but there has been some weight saving in that department with a new machined-out linkage to drive the shock.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

Okay, to be fair, the Blur hasn’t strayed too far from the XC path, and Santa Cruz still says this is the XC bike of the bunch, but it’s just a tad bit more capable. It still has a long front-center, it’s still quite light, and the suspension curve is still very progressive. They even offer the Blur V5 in dedicated “Race” build kits with remote lockout suspension, lighter wheels, and racier tires.

Blur V5 Frame Details

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

• BB Shell: 73mm Threaded
• Brake Mount: 180mm
• Shock Specs: 190x45
• Fork Offset: 44mm
• Headset: Integrated (IS41/52)
• Chain Guide: ISCG05
• Max Chainring: 36t
• Max Tire: 29x2.4
• Spacing: 148mm Boost
• Suspension: Superlight Flex-Stay

The Blur comes with the Santa Cruz Lifetime warranty. This also includes pivot bearings and the Reserve Carbon wheels, so riders have peace of mind while hammering the extra credit that this bike is capable of.

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All Blur V5 frames now feature tube-in-tube cable routing, a lighter carbon construction, and glovebox storage in the downtube. It’s also only available in the CC carbon configuration with routing for mechanical drivetrains. All sizes can also fit two bottles in the main triangle, even when running the Flight Attendant suspension. Santa Cruz has also added a top-tube accessory mount and integrated chain-guide and downtube protection, which hints at the targeted versatility of the new chassis.

Blur V5 Build Kits, Weights, and Pricing

The Blur V5 comes in 7 build kits, including the two “Race” variants, and is also available as a frameset. The builds range from $4,899 USD for the Shimano Deore Mechanical build, all the way up to $13,399 USD for the XX AXS Race build with Reserve 28 | XC rims laced with carbon spokes to DT Swiss 180 Hubs. 

Explore more at Santacruzbicycles.com

The Sun Dog shorts and Ramble Scramble shorts have been updated with new colors and subtle design tweaks to make them even better without changing the objective. But what is that objective? It’s pretty simple: Make clothing that works with you. It’s nothing super flashy or packed with “the next-best-thing” because constantly pursuing innovation is a bit of a snooze these days. We all just want pants, shorts, and jerseys that fit well, function great, and honestly, we want them to look good - and everything Curious Creatures makes checks those boxes, both on and off the bike.

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Check out all the new goods from CC at Wearecuriouscreatures.com

A big part of this new drop is the updates, which are mostly cosmetic, and a good thing because there weren’t many issues with the older kit. The main thing I notice the pants and shorts have been made a little bit baggier, and the cuffs and tech details have been refined to improve the feeling on the trail. The only thing I could fault the Men's Sun Dog pants for initially was the cuff and lack of a traditional zipper closure, but the more I rode in them, the more I began to understand the why behind the design choice, and I really appreciate the improved venting that the lack of a zipper offers.

Both the Ramble Scramble and Sun Dog Shorts are some seriously comfortable britches, and while the Men’s Sun Dog doesn’t see an overhaul this year, the Ramble Scramble does with an updated fit that now lands more true-to-size than the version.

CC has also dropped a new men’s and women's tech-tee, one more casual t-shirt, and a comfy-looking tank top ferda ladies. The new tech-tees are really great-looking, and I’m super excited to get my hands on the new clothing from Curious Creatures for the last leg of the summer miles.

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It might be a little hot (and the sky might be filled with smoke), but CC has also dropped a new hoodie that has me dreaming of fall rides, moist soil, and hot cocoa in the trailhead parking lot. The Grit Goblin is the brand's second offering, following the Hungry Horse Jacket, and shows that Curious Creatures is still growing and developing new stuff that kicks ass.

The bikes that No.22 makes are expensive, and titanium is not everyone's cup of tea. About halfway through writing this article, I realized that I should check my privilege here and refocus. This is likely not a bike that the majority of people reading this could ever justify. But for that reason it's special, and regardless of your interest in a $15,000 USD gravel bike, it's a work of art.

Looking past the similarities between the No.22 Drifter and mountain bikes of the past, and the steep barrier to entry, this is still very much a great modern gravel bike, and it might just be the most exquisite gravel bike I’ve ever swung a leg over.

For the uninitiated, let me introduce the No.22 Drifter. A decidedly bespoke and truly luxurious gravel bike made from titanium and littered with details that tickle my love for the small touches. The Drifter boasts clearance for massive tires (700 x 56mm or 29x2.2), butted titanium tubes, suspension-corrected geometry, and so much soul it feels alive. 

No.22 Bicycle Company is nestled in Upstate New York, in the town of Johnstown, and they are responsible for bikes that have been objects of my desire for years. Back when I had no respect for my knees or traffic lights, the Little Wing was the ultimate bike for me. I lusted after the simple decadence of this titanium track bike for years, and although I’ve given up on riding fixed gear, I still swoon at the sight of No.22 bikes. The Drifter, most recently, has been a bike that, if I could justify the purchase of, would be a forever bike for me. They say not to meet your heroes, and I don’t know if that really applies to bikes, because the No.22 Drifter is everything I expected it to be, in both the great ways and the less-than-great ways.

Overview

To the layman, there’s nothing that stands out about the Drifter - it just looks like another gravel bike - but to someone who has been intrigued by the small builders making bespoke bicycles from exotic materials, No.22 is a brand you’d recognize for innovation in titanium 3D printing and some drool-inducing machines.

Fun Fact: Titanium is the 22nd element on the periodic table, and Carbon is 6th. Hence No.22 Bicycle and No.6 Composites

• Tire Clearance: Up to 56mm rear (45mm w/ 2x), up to 61mm in the fork
• Fully Internal/Through-Headset Cable Routing
• Fender mounts
• Sintered Titanium UDH Dropouts
• Custom Paint and Finish Options
• T47 Bottom Bracket / 85.5mm wide
• Frameset Prices Start at $6,499 USD
• Weight (58cm): 21.5lbs with carbon No.6 Composites fork / 22.9lbs with RockShox Rudy XPLR

Framesets for the Drifter start at $6,499 USD, which is an almost exhausting number to see for a bicycle, but if you’ve got the money (and the desire) to get a bike that could quite literally outlive you, then maybe it starts to make sense. From my experience riding this bike, I feel like I’m riding around on a unicorn. I’ve never seen another No.22 out in the wild, and from the reactions I’ve received, not many other people have either, so maybe the money is worth the aura points as well as the exceptional ride quality and versatility.

The Why of Ti

Overall, the first hundred miles on the Drifter have been dreamy. This is a dream bike after all. It rides like magic, looks like magic, and considering what I know about additive titanium manufacturing, it might as well be magic. But what makes titanium seem so much better than steel, carbon, or aluminum?

In terms of frame material, titanium is one of hype and mystique that often demands a much higher price tag without much concrete evidence that it's always that much better than an equivalent frame in steel. It’s obviously lighter, but titanium is also more brittle than steel and requires more resources to create. From my lifetime in the industry, the allure of titanium has always been one of romance, soul, and buying into a brand that you appreciate and trust. Titanium is a material surrounded by nuance, and if the average person were to ride identical steel and titanium bikes back-to-back, they would be hard-pressed to point out the major differences in most situations. It all comes down to the tubes, butting, the design methods used by the brands, and the skill of the person welding the frames together. When it all falls into place, the result is a pretty special bicycle.

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When considering a titanium bike at this price, riders are likely considering the vibe and soul of the bike as much as the ride quality, features, and intended use case. Titanium isn’t inherently better than steel, but it can be depending on what you’re going for and the emotions that the builder and brand evoke, and that’s part of what makes it special. It also doesn't need to be so expensive, and there are a number of brands that offer off-the-shelf titanium bikes at a fraction of the price (State Bicycle, Eskar, Ritte, Stinner, and more). A titanium bike could last forever since it won't rust, and it can be repaired (although it requires much more skill and work to put together, so that is another thing to consider).

From road climbs to the trailhead to washboarded fire roads and all the singletrack ridden, the bike feels confident and comfortable. I’m a lucky duck to get to spend time on this bike, and it’s definitely the nicest gravel bike I’ve ever been allowed to ride, and it has me analyzing why titanium is so desirable. Titanium is an exotic material, and not many people realize why, because it’s kind of a hard thing to put into words that make sense to people who haven’t ridden a ton of different bikes over the years.

I see titanium as a pretty versatile material, and the best way I can describe it is that it blends the best qualities of every other frame material into one. It’s light and stiff like carbon or aluminum, yet comfortable and snappy like steel, and since it has a much longer life, it will show a patina and tell an aesthetic story as it ages. But more than ride quality, it’s the mystique and connection between the brand and the rider that seems to be so enticing with titanium bikes. They’re just special and make a statement that embraces aesthetics, connection, and longevity in a unique way that appeals to individuals.

This particular model is a blend of Cerakote and anodized titanium, which is an interesting pairing. The Cerakote will not fade, but the anodizing of the raw titanium will weather, shift, and evolve as the bike carries the rider on more adventures - something that really appeals to me. 

Out of the Box

I received a 58cm bike, and the assembly was a breeze; the bike showed up well packaged and about 90% complete. All I really needed to do was put wheels on, straighten the bars, plug in the battery, and slide in the seatpost. The Drifter arrived with a RockShox Rudy XPLR fork installed, but a No.22 carbon fork was also in the box, with a caliper mounted, the housing run through the internal routing, and a Zeno Q-connector installed for really easy swapping between the forks.

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The build kit, of which I’m lucky enough to enjoy, consists of a SRAM Force XLPR groupset and brakes, 5Dev titanium cranks, Zipp 303 XPLR SW wheels, a No.22 stem and seatpost, Enve bars, some massive Vittoria Terreno tires in 29x2.0”, and a choice of RockShox Rudy 30mm fork, or a rigid carbon fork (No.6 Composites - No.22's fork brand). I can’t fault it at all, and if I was ordering a custom bike from No.22, this might be the build I would go with, save for the groupset. Given the bike's intended use case, I may have gone with something with a wider gear range, as the 42t chainring and 10-46t cassette is a little heavy for some longer, looser, and steeper climbs in my area. I have thought about swapping it out with a GX derailleur and cassette, but maybe I should just get stronger.

Ride Impressions

So far, I have about 150 miles on the No.22 Drifter, and I have no complaints about the quality of the ride, which you might hope for from a bike of this caliber. On the first ride, it was a little hard to tell if the absurdly comfortable ride feel was due to the suspension fork, abundance of tire, or the titanium frame, or all three of these factors coming together in unity. Whatever it is, the Drifter is hands down one of the most comfortable gravel bikes I’ve been on, but I still wanted to explore swapping out the fork to see if that was the biggest factor.

I’ve done the same rides with both rigid and suspension forks, and the most noticeable benefit of the suspension comes on washboard and some of the less manicured sections of singletrack. There’s no major drawback with the suspension fork during the climbs, and the Drifter remains very stable and composed when climbing out of the saddle, especially with the lockout engaged on the fork.

In terms of character, the bike seems a little confused with the suspension fork, and that might be influencing my desire to swap the drivetrain to an MTB derailleur. With the Rudy, the Drifter wants to get rowdy, and the geometry definitely helps, but I think the price tag and exotic nature of the bike have me hesitating from really letting it eat, but that is quickly changing.

After a few rides on the RockShox Rudy XPLR and playing with tire pressure, saddle angle, and bar roll, I felt like the bike was in a great place to start tinkering more and get the Drifter feeling a little bit “faster”. I swapped the suspension fork for the rigid carbon fork and began the experimentation to get to the bottom of why this bike is so delightful to ride. Honestly, the difference is barely noticeable, except in a few situations, and I’ve come to the conclusion that the tires and frame material are the major players when it comes to how the bike rides.

With the rigid fork, the Drifter feels just a tad bit racier, although that might just be a placebo or aesthetic influence, but it does shave some weight. The Drifter, in size 58, weighed in at 22.9lbs with the suspension fork and a scant 21.5 with the carbon fork - and this is with bottle cages, pedals, and a computer mounted to the stem - as a bike should be weighed.

Complaints

The only complaints I could really find are pretty personal, I’d imagine, and they are both in the cockpit area. The first was just the computer mount options, and that wouldn't be an issue with different bars, to be fair. I ended up finding an out-front mount from an Easton stem that worked with the 3D-printed No.22 stem (shoutout to Kevin at Georges Cycles here in Boise).

The second complaint is just the internal cable routing that travels through the stem and headset. Although this is pretty tidy, and I don’t need to mess with it too much, it’s still always a drawback for me as someone who works on my own bikes. No.22 has done a really good job here, and the 3D-printed stem has some really impressive channeling to make this easier on the end-user or mechanic who needs to do maintenance.

When swapping the fork, I did need to go in and move some things around, and I ended up dropping one of the spacers underneath the stem; it bounced on the shop floor and found a resting place somewhere sneaky, and that brings me to the third issue that I’ve run into: the price. 

This is a niche bicycle, and as I haven’t ever seen another one out in the wild, no shop carries spare parts, and the stem spacers are absolutely proprietary; losing this spacer was a small but not insignificant delay in swapping the fork. In the same vein, the options for finding a computer mount were pretty limited, and the only real option that is explicitly supported for this stem is the $199 3D printed No.22 mount. Obviously, if you’re in the market for a bike like this, money isn’t a huge concern and forking over the extra coin for a beautifully made computer mount isn’t something to worry about; it’s likely that you have the means to work on a bike with through-headset cable routing or pay someone to work on your bike for you. Hence why I say these gripes are personal. 

I also mentioned that I have been riding this bike with a small amount of reservation due to the price associated with it, but I think that is mostly in my head, and the more that I ride it, the more confident I am in its ability to handle what I push it into.

Geometry

Diving into the geometry more, we see the Drifter has size-specific-ish geo for head tube angle, chainstays, seat tube angles, and BB drop. The Drifter comes in 7 pre-built geometry configurations, but there is the option to go fully custom if you want to go that route. No.22 will also help cover a portion of the bike-fit process if you take the custom geo approach for your frame, which is a nice offer.

Gravel bike geometry is slightly more refined than mountain bikes, and the debates online are far less opinionated, probably because geo has less influence on the suspension behavior and the bikes are designed to balance traditional road bike handling with characteristics that make them handle better off-road. And that is just what the Drifter does. I’ve spent a lot of time on drop bar bikes, both on the road and off-road, and the Drifter feels great on all terrain types, and even surprised me on singletrack and rougher roads. I had assumed that the Drifter would be slightly twitchy off-road, just because I’ve mostly been riding mountain bikes the last few months. The 70.5 head tube angle is pretty steep from an MTB perspective, but not that out of line for gravel bikes, and the seat tube angle is pretty steep to keep weight centered between the wheels.

Honestly, I’ve been really impressed with how the bike handles in all situations, and I’ll admit I was a little nervous about the wheels at first. A 54mm deep wheel is very deep for me, and having ridden a lot of road bikes in the past with deep section wheels, I’m familiar with the amount that wind can influence the direction of travel, especially when it gets blustery. Boise is pretty windy, and I was bracing myself for some “oh shit” moments on the first ride, but the geo lets you stay planted and stable, even when a gust tries to motivate your front wheel in another direction. Thankfully, the frame isn't attempting to be overly aero, and it sticks to mostly round tubes. The top tube and downtube are tapered and formed to optimize stiffness and compliance where it matters most, and I'd say everything feels sorted and pragmatic.

Takeaway

Holy shit. It’s just an amazing bike. The ride quality of titanium might be a hard thing to grasp, but it is something else compared to alloy and steel. It’s light, responsive, efficient, yet still super comfortable. The ability to run big ol’ tires and a suspension fork makes what is already a comfortable bike even more supple, and the small touches elevate things even further.

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Sure, I had my initial reservations about pushing the bike for fear of messing something up, but after a few rides, convincing myself it wouldn’t be an issue, the doors opened to what this bike is made for. It’s made to ride. It feels strange to baby a bike that is this capable, but if you’re paying for all this, you should be able to push it. It’s a gravel bike and wants to be ridden as one. They wouldn’t have sent a suspension fork if they didn’t want me to take it on some singletrack, right?

I’m thrilled to be on this bike and will report back as I continue to put it through some more life experiences. But for now, here’s a quick summary of praise and faults about the No.22 Drifter. 

Praise

• Ride quality
• Finish
• Attention to detail
• Versatility

Faults

• Computer mount was tricky to source without the No.22 option
• Cable routing is through the headset
• Price is high

Hope is calling this the 20mm Gravity Stem, thanks to its puny 20mm reach number. It pairs that reach figure with a 35mm stack height and is machined from a solid chunk of 2014 T6 Aluminum, with a robust 5mm clamping area to combat the unique forces applied to such a tall stem. 

The 20mm Gravity Stem uses an integrated headset cap to solve the issues of the bars clamping directly above the steer-tube, and Hope says it will work with oversized 31.8mm as well as the more common 35mm bars.

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"A super short 20mm Gravity stem has been developed with control and optimized rider positioning in mind. Following feedback from some of the fastest World Cup Downhill and Enduro riders, Hope set out to design a stem that brings the riders' grip position more in line with the steering axis of the fork. This gives riders a more upright riding position, distributing weight to the center of the bike."

• 20mm long
• 35mm stack  
• Increased 5mm clamping width for additional system strength and stiffness.  
• Integrated headset cap (headset bolt included)  
• Available in Black, Silver, Smoke, Blue, Red, Purple & Orange
• All stems are CNC machined from a solid billet of 2014 T6 aluminum
• Designed for oversized 31.8mm and 35mm bars
• MSRP: £115.00 /  €144.50 / $159.40 (pre-tax)

Check them out at Hopetech.com

There’s no denying that the higher-stem, shorter-reach trend is continuing to pick up traction. Reece Wilson even got a podium spot this year at a UCI DH World Cup with one bolted onto his bike. The Hope stem isn’t as aggressive as the RR Stem from BMB (BeMoreBikes), which likely means you won't need to make as many setup changes to your bike, and it will be visually less polarizing on the average bike. 

Slug Bicycles just dropped its new Earthling gravel bikes as an affordable, straightforward adventure platform for riders who want to keep things realistic. Gravel cycling has a special place in the industry right now, and I've been really loving the freedom it provides these days, and the Slug Earthling is a great example of how easy it is to keep things simple.

External cable routing, BSA bottom bracket, UDH, fender and rack mounts, dropper post routing, and butted chromoly tubes with room for some substantial tires; not much more you could ask for from a do-it-all bike like this. Pairing all these features with Slug’s own Frequency fork means that you get the best of steel and carbon in either a complete build or frameset.

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Framesets start at $1,850.00 USD, and complete builds, which come with mechanical Shimano GRX 12-speed, DT Swiss G1800 wheels, and 700 x 55mm tires, run just $3,500.00 USD. The Earthling is offered in Jade and Iris paint, and each frame is handmade in Taiwan from custom-drawn chromoly tubes.

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The Earthling is available in 6 sizes, ranging from XS to XL, with an extra-medium thrown in the mix for a broader size range. Top tube lengths span from 52cm on the XS to 62cm on the XL, with 2cm of growth between each size, and thanks to the lower-slung top tube, steep seat tube angle (74 degrees), and 435mm chainstays, the riding position looks to be pretty ideal for all kinds of terrain choices.

Check out the Slug Earthling at Slugbicycles.com

Both being absolute legends in their fields, Danny on his street trials bike and Kriss on the BMX, they agreed to ride it on a mountain bike to even things out. After a diverse crew of UK bike riders had already taken their chance ahead of Danny and Kriss, with none of them making it to the other side dry, it was about time for the two Red Bull athletes to take on the course.

We built a WILD bike obstacle course for Danny MacAskill and Kriss Kyle to try and conquer. Spanning over 200m, the floating track featured seesaws, log skinnies, wall rides, a ladder bridge, and a gnarly tightrope where one slip means you're taking a cold dip. 

Kriss Kyle showed his diverse skillset by opting for a mountain bike over his BMX, while Danny also swapped his trials bike for his trail bike. Watch as two of the world's best riders battle an obstacle course that basically refuses to be beaten.

Words: Red Bull Media / RASOULUTION 

I was pretty surprised to see the results come through after I published this poll, and although the sample size was relatively small (118 responses), I think these results suggest that solo rides are much more popular than I previously thought. This prompted me to pay more attention to the riders out on the trail and really see if the poll results reflected what I was seeing out in the wild.

When out on the local trails, the poll results and real-world statistics seemed to be correlated: most riders were on their own, but it wasn’t as imbalanced as the poll results. On the trails, it seemed more like a 50/50 split, or maybe 60/40, and I noticed far more people riding in groups of 2-3 riders rather than larger groups.

I posed a second question in that poll asking, “Do you feel like elitism in cycling prevents you from riding with a group?” and the results for that question were even more surprising, and honestly, I’m glad to see things are changing, because when I started getting into cycling way back in the day, there was definitely a lot more elitism in the sport.

71% of voters said they don’t feel elitism is a barrier to joining more group rides, and that’s truly great to hear; I would have to agree. Group rides, these days, are really welcoming and are a great way to meet up with friends and meet new people in the community. Only 29% of voters thought that elitism prevents them from joining more group rides. This poll received far fewer votes than the solo vs. group rides poll, with only 72 responses. I guess it’s a harder question to answer, or maybe it was just too far down and covered by ads. Either way, I think it was an important question to pose.

This was a little surprising, seeing as the GENIE shock was developed in partnership with Fox when the new Stumpjumper 15 was announced in 2024. This rather unique shock is part of the equation that makes the Stumpjumper 15 such a versatile bike, and I would have assumed that this was technology that was exclusive to Fox - looks like I was wrong. 

There aren’t many details on the new partnership with Rockshox, but considering the innovations made with the new suspension they rolled out this year, it does make sense to pair the Genie tech with a fork that behaves similarly.

It looks like all the Stumpjumpers with this new shock use the same option: a new Rockshox Super Deluxe Ultimate GENIE equipped with the RC2T damper, which uses the same dual air spring that closes off after the shock reaches 70% of its travel.

Specialized has also dropped some new colorways to accompany the new shock, with the S-Works trim getting a frameset option in a really cool-looking sandstone paint. The S-Works Stumpjumpers with the RockShox Genie shock are available in a metallic white/silver and a glossy charcoal tint that really lets the carbon layup shine through. The new Evo Pro build now comes in a satin silver finish or a dark brown gloss color that Specialized is calling “Stallion”. The Alloy build is in a dusty brown called “Satin East Sierras”, which seems fitting.

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Overall, this is a pretty quiet rollout for such a big shift, but it doesn’t look like it's marking the end of the Fox Suspension Genie shocks, as they are still available. This is likely a move to spec SRAM drivetrains alongside the RockShox suspension to keep things “all in the family”. I’m not sure what the reason is, but I have reached out to Specialized and have not heard a response as of publishing this - I will keep this updated as I learn more.

For now, you can check out the new builds and colors at Specialized.com

When getting into cycling, bibs or padded shorts are something crucial, but knowing which one to go with can be an expensive process of trial and error, and for mountain biking, there can be even fewer options out there, with most of the available picks being padded shorts without the straps to keep the chamois in place (the chamois is the padded part).

Don't want to read the whole thing? Here's my vote for the best bib and padded shorts for gravel and mountain biking:

My favorite padded shorts:
Velocio TRAIL Mesh Liner

My favorite bib for Gravel:
Ornot Cargo Bib

My favorite bib for mountain biking:
Specialized SWAT Bib Liner

To kick things off, if your seat doesn’t vibe with your anatomy, then there’s nothing a chamois can do to really help with comfort. It can make a small difference, but it can also make things worse, and some chamois paired with the wrong saddle or position on the bike are a recipe for a huge pain in the ass. 

What Is a Bib, a Padded Short, and What Is a Chamois?

A chamois is the most important part. That’s the padded part that creates a barrier between you and the saddle. They come in different shapes, cuts, materials, and densities, all to accommodate different bodies and riding styles. There are thicker endurance chamois, channeled chamois, and single-material “budget” chamois that offer a ton of padding to disguise the fact that they will quickly pack down and become horrible to ride in.

Chamois can be found in shorts and in bibs, the latter being a padded short with two straps that go over the shoulders to keep the short part of the garment in place. For mountain biking, a padded short is the most common that you’ll see, and they often come attached to riding shorts. A bib with a chamois is more common in road and gravel cycling, but there are still great options for mountain biking, and you can, of course, use a road or gravel bib for mountain biking.

Note: Over time, a chamois will pack down and become less comfortable, so it’s good to keep this in mind when shopping around. However, nicer chamois will last longer.

Trial and Error

Throughout the last decade, I’ve gone with and without a chamois, used various chamois creams, and explored both shorts and bibs with various chamois to see what works best, and while this is a pretty expensive thing to do for the average person, I’ve come to a conclusion that you get what you pay for when it comes to a chamois and bib, and you should not go with the cheapest option. This is both a drawback and a good thing, in my opinion.

For padded shorts, I’ve found them to be a viable option for shorter rides. Think 15-20 miles, which is a pretty decent distance for most folks. I usually find that I get along well with the padded shorts that come with Troy Lee Designs shorts or Fox Racing shorts, as they tend to be a little thinner. I do notice a thicker chamois, and it might be counterintuitive to go with less padding for more comfort. If you think about it more deeply, it does make sense, though. More padding = more movement = more chaffing. There’s a sweet spot here.

For longer rides, both on the mountain bike and on the gravel bike, I always prefer a bib with a chamois. The bib straps keep the chamois where it needs to be, and the right bibs will often have pockets for extra storage space. All bibs aren’t created equal, though, and depending on what type of riding you trend towards can influence what bib works best.

There are a few options to pick from if you want to go with bibs for mountain biking. On one hand, you can go with the normal cycling bib. Sometimes with pockets. Thicker material. Full-sized chamois. Totally comfortable and functional.

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On the other hand, there are bib liners out there that have a chamois, more pockets, thinner materials, and a smaller chamois. Although it’s a small difference, I do notice the improved comfort of an MTB-specific bib when on longer mountain bike rides, and I always appreciate the sheer material and extra pockets.

Favorite Padded Shorts

Some of my favorite shorts with a chamois are actually the liners included with the Troy Lee Designs liners that come with their Skyline Trail Short. They’ve been consistently comfortable and durable and agree with most shorts that I’ve ridden in. Given that I love the Velocio TRAIL Mesh Bib so much, I would put my money on the TRAIL Mesh Bib Short being a pretty great option.

The second place goes to the included liners that come with some Fox Racing Apparel shorts. Although decent, they aren’t as durable as the ones found in the Troy Lee Designs shorts, and tend to fall apart a little bit quicker. 

There’s a trend here: both my favorites are ones you get with other shorts, and there aren't a lot of aftermarket options that really make sense other than a few from Pearl Izumi and Rapha. From my testing, I’ve also found the options from Pearl Izumi to be pretty disappointing with a rather thick chamois and bulky fit. Honestly, padded shorts aren’t as popular for men since we have it pretty easy when nature calls and can more comfortably get away with a bib.  

Favorite Bib Short

Ornot Cargo Bib

Hands down, the best bib shorts I’ve ever ridden in are the Ornot Cargo Bibs. They’ve ruined all other bibs for me. Okay - that might be a little dramatic, but they’re just the best ones I’ve found. They have pockets a plenty, a world-class chamois, and all the details make for a perfect fit and comfortable ride no matter the mileage.

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I always reach for the Ornot Cargo Bib for gravel and road, and even some mountain bike rides if they’re up there in terms of distance, but the fabric is a little much when paired with shorts, so they are mostly worn on gravel or cross-country rides.

Specialized Swat Bib Liner

When mountain biking, I almost always reach for the Specialized Swat Bibs for their ample pocket space and sheer fabric that breathes exceptionally well with a layer on top - and trust me, you’ll want one with these because that fabric is VERY see-through.

Velocio TRAIL Bib Liner

If I don’t need the extra pocket space, I’ve been really liking the Velocio Trail Liner Bib. It’s sheer, has a great chamois, and comfortable straps for an unobtrusive fit with a backpack or vest.

We all want our shoes to last and benefit our riding, obviously, but sometimes we might be paying a premium for a brand name instead of features. I've been stoked on my FiveTen Freerider Pro shoes, and the BOA Fit System is clearly a highlight, but I still find the comfort of a skate shoe to be ideal when on flat pedals, and given the findings from Rose Anvil, there seems to be a reason.

Obviously, this conversation is different when looking at clipless shoes, because there is a major difference between a flat pedal shoe and one that needs to mount cleats to the bottom, and there are tons of variations in construction depending on the intended use.

I’ve been following Rose Anvil for a while, and when they posted a dissection of the Adidas FiveTen Slueth DLX and Freerider Pro, I was obviously interested in what they found. For those who aren’t familiar, Rose Anvil cuts boots and shoes in half to take a look at the construction and composition of footwear. They take a look at value and explain features of shoes to see if the price is really worth what you’re spending, and it can be pretty enlightening, to say the least.

Seeing Rose Anvil take the Adidas FiveTen shoes to the sanding belt and band saw is eye-opening and validates not just my perspective on flat-pedal MTB footwear, but others' thoughts on the high price-to-value seen with FiveTen shoes in recent years. I’ll let you watch the video and form your own opinion, but it seems that it might not always be worth the extra spend for MTB-specific flat pedal shoes these days, and a skate shoe might actually offer the same features, save for the tackier outsole.

With the same internals as the OneUp Hubs (which I’ve been really impressed with so far), the new 157 hubs are more of the same reliability and performance at a digestible price, just bigger.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

I’ll let you dig into the press release and form your own opinions, but I’d put money on these being a really solid hub set for those building up some new wheels to take all the bike park abuse you can dish out.

Specs

• Intended use: Enduro, DH
• Spacing: 110x20 Front and 157x12 Rear
• Holes: 32 Front & Rear
• Engagement: 44 points, 8.2 degrees
• Weight: Front 182g. Rear 231g (with XDr freehub)
• Colours: Black or Silver
• Material: 7075 T6 Aluminum
• Freehub options: XDr, XD SLim, Microspline and HG
• Spokes: J-Bend only
• Brake Mount: IS 6 Bolt only
• Bearings:Front MR17287, Rear 6902, Freehub 6802
• Warranty: 2 Years

Pricing (Front / Rear)

• USD $99.99 / 229.99
• CAD $139.99 / 299.99
• UK £89.99 / 194.99
• EUR €104.99 / 229.99
• Rest of World (USD) $124.99 / 264.99

Learn more at oneupcomponents.com

Press Release from OneUp Components: 

OneUp Hubs are now available for DH and Superboost riders. Introducing 20x110mm Front and 12x157 Rear OneUp Hubs. The same 44t ratchet drive, 7075 aluminum construction, reliable seals, and easy-to-work-with hubshell design as our original 148 Hubs. Hub dimensions are lasered onto the hubshell for easy reference, and we’ve added a lacing alignment line on the hub flange to make it easy to line up your valve hole at the start of a wheel build.

Hub Comparison

The 20x110 Front Hub maximizes bearing size (23mm x 32mm x 7mm) to deliver the maximum possible stiffness at the lightest possible weight, while small revisions to the inner hubshell machining and rear axle sleeve increase serviceability.

Our new 157 Hubs are compatible with SRAM’s new XD Slim Driver; this allows you to run the latest wireless 7-Speed DH Drivetrain in a DH bike with a 148mm boost-spaced rear, for the benefit of symmetrical spoke-bracing angles, more even spoke tension and a stronger wheel with the 157mm hub shell.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

For ultimate flexibility, we’ll offer a 15mm conversion kit for our new 20mm Front Hubs. This allows riders to switch between a 20mm and a 15mm front axle; great if you’re interested in trying an inverted fork or considering a dual-crown setup. These kits will be available in late 2026.

A dedicated Hub Rebuild Drift Kit is available for the new hub sizes, making at-home service easy when the time comes. Our hubs' design makes them easy to service. Ratchets, bearings, seals, freehubs, and small parts are all available direct from OneUp. The bearings are all common sizes available at most bike shops.

NEW Features

Updated Spoke Hole Drillings
To make lacing easier, we increased the hub flange diameter so both inboard and outboard spokes will lace up unobstructed by the rotor mounts.

Rotor Mount Improvements
We increased the thickness of the 110x20 Front Hub brake rotor mounts for increased durability and to accommodate extra-large front rotors that come with DH racing and riding.

Reduced Drag Seals/ Endcaps
We’ve updated the endcaps to reduce seal drag and deliver increased freespin earlier in the wheel’s life.

His evolution has been incredible to watch over the years, and “UNITY” hits a sweet spot for me at least. We all dream of buying up a slice of land with workable terrain to build our own trails to share with the ones we love. Land that serves a purpose as more than just a playground, but as a conduit for creativity and comfort for the circle of family and friends. Generational fun and functionality, if you will. 

As is common with all the projects that Bryceland has a hand in, this one is entirely worth the watch.

Words: 50to01

‘UNITY’ is a video project showcasing Josh in the woods of which he and his wife Jess are loving custodians. It was built through the past winter and made as a video part with a reflection of the energy they put out into the world and the community they foster in Unity Woods.

Bike Check

Josh Bryceland's Custom Cannondale Bad Habit

Josh's new Bad Habit, or Dad Habit as he calls it, is splattered with pink details from Burgtec, a full Shimano XTR Di2 drivetrain and brakes, Formula Suspension, Reserve FrySauce Wheels, and Michelin tires. Not a bad-looking rig if I'm honest.

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Fox has maybe heard this from a few folks now, and they’ve just announced the Transfer NEO E-Optimized dropper post, and unfortunately this doesn’t help my case much, since I don’t have the NEO Transfer on an eMTB. Alas, the NEO E-OPT is probably a problem solver for someone out there.

Details

The Fox Transfer NEO E-OPT will be available in Performance or Factory coatings, with adjustable travel (down to 25mm in 5mm increments) and up to 240mm of drop. The NEO Transfer E-OPT has a pretty dang low stack height and a fully integrated power supply that taps into the e-bike battery.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

Availability

Transfer Neo E-Optimized will first be exclusively available on the Specialized Levo 4, Levo R, and Levo Evo models. Specialized retailers will assist customers through the entire installation process for those upgrading their bikes. This doesn’t mean that those on other eMTBs will be left out, though, and further applications for other drive units are planned for release in 2027.

They aren’t cheap, that's for sure, but most electronic droppers on the market aren’t inexpensive - that’s just the price you pay for convenience, although, this being wired, it's probably not as convenient as a fully-wireless system. The dropper post will need to be purchased along with a wiring harness, cable, and remote, so all-in riders are looking at a pretty expensive upgrade here.

Pricing

• Transfer Neo E-OPT Factory Series: $659 USD / $939 CAD / $1099 AUD
• Transfer Neo E-OPT Performance Series Elite: $589 USD / $839 CAD / $999 AUD 
• Wiring Harness/Cable: $35 USD / $50 CAD / $59 AUD
• Transfer Neo Lever:  $219 USD / $267 CAD / $319 AUD

While the S-Works build of the Levo R was a somewhat lightweight offering, there are other full-power eMTBs out there that tilt the scales far less, and the new Levo R Ultralight build is Specialized’s voice in the conversation. The Levo R is a full-power electric trail bike, which is on paper pretty confusing, but during my time on it I definitely enjoyed the capability and snappier ride feel; it’s still a bit of an enigma when you look at all the super-light Avinox-powered bikes flooding the landscape.

Build Kit

The frame, drivetrain, and powertrain are the same as you'd find on the other Levo R S-Works builds, with the S-Works 3.1 motor putting out 850 Watts peak power & 111 Nm torque, and the same SRAM XX SL Transmission, integrated cockpit, and Genie Float Shock.

To shave grams (or pounds in this case), they have slapped on a Fox 36SL fork with Grip SL damper, a mechanical BikeYoke Dropper post, Roval Control SL VI wheels built to Industry Nine Solix Hubs with carbon spokes, and wrapped in different tires (Trail Control in the front / Ground Control in the rear), TrickStuff Dirretissima brakes, and stuck a 600Wh battery in the downtube instead of the 840Wh cell that all the other bikes come stock with.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

Pricing

All this weight savings brings the Levo R Ultralight down to a respectable 41lbs (18.8kg), but it does bump up the price to an impressive $13,000 USD (£11,999, €13,999, $20,900 AUD). Overall, 41lb is a pretty respectable number for a full-power eMTB, and the little touches of polished silver make it stand out in an understated way. 

I’ve enjoyed the Levo R for certain applications, and I can assume the weight savings are noticeable, especially with the smaller battery and lighter wheels, and those TrickStuff brakes really add a lot to the bling factor.

You can email me directly with your ideas, or, if you have something already baked, send over any assets and articles to be built out and published for our audience. I will help edit, format, and offer guidance on what is needed to bring an article to publication.

This could be a press release from your small brand, a video you feel passionate about, or an article on a topic you find important to share with the community. We are open to ideas and want to make BIKE a place where you can find new and interesting topics, stories, and brands you might not see elsewhere. No AI, no optimized headlines or recycled press releases, just real stuff from people who really care about the sport and want to share their passions with the world on an established platform. 

Here is what we’re looking for:

• Photo editorials/galleries: This could be stories told through photos and writing, galleries from a race or event, or a collection of images from a ride that you feel are impactful.

• Written articles: Opinions, adventures, races, gear, or whatever you think is important to share with the community.
• Video content: Ride documentation, race coverage, adventure stories, and all things cycling-related. It doesn’t have to be just about mountain biking.
• New products, or a search for backing a project: This could be trail work, new gear, or anything that aligns with cycling culture. 
• Event promotion: Are you throwing an event or race? We’d love to help spread the word for your cause.

How to Submit

Submit your story ideas

The ask is that you have any articles or content buttoned up and ready for publication with images, and anything written should be at least 250 words. You can submit via the submission link or to my email, and I’ll get back to you with approval or any edits needed. 

I’ve been testing a lot of gear lately, and the things that stand out most are the small details. This is a small selection of gear that has stood out thanks to the little things. I've not been paid to talk highly of these things; it's just the stuff that has stood out to me, and I think other people might appreciate it.

There are some affiliate links in here, but not for everything; I linked everything regardless of BIKE making a commission because I think everything on this list is worth a look.

It’s not all about large changes and leaps in innovation that impress me; the most noticeable details that keep me coming back to components and accessories are quality-of-life features that just make them work. We all want stuff that just works and blends into the background of riding, without disrupting the mental flow with distractions or adding a barrier to maintenance.

In all honesty, most things in the bike industry are at a plateau these days, and although some products do come to market that signal leaps forward, they are rare. In 2026, bikes are great, gear is great, tires are awesome, and almost all apparel is within the acceptable range for most riders.

What really makes a difference is the way we interact with these things. It comes down to ergonomics and ease of use, in my opinion. When the standard is set high, the items I’m testing that fall behind often aren’t falling behind in a major way; they just lack the features I prioritize, but I also realize that everyone has different priorities.

Sometimes all these small details come together to make something bigger and impactful, like helmets and apparel. Sometimes these small details are just small pieces of gear that make life easier. 

Helmets

One thing that can be somewhat overwhelming is the choice of helmets. Most meet the same standards, and it all comes down to features, which are usually a combination of small details. Outside of how the shell fits, if the helmet isn’t easy to live with, it can be annoying to ride with.

For helmets, I look for a few things outside of fit and safety rating, which is obviously the most important part. The most important thing I look for is the ease of storing glasses, which usually comes with the secondary benefit of excellent ventilation. I sweat a bit more than the average person, and run warm, so climbing with sunglasses on my face is usually not something I want to do if I can avoid it.

Some helmets seem to treat sunglasses stashing as an afterthought, which tends to make me irrationally annoyed with them. I don’t want to stop to store my sunglasses while climbing if I can help it. The second thing I look for is the closure, and with so many brands using the FidLock buckle, it’s pretty easy to check this box, but I’m still surprised when brands choose not to use the system. Other important details that aren’t necessarily deal-breakers are peak support and retention dials for fit adjustment. 

When I want these boxes checked, and I need something familiar and comfortable on a ride, I reach for a couple of helmets that stay in heavy rotation and will get my vote for my favorite helmets of the year so far.

Specialized Ambush 3

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• Great sunglasses storage
• Great venting
• BOA Fit System 
• Fidlock Buckle
• Locking vision/visor for use with action cameras or lights

MET Revo MIPS

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• Great Sunglasses storage
• Excellent venting
• FidLock buckle
• Good peak/visor adjustment

Sweet Protection Falconer 2Vi MIPS

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• Perfect sunglasses storage
• Two venting options with closable vents
• 360 fit system for adjustment
• Fidlock buckle

Tools and Maintenance

In a totally different realm of gear are tubeless valves, chain lube applicators, and multi-tools. I know that almost all of us have cursed at a presta valve over the years, struggled trying to find the best tool kit to bring on a ride, or realized you probably should have lubed up the chain before the ride.

Tubeless Valves

When it comes to other small things that make life easier, one growing trend has really made an impression: alternatives to Presta tubeless valves.

Clik Valves, Reserve Filmore Valves, and the Stans Exo-Core Valve. All of these are solutions to problems that have always been prevalent since the introduction of tubeless systems for wheels and tires. Tubeless sealant clogs traditional presta valves, and with removable presta valve cores, there's a risk they may unthread or leak. This was something I always just accepted and lived with, but when I started exploring the options out there, I realized that it wasn’t something I needed to live with anymore.

Clik Tubeless Valves

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Reserve Fillmore 50mm Valve Kit

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Maintenance

RotaLuber

Check them out at RotaLuber.com

Small, effective, and simple in theory, the RotaLuber has really streamlined the process of lubing links. The task of applying lube to a chain really isn’t that much of a hassle, but it can be tedious if you don’t want lube everywhere and want to avoid overspray, which can cause dust to cling to other parts of the drivetrain. And on e-bikes, there’s an added layer, since you can't just backpedal and get drops right onto the rollers.

RotaLuber gets it, and the RotaLuber and the backpedal tools have been essential in the toolkit recently. They just make the whole process easier. Sure, it’s kind of a luxury, but I value my time and will pay the small price to streamline this small maintenance task - especially since I’m not on the chain-waxing train.

Multi-Tools

The right toolkit can quite literally make or break a ride, and I’m a fan of being prepared but also efficient and minimalist, so if I can get two birds stoned at once, I will. For this, I pretty much always go for tools that will serve multiple purposes. I want a pump, tire plugs, a chain breaker, essential tool bits for adjustments, and something to pop a CO2 if needed.

There are plenty of options, but I’ve had the best luck with the OneUp EDC pump and tool kit, and the Crankbrothers S.O.S system. Both are different form factors, but no matter what I’m doing, I have one of these with me.

OneUp EDC Pump 70cc Black

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Crankbrothers S.O.S BC18 Bottle Cage Tool Kit Black

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Apparel

When it comes to clothing, I can be somewhat picky, but I don’t think I’m alone in this. I want stuff to fit, sure, but I also don’t want apparel to be overly complicated. In fact, I’m not opposed to rocking a simple cotton t-shirt if it has the right amount of patina. I digress, and I do usually ride in cycling-specific apparel since that is part of my job…

Courier Socks

Socks get a special mention, because I’m really picky when it comes to socks. And the Courier HiFi and LoFi socks are the pinnacle of socks in my opinion. I have too many socks, if you ask some people in my life, and if I could replace them all with the Courier socks, I would.

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Tops

Velocio Apparel Ultralight Trail Jersey

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Outdoor Research Freewheel MTB Jersey

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Path Projects Wadi 2.0 Tee

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View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

Because it’s designed for runners, I didn’t expect it to be the most durable garment, but after a shit ton of miles in it, I can’t find a reason to fault it, and it will stay in heavy rotation until it falls apart. 

Bottoms

Velocio Apparel ACCESS Trail Shorts

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The unzipped pockets have a small flap of material at the top that adds a bit of extra security, and they’re placed in a “normal” area. I feel like a lot of MTB apparel tries to optimize pocket placement for riding bikes, which results in an unintuitive pocket orientation - there’s none of that here. 

SMBL Flywheel Shorts

Check out the SMBL Flywheel Shorts at The-SMBL.co

The SMBL Flywheel shorts are somewhat tech for this list, but in a really good way. The pockets are still in the usual place, but a few small details make them stand out. There’s an integrated glasses-cleaning cloth in one of the bellowed zipper pockets, laser-cut perforations at the lower back, and a secure, widely adjustable waistband. They might be pretty tech-rich, but in a way that works really well.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

Ripton Bike Pants Quattro

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View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

But there's nothing wrong with wanting to ride alone, and for me, someone who has been doing this my whole life, I still prefer to ride by myself most of the time, and I decided to look into why that is. But it got me thinking and wondering who else out there feels the same way.

Cycling can be a social thing, but anti-social people might not be drawn to that aspect of the sport. I think it can stem from not feeling like you're part of the sport’s demographic. Mountain biking and cycling in general are sports that require financial means, and not everyone is lucky enough to grow up with sufficient wealth to pursue such an expensive hobby.

The first thing you always hear is that the bike gives you freedom, which I won’t argue with. For me, the bike gives solitude, quiet, and meditation. It’s a chance to shut down the noise and go be alone with my thoughts and feelings, and because that is what I look for from most of my bike rides, I end up riding alone, but I sure as hell ain't lonely.

My Perspective

I might be a rare case here, but I’m sure I’m not the only person who actually prefers to ride alone. I’ve always been this way, and for whatever reason I haven’t been able to change this habit. Don’t get it twisted when I say that I like riding solo more than with a group or someone else, though; I don’t hate riding with people, I just like being in my own zone and riding my own pace. I think the reason for this is that getting started in the sport can feel elitist. There’s a stigma around riding something old or something that doesn’t fall into the traditional brackets of performance.

Despite growing up without the means to ride new bikes, afford the newest gear, or travel to race and ride bike parks, I still love this sport. I’m at a point where I can look back and analyze how this entry to the sport has shaped the way I interact with it now that I’m older and slightly wiser. Looking deeper, I think I’ve learned to love riding alone because there’s less scrutiny, less ego, and less pressure.

I like group rides and love riding with my friends; it’s one of the things that makes riding bikes so fun. But I usually ride at random times, rarely plan where I’m going to ride, and I also don’t like waiting around for others to get organized; because of this, I typically just ride to the beat of my own drum.

When I started mountain biking, I never really had what would be considered a "nice" bike. I always had second-hand hardtails I could afford from the local gear co-op, and they did the job. I felt like an outsider, but I still wanted to be in the woods and mountains, enjoying the sport that had quickly become an obsession. 

I didn’t see myself as “not part of the sport” because I couldn't afford the newest and best gear, but I wasn’t really welcomed with open arms into the local riding scene because there’s an element of elitism in the sport that kept others from seeing me as a “real mountain biker”. It’s not just the barrier to entry, either. Yes, the gear, bikes, and everything else is expensive, but so are medical bills, and with a sport as inherently dangerous as this, that can be a real concern.

I grew up riding BMX and skateboarding, then found mountain biking, and that's when the rest of my life was more or less decided. I had so much fun on the budget and secondhand hardtail I could afford, and despite the upturned noses at the trailhead and rude comments at bike shops, I still stuck with it and got what I wanted out of it. It wasn’t until much later in my life that I was able to really feel like I was part of the sport from a purely materialistic standpoint, but the feelings and fulfillment I got hadn’t changed. It doesn’t matter if you’re on the cheapest bike you can afford, or the most expensive and bespoke; the thing that really matters is what the sport gives you.

In the end, I think the major takeaway is that there’s no wrong way to get into the sport, and you don’t need to be “in” with the crowd at the trailhead and it’s okay to progress at your own pace, ride whatever bike you can afford, and not get caught up in the materialism of the sport (although, that is part of the fun for a lot of people). The best bike is the one you have, and the best thing you can do on it is have fun, no matter what that looks like to you.

Details

• 140mm Fork / 130mm Shock
• MSRP starting at $2,299 USD ($2,800 CAD)
• 4-bar Horst Link suspension
• 5 sizes
• 3 build kits
• 6066 Alloy frame
• 29" or MX wheels
• Learn more at Norco.com

For 2026, the Norco Fluid is still an alloy frame on the VPS platform, which is Norco’s take on the 4-bar Horst-Link design, just by a different name. The bike is now lighter than its predecessor, and has fully guided internal routing, something that you don’t always see on an alloy bike, much less so on one at this price point.

For the new Fluid, Norco has moved from 6061 aluminum alloy to 6066, which is stronger and lighter but also slightly harder to work with, so the fact that these bikes are still so affordable is really, really impressive.

Build Kits

The Norco Fluid comes in three different build kits, starting at $2,299 USD ($2,800 CAD). The Fluid A3 gets a RockShox Recon RL fork and a DVO Opal shock, and a Shimano Cues 10-speed drivetrain. The Fluid A2 sees a RockShox Psylo Gold RC fork and RockShox Super Deluxe Select shock, along with a Shimano Deore 12-speed drivetrain, and will run you $2,899 USD ($3,600 CAD), which, if you ask me, is pretty damn impressive.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

The top-end Fluid A1 comes in at $3,899 USD ($4,700 CAD), and that gets you a full RockShox Lyrik Select+ fork and RockShox Super Deluxe Select RT shock, with a Shimano XT 12-speed drivetrain with SLX 4-piston brakes, and Schwalbe Radial tires. Sure, the wheels aren’t anything super snazzy, but they’re solid hubs (Shimano TC-600) built to fairly reliable alloy rims (WTB KOMi30).

Geometry

It’s not a total revolution, but the Norco Fluid just checks the boxes. It has great geometry, great travel numbers, and small details that all make for a really easy-to-live-with bike that can handle a wide variety of trail flavors.

There have been some slight geometry tweaks, and for the better. Reach is now slightly shorter, stack is slightly lower, and the effective seat tube angle has been altered just a tad, but overall, it looks like a really well-sorted collection of numbers.

The new Fluid is also compatible with mixed-wheel setups thanks to a flip-chip, allowing riders to swap to a smaller rear wheel for a nimbler rear end without upsetting the geometry. The Fluid still comes in 5 sizes, accommodating riders from 5'1" (155cm) to 6'5" (195.5cm), with a rear center that scales with size. Thankfully, the straight seat tube also allows for running longer dropper posts on all frame sizes.

Yeti began playing with the idea of Sixfinity a decade ago, and it’s been tested on eMTBs, Downhill World Cup Races, and now it’s here as a long-travel enduro bike. Similar to the Switch Infinity system found on the SB160 and other full-suspension Yetis, the Sixfinity takes the concept and runs with it, just without the reliability issues seen with the Switch Infinity design.

It’s a big change for the brand, but one that some saw coming (given the spy shots), and most will appreciate. Here are the overarching details of the new Yeti LT.

Details

• Sixfinity suspension platform
• 170mm front / 160mm rear
• Adjustable geometry via flipchips and dropouts
• Interchangeable 29 / MX wheel setup
• Adjustable leverage rates
• TURQ Series carbon layup with enhanced Vectran protection
• Integrated frame storage with YETI storage frame bag
• Size-specific geometry and kinematics
• Frame Sizes: SM-XL
• Learn more at Yeticycles.com

From a details standpoint, the LT looks pretty impressive and is a noticeable change for Yeti; some might say for the better. The LT is positioned as a full-enduro bike, which means it probably climbs adequately and descends admirably. Just looking at the geometry and range of adjustments, I can already wager a guess that this would be an excellent bike for those who ride more gravity-fed trails, but given the amount of tunable aspects, I would also guess that it would be happy just about wherever you ride, as long as you can set it up to suit.

Geometry

In terms of adjustments, you get a choice of chainstay lengths (think 465 and 475mm on the XL), headset angle adjustment, rear-wheel-size options (MX or 29”), and a link to change the shock between 15, 20, and 25% progression rates. It’s a lot of adjustment, but nothing too out there. If you already know what you like in a bike, I imagine the geometry adjustments will make sense, and there will be some wiggle room with the shock progression.

View the 3 images of this gallery on the original article

With such a long rear-center, I can only assume that this bike is designed to go downhill very fast, climb confidently (not fast), and if you consider the price and Yeti’s track record with overall frame durability, I’d say the LT is a needed progression from the SB160 that will make a lot of people happy, if they can afford it.

The frame-only option costs $5,000 USD, and all builds use the same TURQ Carbon frame. The least expensive complete bike comes in at $8,400 USD, with a drivetrain mix of SRAM X0 and Eagle 90, Maven Silver Brakes, a 170mm Fox Factory 38 Grip X2 fork, and a Float X2 shock and DT SWISS E1900 wheels.

View the 3 images of this gallery on the original article

The next step up comes in at $8,900 USD, and sees a Shimano XT Di2 kit with XT Brakes, and the same suspension package and wheels. For $10,200 USD, you’ll get SRAM X0 AXS and Maven SILVER Brakes, 170mm Fox Factory 38 Grip X2 and Float X2, but with DT Swiss EXC 1700 Carbon Wheels in either MX or full 29”.

"We got some fresh Sentinel specs, so we decided to pop over the mountains for a few days shooting on some of the most scenic trails in Washington."

"Alex Blanar took his Cannondale Jekyll to New Zealand and came back with WHY SO SERIOUS?! — a raw, loud, metal-scored trail edit built on speed, dust, whips, boosts, roosts, and the kind of riding that reminds you why bikes are still the best bad idea."

Details

• Travel: 140mm front / 120mm rear
• MSRP: $3,999 to $6,999
• Wheel size: 29”
• 64.8-degree head tube angle
• XS, S, and M Chainstay: 435mm 
• L, XL Chainstay: 440mm
• Available at Canyon.com

Overview

The new LUX Trail sits on 140mm of travel up front and 120mm out back, with a 64.8-degree head tube angle, which, to me, suggests it's a really capable and fun bike for those wanting an XC bike that can do more than a full-on XC bike. This is a trend in the industry right now, and I’m pretty sold on it after spending some solid time on the Revel Ranger V3, which really blew me away (and continues to do so).

For rear travel, the LUX Trail sticks with a flex-stay platform but adds a bit more movement out back and a redesigned leverage rate to make the bike more planted going down and back up the hill, and more balanced with the 140mm fork up front. The increased travel in the front also comes with a slacker head tube angle and two different chainstay lengths depending on the frame size.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

The stack is taller, the wheelbase has grown, and the reach is a little bit longer, making this a more capable bike than the outgoing LUX Trail, and it’s also lighter by 200g, which could be something you’re looking for, or not, because 200g really isn’t much. However, it is about a kilo lighter than the Neuron CF frame, which is pretty impressive, seeing as it’s getting pretty comparable to the Neuron CF.

Think of this as an amalgamation of the Spectral, LUX World Cup, and the Neuron CF. It’s blending trail and XC into a single chassis that aims to overlap a few diagrams for the rider looking to diversify their riding rather than focus on a single type of trail. That’s not to say that these short-travel trail bikes can’t handle the more rawkus end of the spectrum.

Tech & Features

It has all the trappings of a modern trail bike, with downtube storage, top-tube accessory mounts, balanced geometry, and clearance for longer-travel dropper posts. There's tube-in-tube cable routing, post mounts for native 180mm rotors, and room for two bottles in the front triangle, and a threaded bottom bracket. It really doesn't leave you wanting for much.

Canyon has also beefed up the linkage with a 3D-forged rocker link and circlip-secured bearings, which should, in the long term, increase stiffness and durability. This also means there are fewer small parts, and clearly defined service points should make the bike pretty darn easy to maintain.

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Build Kits & Price

The LUX Trail is launching with four builds, three of which come with a FOX 36 SL fork, SRAM Motive brakes, and Canyon XC 30 CF Wheels. The outlier here is the LUX Trail CF 6, which sees a FOX 34 Rhythm fork, Shimano M8220 brakes, and an alloy Canyon wheelset.

Lux CF 9 — $6,999

Lux CF 8 — $5,999

Lux CF 7 — $4.999

Lux CF 6 — $3,999

They might be helpful, or you might call BS on all of these, but hey, they're just my opinions, so it doesn't matter that much.

A new bike probably won't make you faster

You don’t always need the latest and greatest to get better. In fact, the latest bike technology will impact your riding less than just working on a set of skills that you might be lacking. Spending money can’t replace time spent on the bike. 

But a new bike, new component, or any new gear is a great way to inspire yourself to ride more, and it might help with that; plus it's just fun to tinker. 

Learning how to set up suspension correctly is better than fancier suspension (usually)

As noted above, the latest tech won't have much impact if you’re already using components from the last few years. Not that much has changed, and it’s more valuable to know how to set your suspension up correctly than to have the newest dials, dampers, and air springs.

Find settings that work. Understand what your dials and knobs do, and that will get you on the right track. Once you have an understanding, then you can notice and feel the difference in all those compression and rebound settings. 

Tire pressure, casing, and compound matter more than you think

You shouldn’t be afraid to mess around with tire pressure to find the right pressure range. Far too often, people run their tires too high or too low without understanding the effect that it can have on how your bike feels. Much like suspension, but much easier to understand and track. 

Inserts and tires are cheaper than a new fork and shock and will most likely improve your bike's ride feel.

E-bikes are actually really sick

Hot take, but true. eMTB’s are a ton of fun and a useful tool when used responsibly. I understand how polarizing they can be and how poor judgment and manners can make e-bikes a weapon in the wrong hands, but for the most part they allow more people to get out and enjoy the trails, which means more people advocating for the trails we all use.

If you’re still hating on e-bikes, that energy could be better directed towards something positive, and life will get a lot easier.

Unplugging is good for you

Turn off the ride tracking from time to time. Take a break from the metrics and logging of all the data. Don’t feed the machine and add to the heatmaps. It sure is fun to dive into the numbers and compare times, but comparison is the thief of joy, and the less time we spend looking at our phones, the better.

Don't bring the ego to the trails

It’s not always about being the fastest or sending it the deepest. Riding a bike is just riding a bike and shouldn’t be about the ego. If you’re just riding your bike to prove something to someone else, you’re doing it for the wrong reasons, and it will likely lead you down a path of ruin. It’s okay to walk a feature in front of the buddies if you're not feeling it, and it’s okay to take it easy on an off day. Don’t always push it. We all want to be here for a long time and a good time.

Being too elitist is corny

E-Bike haters, singlespeed purists, and specific-brand haters all have the same narrow viewpoint, and it’s tiring. You can have an opinion about something; that’s okay, but looking down on another person who is just enjoying the same sport in a different way is an archaic way to go about it. Like what you like, and let others do the same.

Just because you can afford the latest and greatest doesn't mean you're better than the next person on the trail.

You should probably wash your helmet pads and knee pads

Go give them a whiff and tell me I’m wrong. Wash those helmet straps and maybe your insoles while you’re at it, and thank me later.

* You should probably wash your water bottles and hydration bladders while you're at it.

Grab a bottle cleaning tablet or dilute a little bleach in some water, and clean those suckers out. Mold likes what we like, and it’ll take any chance it gets to feast on the residuals.

That post-ride beer is doing more harm than good, but who cares

We’ve all heard that the post-ride beer is the greatest hindrance to performance, and that cutting that out will see you sleep, recover, and ride better. Which is all true, but sometimes the thought of a cold, bubbly is what keeps you going on a slog back to town after a big ride.

I’m not advocating for drinking or trying to encourage it, and usually that cold beer is just a nice cold root beer for me, and good lord, if that doesn’t totally keep a bonk at bay more than any alcoholic beverage ever could. I guess what I’m getting at is that don’t starve yourself of the little things.

Bike weight doesn’t matter as much as you’ve been led to believe.

A few grams here and there really doesn't matter at all. A full water bottle or too much sealant in your tires is more weight than most carbon frames shave off from one iteration to the next, and you really won't notice it that much. Where you will notice weight is in the tires and wheels, but even then, you could just ride more and get in better shape.

I’ll admit that bikes have gotten pretty great over the last few years, and most will be within an acceptable weight range, but we really shouldn’t be worrying about the overall weight that much, that is unless you’re going for the most competitive weight and trying to set some records. 

The highest engagement hubs aren’t inherently better

At a certain point, it really isn’t that big of a deal that there is .5 degrees of float in your rear hub. Sure, a super huge step between engagements is pretty annoying and will be noticeable, but a lot of brands are pushing that slow engagement as a good thing, thanks to the pedal-kickback boogeyman.

I think what really matters is that a hub has strong, reliable, and easy-to-service internals - oh, and it should ideally sound good when coasting.

You should be tipping your bike mechanic

If you take your bike in for service, you should tip the person doing the service. Bike mechanics aren't always paid super fairly, and they perform skilled labor, so it only makes sense to tip them and show appreciation. Sure, service can take a while and can be expensive, but that's the game, not the player, and showing appreciation will make the next time you bring your bike in for an overhaul or a small maintenance item that much easier on you and the folks wrenching on it.

Opinions are opinions, not a fact

Most of us love to chime in when hidden behind a computer screen, and I love it. But it’s rare that you actually hear someone being as vocal and opinionated outside of the internet. There are so many different preferences throughout the industry. From brakes to frame material to tread patterns to pedal choice. One isn’t inherently better than the other; you just like what you like.

You’re doing something wrong if you aren't having fun.

Bikes should be fun. Full stop. Maybe at the very least they should be fulfilling. But somehow people find a way to make things that should be fun feel like a chore, and that sucks. I find myself looking at bikes that way sometimes, and it’s a reminder not to turn on Strava, not to try and record a video on a ride, or sometimes just to go for a ride for myself, without the personal pressures of being fast or whatever else might cloud my vision of fun.

This also applies to a point made earlier, and if you're deep in hating on another type of riding, it just comes across as silly. We're all essentially doing the same thing, and it doesn't matter that much if someone does it slightly differently.

Words from Remy Morton, and Images courtesy of Callum Wood and Henry Jaine.

"This project has a lot of nostalgia from my days growing up in mountain biking. I always wanted to be like Steve Romaniuk. I always listened to Rise Against, and I always wanted to ride for Specialized. I guess that's the rider that I was brought up hoping to be, and now what I've become, I guess."

"The video is split up between two filmers, Scott Robb and Tom Booker, from Highlowcorp. Two of my best mates, two of my main building friends as well as filmers. Along with those two, Alex Makea and Alfie Hemming did the build."

"Every single feature in the video was built and tested by myself, obviously with help from those guys on the builds. It's definitely a fully in-house project."

"I had a lot of support from some of my best friends which was super helpful throughout. Trying to get all of that stuff done, hitting gnarly feature after gnarly feature. Every single clip is based around a different key feature. So it was definitely a bit of a mental battle for me, testing stuff that was that gnarly day after day and filming it all. It was pretty stressful swapping between bikes and going from such a big build period to needing to be dialed on a hardtail through my downhill bike basically." 

"I wanted to throw it back and show a video part rather than an edit, a part that has banger after banger as if it was in a DVD all those years ago when that was kind of a thing. So I hope that shows, and also the riding shows how happy I am and how much like myself I feel again. Of course, I couldn't thank Ripton enough for the support in this project. It's a project that I've been wanting to do now for a lot of years and haven't had someone to back it, so thank you so much to both Ripton and Chromag for that. This piece is just the beginning of showing the rider that I really am and what I want to show myself as."

Escaping Whistler for...Vermont?

Unless you’re based in New York or Boston and follow pumpkin-spice-tok or have an unhealthy obsession with barn architecture and culture in the US, Vermont might not be on your radar as an all-time fall-time travel destination. The place is best known for Ben and Jerry’s, and Bernie Sanders mightn’t strike you as a bucket list location for a mountain bike trip when you already live in Whistler. However, just as the temperatures dropped and the PNW rain returned last October, I packed my bags and headed to the Green Mountain State.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, early October is peak tourist season in Vermont. Many of the local business owners describe it as ‘their Super Bowl’, where sweaters fly off shelves, delicious farm-to-table food and ice cream can’t get made fast enough, and fashion-clad hash-taggers line up to take Pinterest-inspired photos with idyllic red barns and landscapes draped in technicolour foliage.

While the Peepers may crowd well-known areas, causing previously incomprehensible traffic jams and making it impossible to go out for food without a reservation, they also help considerably to prop up the tourism component of the Vermont economy at a time when most other seasonal tourist hotspots are experiencing their own shoulder seasons. The locals, as with any tourist-centric economy, roll their eyes, but in the same vein, are deeply aware that the presence of these Leaf Peepers is vital to their livelihoods and communities.

Although New Englanders are generalized as having pointed and abrasively direct personalities, almost everyone I met in Vermont was warm and welcoming; throughout my time there, conversation always felt like a warm hug. I wouldn’t even put it down to the weather, it being the coziest time of the year, or the fiery foliage. The people are genuinely nice, interested, and keen to have you there. They’re just as enthused about the outdoors as you are, and often understand, appreciate, and may even share the passion and drive that allows us to do what we do.

Hidden Gems: Vermont's Best MTB Trails

While I primarily rode bikes in central Vermont, a combination of recent trail construction and investment, coupled with a wide variety of terrain, geology, and build language, meant a wide chronological variety within the trails that’s very rarely seen in such a small area. Smaller-town trails, such as most of those found in the Mad River Valley or some of the older trails at Perry Hill, are delineated by hand-built singletrack with flat corners, small kickers, and natural root balls and rock gardens. A plethora of rugged, raw features create a unique jank, where roots and rocks weren’t removed to assist your flow but instead serve to detract from it. Speed was harder to find, but far and away more rewarding once you had it.

This is contrasted by more modern trailheads, such as "The Driving Range," which was designed with Adaptive MTB access in mind. Boasting well-built tabletops, rollers, sizable gap jumps, tall-walled berms, and even steep rock slabs, the trail's width and navigation are focused on accessibility. This is best embodied by "Hot Dogger", a complete take on a modern flow trail. It’s got something to keep everyone happy, with tabletops, optional gap jumps, and tall, trusting berms. However, "Lower Hot Dogger" is where the party really kicks off - a much more recent build, it reminds me of something partway between Crank it Up and A-Line in Whistler, though lo and behold, without any of the braking bumps given the reduced traffic. Progressive tables, optionally larger hip jumps, rollers, and lofty, trustworthy berms made this trail a real hoot. Relatively large jumps for a trail centre, yet predictable enough to trust in a first run-through, this was modern trail building at its best. I couldn’t recommend it enough.

There’s even the in-between; for example, the trail “Visceral” at Cochran’s, Richmond. Opened in 2016, it felt like a halfway house between old-school jank and new-school flow, ideally crafted around the zeitgeist of the up-and-coming discipline of Enduro, and subsequent bikes. Off-camber sections with little kickers, steeper rock rolls, flowy berms, and smaller mandatory drops marked a time when trail bike geometry was progressing into more aggressive forms. On a modern bike, it turns into a seriously fun trail, where racing and riding down it become one and the same.

The Green Mountain State isn’t known as a place with staggering peaks and long descents, but trail builders’ ingenuity often makes you forget this. Brake-burning descents are few and far between, but the available terrain is generally used wisely. I very rarely felt like a trail was too flat, but at the same time, elevation was never wasted. Every trail had its own personality, and a good time was to be had on everything I rode.

By coincidence, I spent a large portion of my trip based in the Mad River Valley, known by Vermonters as ‘The Valley’. Straddled between the peaks of Camel’s Hump State Park and Roxbury State Forest, Mad River Valley is most commonly known for its two ski resorts in the winter: Sugarbush to the south, and Mad River Glen to the north. Mad River Glen is noteworthy for a couple of reasons: you need two planks to get on the lift (read: no snowboarders), and it’s got one of the few remaining operational single-chairs, for introverted skiers. It seems this kind of no-nonsense hardcore outdoor culture is embodied by many within Mad River Valley, creating a determined, hard-working outdoorspeople passionately committed to their pursuits.

Mountain biking and life in general in Mad River Valley felt like a microcosm of Vermont as a whole. The people were always welcoming and down-to-earth; there was an abundance of authentic, locally sourced food and world-class coffee, and a well-balanced blend of old-school and modern trail styles. The people are generally like-minded and outdoorsy - being on the doorstep of 600 acres of lift-access skiing and snowboarding will usually do that, along with the Mad River Valley itself being the most popular stretch of whitewater for kayaking in the summer. The Mad River Valley, given its proximity to two iconic ski fields and the people who live there, boasted some of the first mountain bike trails in Vermont, with mountain bike trail development beginning in the late 1980s. Some of this unique and historic old-school feel can still be experienced today, where the trail layout often feels like it is built and developed over time, instead of planned in an orderly manner.

Trail Progress and Growth in Vermont

Much like the rest of Vermont, trail development is often hindered by a convoluted blend of competing interests, small-town intergenerational grudges, and a complex land management situation. Many of the trails are accessed by or built on privately owned land, with the easement and trails themselves at the benevolence and occasional mercy of local landowners. Because of this, trail development isn’t straightforward, even when investment and resources become available. In 2022, the Mad River Chamber of Commerce received a $400,000 grant to improve recreational access, much of which they spent on a bridge to connect the Dana Hill trails to downtown Waitsfield and the creation of a Central Trail Hub, including an Information Centre, expanded parking, and toilet facilities, proving their commitment to improving mountain biking infrastructure within the Valley. It’s one thing to have a local trail association, but when the towns’ conjoined Chamber of Commerce invests anywhere near that kind of money, their investment and interest in the future of mountain biking as a viable component of the local economy is well and truly validated.

The Mad River Riders are a local trail advocacy group that was founded in 1986 and is now a chapter of the wider Vermont Mountain Bike Association. They fund a seasonal dig team to keep trails fresh throughout the summer, and I was fortunate enough to ride "Evolution," one of Dana Hills’ signature flow trails, not long after they’d come through for a rejuvenation. The work they’re doing is wicked and well-appreciated; short but steep berms made traction inevitable, and only served to rocket you into the next. Considering the gradient of the trail isn’t the steepest, it made maintaining speed a breeze, doing wonders for the ego when you lean your bike into a corner only to be met with unfailing traction and the magnificent feeling of dirt spraying off your tyres. It seems that despite the land access hurdles, there’s ample investment, care, and craftsmanship oozing from Mad River Valley, which made me super optimistic, knowing the best is yet to come for the quaint collection of towns along the river.

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Given the time of year, I happily fled the flocks of people looking for the perfect tree, barn, or landscape to admire and photograph, and spent most of my time in the woods, searching for some leaf-surfing action. I had grand visions of trails strewn with fallen foliage, akin to that one segment from Return to Earth, leaving leaf-filled carnage in my wake where once there was uniform beauty. The problem with this is that a major prerequisite for roosting berms and pulling for gaps is that you actually need to be able to see the trail.

As it turns out, if you opt for a relatively untreaded trail, of which there are plenty in Mad River Valley, all you can see are millions of leaves, in every direction. You can guess where the vague outline of the trail is; you might catch a hint of a bench-cut side somewhere, or a slight depression in the fiery deciduous understory. But this is all guesswork, and the remaining obstacles are submerged beneath, poised to catch you out at the wrong moment.

At the time I made the comment that there’s nothing better for making your bike feel terrible than running into every single root and rock on a trail - and while I was right, I also couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. In some ways, it’s a feeling similar to first tracks on a powder day: a blank canvas waiting for you to carve through it at speed. Difficult though it may be, there’s a certain satisfaction that plays out - maybe it’s human nature to enjoy ruining nature’s blank canvas with our own expression. But perhaps it’s something as simple as that childhood feeling of jumping and skidding through leaves, even when it’s somewhere as mundane as our own backyards.

Not all trails were like this, mind you – the more densely-traveled ones, such as Evolution on Dana Hill and Lower Woods Downhill in Sugarbush, were almost more distinctive. Instead of a blank canvas, there was only a snaking ribbon of trail in a sea of leaves. Sometimes just a berm, sometimes a series of rollers, sometimes a runway into a little kicker; the contrast lit the way forward, and made Strava lines a game of roulette. Whichever side of the spectrum the trails sat, the leaves made for a picturesque addition to some seriously fun and varied trails.

Mad River Valley: Avoid the Crowds, Enjoy the Trails

Mountain bike-related tourism in Vermont typically conjures names such as Killington, Burke, Woodstock, and Kingdom Trails, but smaller communities like the Mad River Valley shouldn’t be overlooked. Future-focused and poised for more trail development, these few quaint towns are not only welcoming, but have some of the best variety of trails right on their doorstep - and a lot more to offer than a resort-style holiday. Earning your turns is one thing, but getting involved in a local community, buying local food, and meeting people who’ve lived there for generations, yet have the exact same drive for their outdoor passions as you, is really a priceless way to travel.

By the time my holiday was up, the feeling in Vermont had changed. The weather had turned precipitous and cold, and the rolling auburn hills had started to fade in intensity, with many bare branches showing their trunks. The locals observantly call it ‘stick season’, replacing warm temperatures and eye-melting technicolor landscapes with a cold, monochrome vibe in a rapid metamorphosis.

Under a strangely regular, and apparently very Vermont-esque, blazing dusk, I packed my bike into its bag, ready for a flight the next day. I’d come not expecting a lot and was quietly blown away by almost every aspect of Vermont. The variety and breadth of the trails, the majestic multicoloured scenery, the authentic food and living, and the welcoming, hardworking, and future-driven people who value their natural paradise as a space of recreation. It’s a place that wasn’t high on my bucket list, but it blew me away and reminded me of a simple truth: that the best experiences you have on a mountain bike often aren’t formed by the terrain, but by the people and communities that shape them.

It’s getting hot, like really hot. With the last week of riding for me in the high 90s (~36 °C), keeping cool on rides has been my top priority as I work on heat acclimatization for the rest of the summer. This means that my riding gear has needed to be light, breathable, and comfortable. With the new Ultralight Trail Jersey and Shorts from Velocio arriving, it seemed like the perfect time to put them to the test in some brutally warm weather.

Velocio Men's Ultralight MTB Shorts

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Velocio Men's Ultralight MTB Short

Check Price

I can be kind of a diva when it comes to apparel, and I’ve been testing a lot of warm-weather kit lately. From wool jerseys to hydration packs and somewhat high-tech socks, there are plenty of garment options out there that can make a huge difference when riding in the heat, but nothing can actually make you cooler, just more comfortable.

The Velocio Access Trail Shorts are probably my favorite shorts of all time. They fit perfectly, they’ve got all the right pockets, and the inseam is ideal if you wear knee pads. But with the recent hot weather, I wanted to check out Velocio's lightweight option to see how it compares to my favorite pair of shorts. 

The Ultralight Difference

I’m already a big fan of the Velocio Access Trail Shorts and Jersey, but with the weather being so oppressively warm, I’ve been hesitant to wear the Access Trail Shorts. Although the Delta Trail Jersey is pretty lightweight, it’s black, and the Ultralight Trail Jersey is just a tad lighter in terms of fabric weight.

Overall, the Ultralight line is just that: Ultralight. The fabric feels minimal but not fragile, and even in the awful, stagnant heat that I’ve been riding in, I don’t feel like I’m being suffocated in a fabric that clings to my body. Sure, I’m hot and sweaty and questioning why I chose to ride in the heat of the day, but I’m not uncomfortable because of the clothing I’m wearing.

Ultralight Trail Shorts

The major differences between the Ultralight Trail Shorts and the Access Trail Shorts are the fabric and construction (and a slight price discrepancy), but the Ultralight Shorts also have fewer pockets and more minimal seams throughout, which makes them feel much lighter on the trail.

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When sizing, I initially ordered the large Ultralight Trail Shorts, but after dropping a pant size, they’re a little loose. Velocio’s size guide says the large should fit 33.5-36” waists, and 40.5 - 43” hips, with the waist of the shorts measuring at 40.5cm, which is effectively a 32” waist, but it’s still a bit roomy.

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The closure on the shorts is simple, yet effective, and thankfully, there are belt loops. I’ve been riding a lot this summer, and as a result, my waist has gotten slightly smaller, so I've been using a belt with a lot of the shorts I’ve been favoring. Luckily, the Arcade Belts Atlas has been coming in handy since it’s also very light and adjustable without being intrusive.

The Ultralight Trail Shorts feel pretty airy, and while most lightweight mountain bike shorts have a shorter inseam to enhance cooling, this often creates a pad gap when you’re riding in kneepads. Impressively, the Velocio Ultralight Shorts do not take this approach, and the cut is pretty much the same as the Access Trail Shorts, meaning I don’t need to worry about the awkward gap between my knee pads and the hem of the shorts. The inseam on the Ultralight Trail Shorts is 35.5 cm (14”), and the hem-to-hip is 60.9 cm (24”). If the medium size is shorter than that, I don’t know if I would want anything shorter.

One thing I have learned to live with on the Ultralight Trail Shorts is the lack of non-zip pockets - and I even learned that hard way that I need to remember to zip things up before I drop in on the trail. The zipper pockets are secure when closed, but when unzipped, a phone can easily fall out and get lost, run over, and punted down the trail. It was an expensive lesson to learn, but it stuck with me.

Ultralight Jersey

The Ultralight Jersey has been one of those apparel items that I wish I had 5 of, because when it’s dirty and I can’t wear it for fear of smelling like death on the trail, I miss the comfort and fit. Because it is 88% Polyester and 12% Elastane, it tends to retain the body's oils, and the stink really creeps in after a warm ride. I’ll take the trade-off with the fabrics because this Polyester and Elastane blend makes for a jersey that doesn’t cling uncomfortably to the skin, and dries pretty quickly after a dip in the creek mid-ride.

From a sizing perspective, I’ve always gone true to size with the Velocio apparel, and at 6’2” and 170lbs with a 32” waist and 40” chest, the large jerseys have always fit great - not too tight, and not too loose. The construction is also fairly confidence-inspiring, and I’m glad to see that all seams use a 6-thread safety stitch, which should withstand frequent use, especially since I almost always wear a vest or hydration pack on rides.

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Care and Longevity

The fabric is really breathable, as you would expect from a jersey with the “Ultralight” name, and Velocio didn’t litter the garment with branding or little details that would add weight. In fact, they make it really easy to cut the tags off the inside of the jersey, making it even more comfortable. The removable tags really only serve as a reminder of what the jersey is made of and warn you not to wash them in hot water or tumble-dry them, something I forgot. Whoops.

I typically wash clothing in cool water anyway, but I did end up tumble-drying both the shorts and the jersey a couple of times. So far, it hasn’t messed anything up, and all the stitching and minimal branding have stayed put. This is not something I would recommend, and when apparel is this expensive, it’s really important to follow the care instructions to give it the best shot at a long life.

The bike on test is a Revel Ranger V3, but I have also done this with a number of other 120mm bikes in the past; those have all been bikes with flex stays, and I saw the Ranger V3 as the perfect candidate for this thanks to the redesigned CBF suspension design and overall character of the bike.

This experiment was conducted on a large-size frame, so I can't speak to fitment on smaller frame sizes. Water bottle fitment with a piggyback shock is pretty tight even on the large frame, so take that into account when reading.

Key Takeaways:

• A piggyback shock will fit, but limits bottle sizes you can carry.
• Make sure the tune is close enough to the stock shock tune.
• Might need to add volume reducers to the piggyback shock to get it feeling just right
• Although they look cool, you might not need a piggyback shock.

Piggyback Vs. Inline Shock

Inline shocks are lighter and simpler to tune, making them the obvious choice for short-travel bikes (110-130mm travel), especially given the typical terrain these bikes often face. For flatter and more mellow terrain, an inline shock shouldn’t be too overwhelmed or subject to overheating, so the weight savings are worth it. The external adjustments are usually simplified and provide a lockout and some minor low-speed compression tuning, just enough to make sense.

The piggyback shock, on the other hand, is equipped with an extra oil reservoir, which means greater volume and better heat management during sustained descents or when run on a bike with an active suspension design. There is also a bit more tuning possible with piggyback shocks featuring independent high- and low-speed compression dials.

A Great Starting Point

While the Deluxe Ultimate that comes on the Ranger V3 isn’t a drawback in any way. That's what got me thinking about putting the RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate on the Revel Ranger V3. This is likely not the best option for most riders, but I wanted to experiment since I had a shock that would fit (190 x 45) and a lighter tune that works with the Ranger's kinematics.

The tunes are very similar, though the Super Deluxe Ultimate has a much lighter rebound and slightly lighter compression tune. Thankfully, I run a pretty slow rebound setting, and the difference hasn't been too dramatic.

The Ranger V3 is an excellent bike as stock, and I was thoroughly impressed with the factory configuration. I just received a frame to test long-term; I wanted to build the bike up exactly how I want it, and, honestly, in a way that really lets the bike shine, which means going with burlier wheels, tires, and a shock. The Ranger V3 is kind of an enigma in the short-travel category. It’s not a true trail bike, and it’s not a true XC bike, though it does both things really well. I decided to put a more robust build kit on it, which meant going with a shock that would accommodate the type of riding I want to do.

I wanted more tunability in compression and a shock that would handle successive hits better than the inline Deluxe Ultimate. The Super Deluxe Ultimate, with its hydraulic bottom-out, high-speed, and low-speed compression adjustment, and larger oil volume, fit the bill.

Ride Feeling

I’ve spent a lot of time on the Ranger V3 with the stock shock, and the suspension performance is impressive to say the least. The bike feels much more capable than other short-travel bikes. Revel could have gone super light and moved away from the traditional CBF design in lieu of flex-stays, but they didn’t. They made the suspension more supple and the rear end stiffer, thereby increasing the bike's versatility. It’s not a svelte XC blade made to fillet; instead, it feels more like a bowie knife that still slices and cuts with ease, and, if needed, you can pry open a can or use it as a hammer.

With the bigger shock, the bike feels much more at home on aggressive terrain, but still climbs like a startled squirrel and feels quite efficient on technical sections that demand power from the pedals. I was expecting things to feel a little more vague and mushy with the larger-volume shock, but so far, over the last 50+ miles and 12K feet of climbing, the Ranger still feels like the Ranger, just with a lot more efficiency on the way back down.

The shock doesn’t get nearly as warm as the Deluxe Ultimate, and being able to adjust the HSC and LSC separately gives me a bit more control over how it feels on the more rambunctious hits. The Ranger V3 already has great bottom-out control thanks to the redesigned rear-end behavior, and at 30% sag on the Deluxe Ultimate, I never found a harsh bottom in the travel. With the Super Deluxe Ultimate, I can skrit that line even more without fear of a performance bottleneck as things heat up. It also feels more responsive on the climbs - something that shocked me a little bit. The Ranger V3 has a very supple and much more progressive shock than the last two versions of the bike, which means the shock is moving more easily in the initial stroke, which means the internals are working more, even on the climbs, especially since I almost never reach for that climb switch.

I did end up playing with volume reducers during the first bit of testing, and since the Ranger V3 is pretty progressive, 1 reducer in the negative chamber and 1 in the positive chamber have made the new shock feel buttery but still supportive under pedaling when needed. Furthermore, having more compression control allows for a more controlled bike on both climbs and descents.

What Revel has done with the new Ranger is pretty impressive, and playing with this shock setup has just highlighted the changes. With the larger-volume shock, when standing and pedaling, the entire platform feels precise and stable, with almost no major upset from rider input.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

Drawbacks

Most notable is the bottle capacity; the added weight is far less noticeable.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

Better heat management and more tuning come at a price, but the price isn’t that high. I can’t fit the same size bottle in the cage thanks to the piggyback, and there is a slight weight penalty, but honestly, weight is a scam, and the Ranger V3 wasn’t the lightest bike to begin with, so I don’t really care.

For comparison, the Deluxe Ultimate shock weighs 362g without hardware, and the Super Deluxe Ultimate weighs 483g. It's a small difference, and to be fair, weight is not a driving factor for me.

Final Take

Overall, it’s an improvement, and I wasn’t certain if the piggyback shock was going to stick around, but after the first few rides, I’m sold, and it takes what was already an impressive bike and makes it an incredibly capable bike that blurs the line between XC and trail even more. I wouldn’t say this is the right change for everyone, and I would assume the bottle fitment is far less than ideal on any frame smaller than a large.

If you want to carry bigger bottles and keep weight down, keep the stock inline Deluxe Ultimate shock and you won’t be disappointed, but if you want to really unlock the wonderful changes made to this progression of the Canfield Balance Formula that Revel uses, it might be worth exploring some options. Plus, the Ranger V3 has room for two bottle cages in the front triangle, so you can carry two bottles up there.

I'll get more into the custom build and the decisions behind it in another article, because damn if it doesn't make for a dreamy bike...

I recently fell back into the world of raw denim, and as I shop for pants and dive back into a world obsessed with longevity, patina, and repair, it's gotten me thinking about how I can bring this mindset to my interaction with mountain biking and cycling gear. Sure, there are many ways to increase the longevity of components, and it’s as easy as just taking care of your bike and apparel, but things still go wrong. I've repaired quite a few pieces of apparel over the years, and when done in a unique way, it adds a touch of individuality while also keeping things on the trail longer.

I wanted to bring a bit of Wabi-Sabi to some of my kit, and after a small part of my shoe broke, I got the opportunity to do so. It’s no Sashiko stitch repair or darning, but it’s enough to scratch the itch.

Fixing a Broken BOA Li2 Dial

Just the other day, I broke a BOA Fit System dial on a pair of shoes I’ve been riding a lot. Thankfully, it was as I walked into the shed to put the bike away after a ride, but it was still a bummer to look down and see the frayed lace dangling from the Li2 Boa. I’m lucky enough to have another pair of shoes to ride in the meantime, so it’s not the biggest deal. BOA also offers free replacement kits for dials that fail this way. 

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

After popping the dial off, going to the BOA website, and finding the warranty page, I entered my info, and just like that, a new dial is on the way. This is an easy one because it’s not terribly complex, but what if the issue is more nuanced and the broken item is a bit more complicated to repair? 

I’m waiting on the replacement dial, but I still want to wear these shoes, and with another blown-out pair of shoes sitting in the shed, I decided to pilfer the Li2 dial off of them to fix my current shoes, and it’s delightfully simple, adding that little bit of Wabi-Sabi to the footwear.

Popping off the Li2 BOA dials is easy, and with a flathead as a spudger and some concentration, I was able to swap over the dials from the retired shoes to the ones I’ve been riding. The actual dial is similar, but BOA Li2 dials actually come in three different options: A, B, and C. The ones I pulled off the Fox Union BOA are Dial A, whereas the Shimano shoes I pulled the donation off are Dial C. Dial C is designed to be a standalone dial, with a wire instead of the fabric line that is used on Dial A. Although they are different, the interface is the same, and swapping them from shoe to shoe was quick enough.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

Now, I’ve got a custom dial on my shoe and am waiting on the replacement dial to arrive, but it might just end up being a backup if it’s needed. The process was easy, and the result is something that I really appreciate - a statement that I get to keep these shoes around for longer and keep stacking the patina. Maybe if the upper material rips, I’ll break out the needle and thread to give them some Sashiko love.

Big savings are available right now at CompetitiveCyclist.com thanks to their 4th of July sale. From complete bikes to RockShox air springs, now is the time to save on just about everything. 

I scrubbed the sale to find the most appealing items so you don’t have to wade through pages of discounted gear to find the sales that make the most sense, but with such a catalog of discounted gear and bikes, you might want to peruse for yourself.

I tried to be thorough, but I’m sure there are some things I missed. I suggest you browse a bit yourself to find deep discounts on just about anything you need to upgrade or maintain your mountain bike this summer.

Pivot Shadowcat Eagle 70/90

• 140mm dw-link suspension in the rear, 160mm FOX 36 fork
• The dying breed of full 27.5in wheels promote playful handling
• Modern trail geometry improves stability at speed

Reserve 30 HD Alloy 29in OneUp Wheelset - Exclusive Silver

• Aluminum wheels with a lifetime warranty
• 30mm internal width fits 2.2–2.6in tires
• Asymmetric rim profile increases strength and balances spoke tension
• OneUp Components hubs offer fast 8-degree engagement

Yakima HoldUp Bike Rack - 2in

• Durable bicycle rack that fits 2in hitch receivers
• Carries two bikes, 120-pounds total weight
• StrongArm design secures to bike's wheels (fits 20 to 29-inch wheels)
• Accommodates most bikes
• Side-to-side adjustment for spacing out bikes

Crankbrothers Mallet DH Pedals

• Large, tough, and lightweight pedal trusted by the best riders in the sport
• Clipless design helps keep you upright and clears debris
• High number of traction pins per side keeps your feet steady

POC Kortal Race Mips Helmet

• Fidlock Buckle and MIPS Impact liner
• Adjustable peak can be lifted high enough for sunglasses storage
• Breakaway peak and an adjustable fit design

Shimano Saint M820 Disc Brakes

• Shimano’s most powerful disc brake for downhill, freeride, and enduro
• Refined Servo Wave action for better modulation and control
• 4-piston caliper for consistently powerful braking on long descents
• Tool-free lever reach allows quick on-trail adjustments
• One-way bleeding for ease of servicing and clean bleeds

Race Face Turbine SL Stem

• Lightweight stem built for modern short-travel bikes and eMTBs
• Flip design offers +6mm or -6mm offset to fine-tune bar height
• 6000-series aluminum delivers strength without weight
• Clean, flat-top design works great with out-front computer mounts
• Available in 40mm, 50mm, and 60mm lengths
• Compatible with 35mm bars and 1 1/8in steer tubes

Race Face Era 35mm Bars

• Trail and enduro carbon handlebar for rowdy riding
• Unidirectional carbon fiber layup is strong and lightweight
• Three lengths and rise options offer something for everyone

Hope TC Union Clip Pedals

• Two sided clip-on pedal made for mountain biking
• CNC-machined aluminum alloy body is durable
• Chromoly axle is lightweight and durable
• Two cleat option are included to fit our needs
• Four pedal pins per side gives us extra bite

RockShox Air Spring Upgrade Kit w/Butter Cup

• Air spring upgrade kit for RockShox forks
• Compatible with Pike, Lyrik, Zeb forks
• Includes air shaft, ButterCups, and seal head

Fox Union Boa Shoes

• High-performance trail and enduro shoe built for aggressive riding and technical terrain
• Dual BOA Li2 closure provides two independent adjustment zones for a precise locked-in fit
• Ultratac rubber outsole with D3O insert delivers exceptional grip on flat and clipless pedals
• Stiff internal plate transfers power efficiently while staying comfortable off the bike
• Welded TPU and ripstop upper resists abrasion from rock and trail debris
• Molded toe cap provides protection against rock strikes on technical lines

Fix MFG MTB Field Kit

• MTB-specific tool kit perfect for keeping in your car or travel bag
• Included hand pump with pressure gauge for perfect tire pressure
• Chain lube, degreaser, and shop rag keep your drivetrain happy
• 8-in-1 multi-tool lets us fine-tune our lever positions

Ibis HD6 Mountain Bike Frame

• Long-travel enduro bike designed for big mountain riding and racing
• Premium carbon fiber frame is lightweight at only 5.5 pounds
• 165mm of DW-Link suspension feels bottomless and pedals well
• Mixed-wheel setup gives us the best of both worlds
• Fox Float Factory X2 rear shock is super adjustable and smooth

Santa Cruz Tallboy CC XX AXS Carbon Wheels

• Carbon CC frame optimized for speed, efficiency, and technical trail riding
• 130mm FOX 34 Float Factory fork and 120mm rear suspension for smooth control
• SRAM XX SL Eagle AXS wireless drivetrain provides flawless shifting under load
• Reserve 30|SL carbon wheels offer a lightweight, responsive ride
• Industry Nine Hydra hubs deliver instant engagement for quick power transfer
• Maxxis Forekaster tires provide fast-rolling grip for varied trail conditions

A GoFundMe has been set up by Alyssa’s close friend to support her in this time of need and great uncertainty.

The GoFundMe link can be found here

Molly Murrow, who set up the GoFundMe, has shared the following:

"On the morning of July 2nd, she was pushing her mind and body to the absolute limit in the final stretch of the Tour Divide, riding beautifully and holding an insane second place among the women, days after winning the notoriously grueling Grand Loop. Alyssa was about to complete a first for both men and women: The Grand /Tour. But within 60 miles of the finish line of the Tour Divide, the unthinkable happened. At 4:30 AM, Alyssa was struck by a car. The crash has left her with severe injuries, a fractured vertebra, internal bleeding, and a completely destroyed bike (Updated as of noon, July 2nd. Confirmation on the full extent of the injuries will come as soon as we have a report from the surgeon).

While we are endlessly grateful that Alyssa is stable, her life has been completely upended in an instant. The road to recovery ahead of her is going to be long and incredibly challenging.

Beyond the physical pain, Alyssa is now facing astronomical medical bills. To make things heavier, she lost her bike, which wasn’t just gear to her; it was her trusted companion on some of the most gratitude-fueled moments of her life. She had just built her dream bike, only for it to get destroyed."

With quite a lot of time spent on XTR, XT, and Deore at this point, I’ve finally distilled my impressions into a concise outline that isn’t scattered throughout a library of notebooks and voice memos. Obviously, the entire hierarchy isn’t perfect, but the new generation of Di2 does take a really interesting approach to electronic drivetrains that only Shimano could bring to market. And as with everything in the mountain bike industry, there will be diehard fans of both SRAM and Shimano, so there’s a large portion of readers who will likely call BS on all the points made here. 

Pros & Cons

Firstly, here’s a quick outline of the pros and cons of the redesigned Di2 form and function.

Upsides

• Ergonomic shifters
• Traditional mounting option
• Backward compatibility with existing 12-speed Shimano
• Less bulky derailleur design
• More cassette options
• Fast shifting

Downsides

• Chain slap due to new dual-spring chain retention
• e-Tube app can be clunky at times
• More batteries to charge
• Battery door sealing isn’t great
• Shimano naming structure can be pretty confusing

Deciphering Product Names

With a new era of Shimano products hitting the market, comes a new and pretty confusing naming structure. But once you decipher it, things become clearer. M6200 is Deore, M9200 is XTR, and M8200 is XT. The higher the number, the more premium the component, but it’s the numbers that follow that get us into the weeds a bit, since there are so many variations depending on the application. So here’s a quick breakdown of the shifters and derailleurs.

M6200 - Deore Di2

Shifters

• SW-M6250-IR
  Deore Di2 12-Speed I-SPEC EV
• SW-M6250-R
  Deore Di2 12-Speed Band Clamp

Derailleurs

• RD-M6260-12
  Long Cage 12-Speed Deore eMTB Di2 Derailleur

• RD-M6260-11L
  Long Cage 11-Speed Deore eMTB Di2 Derailleur for LinkGlide
• RD-M6250-SGS
  Long Cage 12-Speed Deore Di2 Derailleur

M8200 - XT Di2

Shifters

• SW-M8250-IR
  XT Di2 12-Speed I-SPEC EV
• SW-M8250-R
  XT Di2 12-Speed Band Clamp

Derailleurs

• RD-M8250-SGS
  Long Cage 12-Speed XT Di2 Derailleur
• RD-M8250-GS
  Short Cage 12-Speed XT Di2 Derailleur
• RD-M8260-11L
  Long Cage 11-Speed XT eMTB Di2 Derailleur for LinkGlide
• RD-M8260-12
  Long Cage 12-Speed Deore eMTB Di2 Derailleur

M9200 - XTR Di2

Shifters

• SW-M9250-IR
  XTR Di2 12-Speed I-SPEC EV
• SW-M9250-R
  XTR Di2 12-Speed Band Clamp

Derailleurs

• RD-M9250-SGS
  Long Cage 12-Speed XTR Di2 Derailleur
• RD-M9250-GS
  Short Cage 12-Speed XTR Di2 Derailleur
• RD-M9260-12
  Long Cage 12-Speed Deore eMTB Di2 Derailleur
• RD-M9260-11L
  Long Cage 11-Speed XTR eMTB Di2 Derailleur for LinkGlide

Weights

View the 3 images of this gallery on the original article

View the 3 images of this gallery on the original article

Initial Thoughts

I’ve been riding the new Shimano Di2 drivetrains for almost a year now, on all sorts of bikes, trail types, and weather conditions, and I’ve been really impressed overall. But how does this ecosystem of drivetrains hold up after a ton of miles, or compared to SRAM's robust catalog of wireless drivetrains? Well, to be honest, I have only a few complaints - and maybe a few comments. Setup is a breeze, and it’s been terribly easy to swap between bikes for testing, which has been very important since the derailleurs behave pretty different depending on the bike they're on.

With widespread criticism surrounding the move away from an adjustable clutch, I will say that it’s a lot noisier than the wireless drivetrain options currently available from SRAM; but it’s not always super noisy; it really depends on the bike. Sure, it might be a bit noisier on some occasions, but the new chain retention system allows for much faster shifting and a really intuitive-feeling drivetrain to live with.

From a pure shifting perspective, the new shifter, or buttons at the cockpit, are some of the most intuitive-feeling shift controls I’ve ever felt from a wireless drivetrain, and the amount of adjustability is something worth taking note of, although you won't find the same level of adjustment on the lower-end Deore shifter. Deore might lack some of the small customizable features found on XT and XTR, but the button placement is pretty good out of the box, and at the core, it functions much like the higher-tier offerings. Both the XT and XTR shifters allow you to physically change between multi-shift modes with a toggle on the underside of the shifter, but again, you don’t get that on the Deore option.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

In terms of the rear derailleur, all of them share the same design language, dual-spring clutch, battery, and external adjustments, with the major differences being build material. The XTR is obviously the premium offering, with more titanium components and a carbon-fiber pulley cage. The XT derailleur is pretty similar, but instead of a carbon cage, it uses two aluminum plates. The Deore goes even burlier with a steel pulley cage and more plastic throughout the construction. While the shift performance isn’t obvious out of the box, after a few rides back-to-back on them, you can tell that the Deore ends up being a little more vague with its shifts, and the dual-spring mechanism is working a little harder to keep the heavier cage in check.

Which Di2 Drivetrain is Worth It?

As was the case with the last generation of Shimano 12-speed mechanical MTB drivetrains, the XT family is the standout option for most riders, as there is a very minimal weight penalty and almost no noticeable difference when it comes to performance, but there is, however, a significant difference between the price of each component.

If I were building a bike from the ground up or looking to upgrade from an older drivetrain to a new wireless option, I would certainly go with XT over the higher-end XTR. And doing so would be incredibly easy, since all the new Shimano Di2 components are backward-compatible with existing 12-speed mechanical Shimano MTB components. This means chains, cassettes, cranks, and brakes. And to make things even sweeter, none of the new derailleurs use a proprietary mount, so they will work with older frames that might not have UDH dropouts. Not everyone can get a new frame every couple of years, but they still might want to go wireless.

Shimano has upgrade kits for each option, with the XT and XTR being available in GS or SGS cage options for compatibility with 9-45T or 10-51T cassettes. All three tiers are also available in 12-speed or 11-speed configurations for use with Linkglide.

To lay it all out there: If you’re on a budget and already running Shimano 12-speed mechanical, and don’t care about tinkering with how the buttons feel at the shifter, get the Deore Upgrade Kit.

If you want to fine-tune the feel of shifters, want more cassette options, and want an absurdly durable, utilitarian drivetrain, go with the XT Upgrade Kit. If you’re looking for the top-tier finish and function and care about every gram, XTR is the best bet. 

Long Term Livability, Durability & Ride Impressions

In terms of riding the new drivetrains and living with them day to day, it’s been a pretty familiar feeling, and in the best way possible. The best way I can describe it is that it feels as if it were designed to mimic mechanical drivetrains. Everything feels very familiar and intuitive, but I do miss the adjustable clutch.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

Shimano moved away from its previous clutch design for a number of reasons, the first being to achieve a smaller footprint, making the derailleurs less susceptible to rock strikes or getting hung up on an edge. The second being that most people never actually adjusted the clutch on the old derailleurs as much as they should have. In fact, most riders didn't realize it needed tightening after a few rides. 

While Shimano says the new system is just as effective as the adjustable clutch, I would have to disagree. It’s definitely not as bad as some reviews say, but it’s also not as effective as Shimano claims, or as secure as the previous clutch system. In single hits, it does fine, but the inertia of successive compressions overwhelms the dual-spring, causing it to lose its grip on the chatter, resulting in a very noisy and sometimes worrying sound from the rear end.

For the longest time, riders looking to make the jump away from mechanical shifting have really only had one option: SRAM. Mechanical drivetrains from both Shimano and SRAM provide shifting that feels instant, tactile, and robust, compared to SRAM's wireless shifting, which can feel slow and clunky at times. Shimano’s Di2 solves that problem, with shifters that feel mechanical and shifting that is pretty damn close to instant, plus the setup, install, and maintenance are much more akin to that of a mechanical drivetrain - just without the need to replace cables and adjust for cable stretch; instead, you just need to remember to charge the battery and update firmware.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

The elephant in the room is the new clutch, or lack thereof. Yes, there is more chain slap and noise in general, but it’s not as bad as it’s made out to be. I’m not saying it isn’t noticeable, but it’s not a distracting amount of slap, and it can be much more obvious on certain suspension designs that have more influence on pedal-kickback. But I’ll take faster, more consistent shifting and a smaller-footprint derailleur, if it means slightly more chainslap on the trail sometimes.

Between XT and XTR, there isn’t much of a noticeable difference outside of the less frequent chain slap on XTR - likely due to the carbon cage. The shifters are very similar, and the overall functionality is also neck and neck. I tend to prefer the robustness of the XT derailleur to the XTR, but honestly, they have both seen a fair bit of conflict with rocks and roots, and neither is ready to wave the white flag. I do wince more when the XTR comes in contact with a rock, though.

The most notable change is when moving down to Deore. The chain slap is much more pronounced, and the static lever position of the shifter does take some adjusting to get comfortable with, although it’s much more familiar than when moving back to the strange orientation of a SRAM AXS Pod.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

The major takeaway from all the miles spent on the new range of Shimano Di2 mountain bike drivetrains is the seemingly small step forward that Shimano has taken with them. When SRAM introduced the AXS Wireless system, it took the industry in a chokehold, and the introduction of Transmission just tightened that hold even further. I’m sure we all expected the new Shimano Di2 lineup to challenge SRAM’s dominance, with major advancements in how we interact with wireless shifting. Personally, I appreciate the way Shimano did things, even if the clutch revision seems a little mysterious. The Deore, XT, and XTR drivetrains all feel human, and everything about them seems eerily similar to mechanical drivetrains, just without the cables and housing that accompany them.

One callout with the new Di2 systems is the battery door and the somewhat minimal weather sealing. Every time I’ve pulled a battery to top it off, there's been dust or moisture on it. It hasn’t caused any issues yet, and the connections have always been clean, but there is noticeable intrusion from the elements. Other than that, the battery retention and housing seem robust, with a locking mechanism that keeps the sliding door in place and the battery in contact with the derailleur's nodes. 

The 305mAh battery also charges relatively quickly in a pinch, and has a pretty decent lifespan on the trail. I’ve encountered a few low-battery situations so far, and when the BT-DN320 battery is empty or nearly empty, the system enters a safe mode that limits the number of shifts to preserve what little state of charge it has left. I have yet to replace the shifter batteries, but that seems easy, and I’m not worried since I usually have a CR2032 battery in my ride kit, just in case. 

The Chain-Slap-Symphony

Slapping chains and derailleur movement isn’t bad on every bike. I’ve had the XT, XTR, and Deore Di2 drivetrains on steel hardtails, an alloy Canyon Spectral 6, a Specialized Stumpjumper 15, a couple of short-travel flex-stay bikes, and a high-pivot idler-pulley-equipped eMTB, and all of these bikes yield slightly different chain-slap results. I’ve experimented with a number of fixes (b-tension, chain length, etc.), but so far, the chain slapping prevails.

The Stumpjumper 15 has by far the most noticeable slap, and the Norco Sight VLT TQ the least. Both drivetrains are set up correctly with an appropriately sized chain and a b-limit screw adjustment, so I assume the suspension kinematics play a big part in this equation. Another thing I’ve noticed is that the shorter cage (GS) derailleurs, paired with the 9-45t cassette, make for significantly less chatter, especially on successive hits, and the XTR, thanks to the lighter cage, is the most composed (for the most part), and the Deore Di2 is by far the most noticeable, although not on every bike.

On the hardtail, the chain slap is surprisingly less noticeable than on some full-suspension bikes, and the short-travel flex-stay bikes even less so. I would wager that the more active the rear-end, the more slap you’ll get. Some bikes are noisier than others; that's a given, and it seems that certain designs make it much easier for the new dual-spring clutch to get wild.

Final Thoughts

I like the new Di2 offerings. They aren’t perfect, and Shimano showed up late to the wireless drivetrain party, but they showed up in style. Aesthetically, I love the look of the new derailleurs, and really love the feel of the shift switches, and I love the speed and quality of the shifts. There's a lot to love, but the move away from the adjustable clutch leaves too much room for undesirable noise, and it's up to the individual to decide if the trade-off is worth it. For me, it all depends on the bike, and not everyone is as lucky as I am to have so many options to experiment with.

The entire system feels intuitive, and it's easy to set up, update, and maintain, but the inconsistency in the new dual-spring clutch mechanism is a little annoying. I wouldn’t put this on just any bike, and it would be frustrating to drop the coin on an expensive upgrade just to find that the derailleur was slap-happy due to an active rear end. As an ecosystem, and on the right bike, it's pretty great, and I love the new brakes, which I'll dive into with more detail in another article.

Those gripes aside, I’d say this is a great option for those looking to modernize an older bike that might not accommodate an SRAM Transmission, but if I were looking to make a considerable upgrade to a bike that needs some drivetrain love, I would probably go with a more robust and mechanical system with greater compatibility, longevity, and serviceability.

We are thrilled to announce the exclusive video release of Honey’s latest freeride film - a raw and breathtaking look at what happens when the next generation of freeriders push the boundaries of the sport into America's most rugged wilderness.

Scouting the Impossible & Assembling the Dream Team

The project began with a hunch. Honey identified several remote zones using satellite imagery that looked promising on paper, but he had no idea if they were actually rideable. In the spring, he packed his gear for a solo reconnaissance trip, spending days camping, hiking, and surveying the jagged Idaho landscape.

What he found did not disappoint, and the inspiration began to flow. Massive faces boasting potentially 2,000 vertical feet of pure, uninterrupted riding. The terrain was intimidatingly steep and choked with fields of large, unforgiving rocks.

Honey reached out to Aiden Parish and Harper Simon, two up-and-coming riders who have been making themselves known in the sport of big mountain freeride. Without hesitation, they signed on to see if these remote peaks could actually have a vein of gold.

To capture the madness, Honey partnered with the production company Après Visuals. Together, the crew of athletes and filmmakers packed up and headed into the backcountry for a week-long shoot.

When you’re operating miles away from civilization, your gear is your lifeline. The crew utilized an Urban X Camper as their mobile command center in the remote wilderness.

This rugged basecamp became the beating heart of the expedition, serving as a sanctuary where the team could cook hot meals, charge a massive array of camera batteries and drone equipment, and convene to plan out the next steps after reviewing the day's footage.

One Line, All Day

Freeride mountain biking, at its core, is not all about chairlifts and shuttles; this film takes it back to the sport's roots. Big mountain lines, remote locations, and the excitement of being the first person to ride a line that others never even considered. Filming in central Idaho required a brutal, exhausting work ethic.

A typical day for the crew didn't involve laps; it involved a single, high-stakes shot. The team would spend the entire day hiking bikes and bulky camera equipment up unforgiving pitches to reach the summit. They would wait for the perfect, fleeting moment before dropping into terrifyingly steep lines at sunset, then face another challenge: hiking back to base camp almost entirely in pitch-black, frequently losing their way. It was exhausting. It was punishing. But above all, it was a true adventure.

OneUp Aluminum Wheel Details

• 29” or MX Wheel sizes
• MSRP: $599 USD | $799 CAD | £549 GBP | €599 EUR
• Weight: Front: 937g, Rear (including XD driver): 1059g (29”), 1014g (27.5”)
• OneUp Hubs - 44t ratchet drive (Black only)
• Double-butted J-Bend Sapim spokes
• Asymmetric rims, front/rear specific
• Filmore Valves Included

Overview

First things first, OneUp isn't trying to reinvent the wheel here, and I really appreciate that. These are just durable alloy rims built around a pretty damn solid set of hubs, and that's the beauty. There’s nothing overly complicated about them, because there’s nothing that needs to be overly complicated. An alloy MTB wheelset is supposed to be utilitarian, hassle-free, and reliable - and that’s exactly what the new OneUp Components Aluminum Wheel is.

These new 28-hole (front) and 32-hole (rear) rims are designed for aggressive trail and enduro riding, striking a balance between strength and stiffness for a responsive feel at a fair price.

View the 3 images of this gallery on the original article

The alloy wheels are available in 29 and MX configurations, with dedicated front and rear rim designs and spoke counts. The 32-hole rim, in 27.5“ and 29”, is reinforced for use as a dedicated rear rim. Both of them have an asymmetric design, 27mm depth, 30mm internal width, angled bead walls, bead retention tracks, and 3mm offset spoke holes for more even spoke tension.

OneUp Wheels uses their fully machined 7075 aluminum hubs with 44T ratchet drive and J-Bend spokes for easy maintenance and spoke replacement. The OneUp Components Aluminum Wheels also come with a set of Filmore valves, which provide three times the airflow of a Presta valve, making tire seating easy and eliminating clogging. They are wrapped in high-quality 3M tape, ensuring an airtight seal for quick tire setup and smooth installation. Having mounted a handful of tires without a compressor, I can attest to the ease of installation.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

How Do They Ride?

It’s a burly alloy rim, a really nice hub, and honestly, they ride as you’d expect in the best way possible. OneUp Components has a reputation for making stuff that just works, and these new alloy wheels are right on brand. After lots of mileage on them with plenty of abusive line decisions, I cannot find a reason to fault them, especially at the price. 

With a more forgiving 28-hole front wheel and a stiffer 32-hole wheel in the rear, they offer more compliance than you’d get with a carbon hoop, which can be a huge positive if you’re looking to fine-tune the ride characteristics of a specific bike.

I’ve ridden them on a few different bikes over the last few weeks, from lightweight carbon trail bikes on groomed flow trails to steel enduro bikes on jump lines and chunky tech. I’ve had lighter-trail casing tires mounted, as well as some gravity-casing radials, and each tire swap has been a breeze, and every riding scenario has been without hesitation. And they have really made me appreciate the feel of an alloy wheel.

The OneUp Components Aluminum Wheels have been totally solid so far, both in the bike park and everywhere else. I’ve run them without inserts, and they’ve had quite a few interactions with roots, rocks, and high-speed berms that attempt to remove the tire from the rim. Even at relatively low pressures, the bead has remained locked in, and although the rims have taken some hits, there aren’t any significant signs other than cosmetic patina.

The rims are shot-peened, which makes for a nice finish and adds to the durability, but that's still no match for an untimely rock strike, which does mark the surface - but as I stated: I like patina.

Obviously, these wheels are laced to the OneUp Components Hubs that feature 44 POE, which isn’t the quickest engagement in a hub, but with pedal kickpack being such a hot topic these days, that’s not really that big of a deal. The serviceability and freehub swapping of the hubs are also worth mentioning. OneUp makes this really easy with some plug-and-play freehub bodies and end caps. Not to mention that all the ratchets, bearings, seals, freehubs, and other small parts are available through OneUp, just in case anything does go south.

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Final Thoughts

For now, the OneUp Aluminum Wheels are available only as wheels. No option for rim only, for a custom-built set, but for what you get, they’re pretty dang impressive and a great option if you’re looking for a warranty-backed alloy wheelset built on some really stellar hubs.

Sure, they aren’t the lightest, but that’s not the objective. You choose an alloy for durability and affordability, and this wheelset has both in abundance. The OneUp Components Aluminum wheels aren’t quite as wiggly as some other, less-deep alloy wheels on the market, which is thanks to the 27mm depth and asymmetrical rim profile. When compared to something like the Reserve 30|HD Aluminum, which is probably the closest comparable wheelset, the OneUp Aluminum Wheels are slightly lighter in a full 29” configuration, likely thanks to the 28-hole front rim. They are also slightly deeper and slightly less expensive, but they also have a slightly less robust warranty.

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Warranty

As with all OneUp Components products, the Aluminum Wheels carry a two-year warranty, covering the following: 

• Hubs
• Visibly cracked rims
• Damaged spoke holes
• Rims that do not hold air
• Flat spots that make it impossible to tension the wheel appropriately

In other words, if it’s too messed up to ride with confidence, they’ll replace it, but only in that two-year window, and for such a competitively priced and solid wheelset, that really isn’t that bad. OneUp also offers an "extended warranty" that provides discounted parts or replacements if you're outside the 2-year period.

Trail organizations shared their top ideas for trail planning, design projects, as well as training programs for their leaders and members. We’re excited to welcome nine grantees from California, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, all of whom are passionate about enhancing outdoor adventures and community connections.

The IMBA Trail Accelerator Grant offers a competitive opportunity for communities to develop or improve model trail systems and bolster related advocacy efforts. It provides professional planning and design support for new or existing trails, along with Trail Care Workshops, funding and campaign training, and in-person strategic planning to boost the effectiveness of mountain bike and trail organizations. To be eligible, projects must demonstrate strong partnerships among local leaders, government agencies, land managers, community partners, and mountain bike or trail groups such as IMBA Local.

“Since the TAG program’s inception in 2018, IMBA has awarded 56 planning & design grants and 20 education grants,” said David Wiens, IMBA Executive Director. “A mix of rural, suburban, and urban communities have leveraged the deliverables and training to attract support and funding for their projects totaling more than $13M. At least 18 TAG projects have supported youth cycling and NICA venues.”

The projects chosen in this TAG round will provide improved trails near their communities. Their goals include promoting health and wellness, offering enhanced outdoor recreation options for families and youth, and creating destination trails to increase regional visitors and strengthen the outdoor recreation economy.

Communities such as Williamstown, MA; Sioux Falls, SD; and many others have benefited from IMBA program support. This includes partnerships such as TAG and IMBA Trail Solutions, IMBA Designations, and dedicated IMBA Local Organizations, all working together to bring their trail visions to life and reach their trail goals.

2026 IMBA Trail Accelerator Grantees for Education: Trail Care Workshops

Johnson City, TN – SORBA Tri-Cities will use their awarded Trail Care Workshop to further educate a key group of 20 trail stewards representing 18 regional trail systems. This effort will help establish a shared standard of trail care across the area and build the foundation for a future Regional Trail Corps, strengthening partnerships with municipal land managers and the U.S. Forest Service, while supporting a broad vision of resilient, world-class trail experiences that benefit local communities, outdoor recreation, and regional economic recovery.

San Diego, CA – Through their Trail Care Workshop, the San Diego Mountain Bike Association plans to scale their existing efforts to pair motivated volunteer leaders directly with land managers, expanding their ability to support these entities in reducing maintenance backlogs and combating erosion. The training will ensure consistent technical knowledge across the teams while strengthening trust and partnerships with land manager staff. Most importantly, this process will champion the addition of new legal trails and protect existing networks to improve trail access throughout San Diego County.

2026 IMBA Trail Accelerator Grantees for Education: Funding Services

Leadville, CO – Leadville’s popular “Back Nine” trail system needs a rebuild. The IMBA team will help Cloud City Wheelers strengthen its long-term fundraising capacity, diversify revenue streams, and ensure sustainable support for its trail systems and community programs.

Sugar Hill, GA – The City of Sugar Hill is fundraising for a 160-acre outdoor recreation park that will include more than 4 miles of multi-use trails in an ideal location to bring mountain biking to a densely populated area in metro Atlanta. The TAG will provide training and strategies for fundraising for mountain biking trail construction and upkeep.

Monterey, CA – Monterey Off Road Cycling Association (MORCA) is championing the development of a bike park at the Laguna Seca Recreational Area in Monterey County, CA. The IMBA team will assist with MORCA’s major donor campaign.

Niles, MI – The YMCA in Niles is seeing growing demand for mountain bike programming, equipment, trails, and maintenance at Camp Eberhart – a 200-acre property that has welcomed campers for over 100 years. IMBA will work with the YMCA to strengthen its approach to funding for outdoor recreation and trail stewardship to expand opportunities for mountain biking at Camp Eberhart.

Lakeway, TX – The Lake Travis Trails Coalition is building a 5-acre neighborhood skills park and is seeking assistance from the IMBA team to develop an effective, sustainable fundraising program to help the organization scale beyond the current project.

2026 IMBA Trail Accelerator Grantees for Education: Strategic Planning for TrailOrganizations

Colorado Springs, CO – Through their strategic planning award, the Medicine Wheel Trail Advocates want to build on their long history of serving their community by creating a coordinated strategy for the next few years of their work. This approach will guide them in embracing new opportunities while navigating changes in land manager and funding relationships, all while improving their succession plan to make the most of their substantial institutional knowledge and skill development.

Cary, NC – As the Triangle Off-Road Cyclists (TORC) enter a new chapter with the hiring of their first Executive Director after more than 20 years of volunteer-led leadership, this strategic planning grant comes at a pivotal moment for the organization. Through the process, TORC will develop a roadmap to strengthen organizational capacity, improve data collection and volunteer management systems, guide future trail advocacy and stewardship efforts, and build stronger partnerships with landowners and public agencies across North Carolina’s Triangle region.

2027 IMBA Trail Accelerator Grants Applications

Communities and organizations that would like to plan ahead for the 2027 Trail Accelerator Grant can access the Applicant Toolkit, FAQ, and other materials to begin preparing for the next application period.

IMBA TAG Application

Watch Roger Vieira’s insane winning run below, and catch the full replay at the end of this article.

Urban downhill racing made a return to the vibrant streets of Genova, Italy this last weekend with the third edition of the Red Bull Cerro Abajo Genova. This race turns historic alleyways, staircases, and narrow corners into one of the gnarliest-looking mountain biking tracks that descends 2.2 km (~1.4 miles) from Monte Peralto down to Largo della Zecca, descending almost 280 meters (919 feet) right through the beautiful center of the city. 

The UCI World Cup is on a short break this week, but we were still treated to some absolutely insane racing as those brave enough lined up to push the limits through the urban maze carved through the city. The Cerro Abajo races are, to me, a little more intense than the UCI DH World Cup racing, due to the pure risk factor. Crashing on a UCI Downhill track can be disastrous, but the speed, mixed with urban terrain at Cerro Abajo races, is something else entirely, and it’s hard to imagine pushing a bike to the limits when you know the results of a crash would mean sliding on pavement or a set of stairs.

Red Bull Genova Cerro Abajo 2026 Event Replay

As someone who loves almost all aspects of cycling, this recent project really resonated with me. Although it might be technically an ad for some pretty pricey apparel, it’s a message and homage to slowing things down and not taking it all too seriously. It highlights the importance of taking in the little details and seeing what is hidden behind that unknown corner.

“If you call yourself a cyclist, people think that means you got the spandex kit and you’re shaving your legs. For me, you erase that barrier of entry where you don’t need to put on anything specific. I just wanna go for a bike ride. And wear normal shorts. The waxed canvas on leather. Perfect.”
- Ronnie Romance

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The philosophy shared throughout this video resonates with many and delivers a much more laid-back and honest portrayal than many adventure cycling films do.

“There are ways that you can interact with the road surface or the trail in a way that feels as if you’re making love to it. You have that romantic feeling, that you want to just keep on riding all day long because it feels so good.” 
- Ronnie Romance

Last week, BMX joined MTB at Nines for the first time, and the combination sparked something special. The result was an explosion of creativity, fresh perspectives, and shared inspiration on the picturesque slopes of Bike Republic Sölden in the Austrian Alps.

“I’ve been photographing BMX and bikes for 20 years, and I have never seen anyone go as high with the standard of riding as I did this week. I’m blown away. The standard of riding is so much higher than what you see in the Olympics, because here there’s no pressure of the contest. The riders can take risks, and crash, and it’s fine. It’s a jam.”
-George Marshall, Photographer

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Led by Kevin Peraza and park builder Jason Watts, the BMX contingent arrived ready to make its mark on its Nines debut. Standout riding from Sasha Cambon, Perris Benegas, Kilian Roth, and Esme Morris was capped by an incredible performance from wildcard invite Dean Florian. BMX left a lasting impression in its first appearance at Nines and, in the words of Kevin Peraza: “This is just the beginning.”

On the MTB side, the women raised the bar once again, with Kirsten Van Horne and Veronique Sandler becoming the first riders to link together the oversized jumps of the freeride line from top to bottom. Nines veterans such as Tim Bringer, Tomas Lemoine, Peter Kaiser, and Bienvenido Aguado delivered across the course, while a rising generation of young talent—including Finley Kirschenmann, Harry Schofield, and 11-year-old Weston Lukens—showed exactly why the future of the sport is in good hands.

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“Thank you so so much for the incredible week! I can’t believe how much riding we got in and how much fun we had! It’s been a dream to be a part of this event for years and I can’t thank you enough. I will 1000% be keen for next year and look forward to keep progressing the sport with the gals! ”
-Kirstin Van Horne, NZ, MTB

By welcoming BMX to the mountains for the first time, Nines embraced a new chapter—and the results blew away the expectations. Further proof that when different worlds meet in the same place with the same purpose, great things tend to follow.

Next up, Swatch Nines returns to Waco Surf for a third edition of Skate & Surf, taking place October 8–10, 2025. Stay tuned to Nines channels for further updates, including rider announcements, behind-the-scenes content, and event highlights.

- Words and Images, courtesy of Swatch Nines -

Alex Blanar had the idea to bring this format back to life, but not in the “racer ready, watch the gate” style of the old days; instead, Core Cross is 4X but very, very core. It’s not polished, there’s no jersey or World Championship, just hot, nasty speed and a lot of energy. It’s four riders on track together with the throttle full twist into long and low’s, corners, and whoops. 

Sure, there’s a little bit of racing, and a check for the winner, but there was also a long jump event, and a best trick, but it was mostly just bike riding in the woods with a bunch of homies who all wanted to have a bunch of fun.

From a spectator and rider perspective, Core Cross looks like an absurd amount of fun, and I really hope we see more events like this - honestly, it’s pretty roots and wouldn’t be that hard to organize locally. It’s something that anyone can get behind, and a big part of the sport of mountain biking. Core Cross represents an aspect of freedom and counter-culture that I feel like the sport needs right now. It’s not all about timed runs or the most progressive combo of tricks in a competition run (although those things are great).

With EuroBike serving as the jumping-off point for this project, Avinox is partnering with some major players in the eMTB market to bring this new endeavor to the public eye.

What is the Avinox MG Concept?

It’s not a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) for a mountain bike, and it’s essentially a gearbox, but not in the traditional sense. There isn’t a wide range of gear steps physically inside the unit; instead, they exist only virtually, and the gear steps and shifting parameters can be tuned by the rider. 

The Avinox MG is claimed to be in the 3.5-2.7 kg range (~7.5 - 8 lbs), so a similar weight to a motor and traditional drivetrain, but repositions the mass to keep weight low on the bike, which better manages unsprung mass and suspension performance. Even with all the integration, the power figures remain similar to those of the M2S motor.

What makes the MG Concept really stand out is its use of “virtual gearing,” which means riders can customize gearing options. This means that if you want fewer steps between gears, you can set it up that way, or tune it to feel more like a modern 12-speed drivetrain, with greater ratio tunability by using different cogs and chainrings. Avinox is also offering an Auto mode with the MG, which essentially lets the user define the cadence, and the MG will do the rest to keep riders in that “sweet spot”. 

Regenerative braking is also on the table with the Avinox MG Concept, which would be a massive industry shift if it all comes together, and they claim that it could be possible with the MG unit. 

This is still very much a concept, and the specifics are likely to change as the unit nears production, but it’s exciting nonetheless. A complete breakdown of features is not yet available; Avinox has shared some details about what to expect from this conceptual project.

Features

• Smooth gear shifting: Promising uninterrupted power delivery and a shift time of less than 0.1 second, the MG Concept supports shifting during high-torque pedaling as well as while stationary.
• Fully customizable gear shifting: Riders have many options. They can shift one gear at a time or multiple gears at once, and can shift gears manually or automatically, with cadence-based auto mode or AI+ auto mode for speed riding.
• Little to no maintenance: The internal derailleur unit requires no maintenance over its lifespan, while using a single-speed chain or belt eliminates the need for a rear derailleur or a multi-speed cassette.
• Smaller and lighter platform for all e-bike types: Adopting a completely new system design, the new platform’s drive units can be easily adapted to eMTB, eTrekking, eSUV, eGravel, and other bike models.
• Natural riding: Riders with equipment and a load of over 150kg won't feel any spongy feeling
• Intelligent anti-theft technology: The new system offers real-time locking of the motor and use of the anti-theft function even without power

What Is This New Category of E-Bikes?

It's not a bike designed for just one thing, and it can pull double, or even triple-duty as a mountain bike, commuter bike, or touring bike thanks to some cool new battery tech, adjustable geometry, and a host of racks and accessories.

The new Amflow TL Carbon is Amflow's take on a versatile e-bike, building on the success of its PL, PX, and PR eMTBs. While the TL Carbon isn’t a big shift, and it still uses the Avinox M2 motor, it is a sign of growth for the young brand as it continues to expand its product line to reach a broader demographic.

This news made me think of the Specialized Levo 4 X, which is very much an eMTB with racks, whereas the TL Carbon is more of a commuter e-bike that could be used to ride some trails if you fancy that. The TL Carbon has 120mm of front travel from a Fox AWL fork, 105mm of travel in the rear, a headset flip-chip that slackens the 67-degree head tube by 1 degree, and is compatible with mullet or full 29” wheels, hinting at the MTB potential. But for the most part it’s more focused on the everyday rider.

The versatility comes when you recognize that the Amflow TL comes standard with front and rear mudguards, a rear rack, headlight and taillight, with support for an optional front rack. Riders can also remove the racks and mudguards to transform the Amflow TL into a more traditional off-road mountain bike, meeting all the standards expected of a mountain bike, including the CAT-III Certification.

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Versatility

When it comes to the racks, Amflow says the TL Carbon can carry up to 200kg (~440 lbs) of total weight, including the bike, front and rear rack loads, and the rider. The front rack can bear up to 20kg (~44 lbs), while the rear rack can handle up to 27kg (~59.5 lbs), making the bike a real load-bearing machine. With the Avinox M2 motor powering the bike, it’s likely more than up to the task of carrying this load. 

The Amflow TL Carbon, powered by the Avinox M2 motor, offers a maximum torque of 125 Nm and peak power of 1100W, making it well-suited for a wide range of use cases, from commutes, errands, and some light trail riding.

The bike comes equipped with a standard removable 800Wh battery offering a 172km range. Riders can also opt for a 600Wh removable battery, which provides up to 124km and shaves off some weight. Both the 800Wh and 600Wh batteries are interchangeable and can each be combined with a new 480Wh external battery from Avinox. This secondary battery extends range by up to 100km and offers a total capacity of up to 1280Wh. The frame features a quick-release mechanism that allows single-handed battery removal, making swaps, off-bike charging, and travel more convenient.

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Along with this new battery, Avinox is launching a new charging hub that allows safe, multi-battery charging. Users can charge up to four batteries in a single session, enabling longer rides and greater flexibility for the bike as a car replacement.

Tech Features

Finally, in collaboration with Amflow and TRP, Avinox SmoothShift Electronic Shifting enables the drive unit to recognize gear-shift signals and smoothly shift the cassette without rider pedaling. When used with an Avinox-specific chain, it ensures consistent, controlled operation even under high torque. The system intelligently reduces torque during gear changes to minimize shock and protect the chain from snapping under load. The Amflow TL is the first bike to incorporate this electronic system drivetrain, and I wish we had a bit more detail on it right now.

As with the other Amflow bikes, the Avinox Ride app offers a number of smart features on the Amflow TL, including:

• Offline navigation: Supports third-party route planning apps, displaying routes on the screen in real-time with turn guidance and alerts
• Apple® Find My tracking: Pair Amflow TL Carbon with Apple® Find My to check the bike’s location and battery status, or activate its sound alert
• Smart heart rate control: The Amflow TL can pair with a Bluetooth heart rate monitor, and users can set a target heart rate zone that determines the level of pedal assist the bike provides.
• Osmo Camera connectivity: Connect a compatible Osmo camera and record with the wireless controller or from the control display

Availability

The Amflow TL Carbon is estimated to be available globally later this year, and for more information about the Amflow TL Carbon, head over to Amflowbikes.com.

With over twenty years in the scene, Cam McCaul has built his reputation on a stable foundation made of competition success and a genuine love for creativity, progression, and community within the sport, making him an ideal addition to the team at Revel. I know I’m excited to see what comes from this partnership, and I’m just stoked to see such a rad person riding such rad bikes - It sounds like Cam feels a similar level of stoke.

“Aside from the bikes being insane, as soon as I cruised up to the booth at Sea Otter to hopefully meet the crew, I just had a good feeling in my gut that I was around people who love mountain biking as much as I do. There’s an energy around the brand that can’t be faked. They’re in it for the right reasons, and they love this mountain biking thing the way I do. They’re constantly developing new amazing bikes, and I believe it’s a brand whose future is very bright. I’m so honored to have the opportunity to be a part of that!” 
- Cam McCaul

From the gnarliest rampage runs to remote backcountry lines worldwide, his riding has always shown a genuine connection to the sport and culture. He's an athlete whose passion for mountain biking attracted Revel to McCaul. The brand was founded on the idea that top-tier bikes should be made by dedicated riders, not just designers. From my experience with not just the people behind the brand, but also the bikes that Revel makes, the brand reflects this, and the athletes embody it.

"I've been following Cam's career since I was a bike-obsessed kid, growing up in Alaska, and reading about him in magazines. When he reached out about riding Revel bikes, I was honestly pretty blown away.

Once the initial excitement settled down, we spent a lot of time discussing whether it actually made sense. Neither of us wanted to do something just for a headline or a short-term partnership. We were both focused on building something for the long haul, for the right reasons, and making sure we were genuinely aligned around sharing the stoke, building community, and bringing more people into mountain biking. The more we talked, the more obvious it became that our values were incredibly aligned. It's a huge honor to have Cam riding Revel bikes, and I couldn't be more excited about what's ahead. Now I just can't wait to watch him send a Ranger farther than anyone thought possible."
- Adam Miller, Owner/Founder

The collaboration with McCaul naturally follows a culture that prioritizes substance over style. From the beginning, McCaul expressed a strong connection with the Revel team. Revel’s athlete program has consistently focused on riders who are truly synced with the brand's core spirit: individuals passionate about mountain biking for life, not just as a profession or as a hobby - but truly invested, almost spiritually. McCaul exemplifies this ideal perfectly. As Revel continues to grow internationally and expand its product range, having a rider with as much character and skill represent the brand is a huge win, and it’s certainly on-trend since the brand's resurrection.

To be alive at the same time as Sleeper Shreddits is a blessing. The artistry behind the editing perspective of the footage and the emotion captured at the UCI World Cup Downhill races by the Sleeper Collective is nothing short of magic. If we got just one of these a month, it would be something special, but to be treated to one after each round of racing is legendary.

The latest Shreddit from Lenzerheide paints the sport of World Cup Downhill in such a beautiful light that even if you don’t love the sport, you’ll enjoy watching every second of this video. From the perfectly timed soundtrack editing to the captured footage to all the b-roll showing rider prep and celebration, this is not one you want to miss (none of the Sleeper Shreddits are).

Anna Newkirk made history, Finn Iles made a statement, Lina Frener left a mark, and Jonty Williamson had us stunned, and now Sleeper has us mesmerized.

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While Keller confidently stepped onto the podium with the Lightrider R32, the men's race had its ups and downs for the rest of the team on the new 32” wheeled bike. Vital Albin showed steady effort, finishing in 21st place, though he couldn't quite close the gap for a top-10 or podium finish. Lars Forster found himself caught in an early tussle and had to start from the back, finishing in 30th overall. Mathias Flückiger also faced some challenges and finished 32nd. Despite the hurdles, the team kept pushing and gave their best during the bike's first outing.

The debut of this bike was a big moment, not just for the brand, but for the sport, as it is the first time we’ve seen this new wheel size raced in a UCI event, and with all the buzz surrounding this new standard, it is likely not the last time we’ll be seeing this as more brands continue to develop into the category.

For now, customers can sign up at r32.thoemus.ch to reserve their spot for a future final order. Just filling out the form doesn’t mean they’re committed to buy. Thomas Binggeli, CEO of Thömus, shares, “We’re a creative and energetic company. Working closely with our partners like DT Swiss, Schwalbe, and the Thömus maxon team, we’re always aiming to develop the fastest and most innovative bikes. Projects like this show our open and forward-thinking approach to creating new products and bike platforms.”

Could 32” be the ticket to faster lap times and less fatigue? Only time will tell, but it’s certainly exciting to see teams exploring the potential here.