To ensure you receive your items in time for Christmas, please note the following deadlines:

Orders received on or before Tuesday December 18

This is the last day to ship an order using USPS first class mail or UPS ground for Christmas arrival.

Orders received on or before Wednesday December 19

This is the last day to ship an order using USPS Priority mail or UPS Two Day for Christmas arrival.

Crankworx Les 2 Alpes is back again for 2013 and will take place July 6–14, 2013.

In its second consecutive year as a major freeride mountain bike festival across the Atlantic at Les Deux Alpes resort in France, Crankworx Les 2 Alpes will be host to one of next season’s biggest, most critical events for the Freeride Mountain Bike World Tour (FMB), one stage of the new Enduro World Series and the annual Free Raid Classic.

By the Dirt Rag staff

This is our first attempt at a holiday gift guide, and, in typical Dirt Rag fashion, we had to do it our way. We’ll share a dirty little secret with you: most magazines’ gift/buyer’s guides are not created based on the recommendations of riders, but by the wants and desires of advertisers.

By the Dirt Rag staff

This is our first attempt at a holiday gift guide, and, in typical Dirt Rag fashion, we had to do it our way. We’ll share a dirty little secret with you: most magazines’ gift/buyer’s guides are not created based on the recommendations of riders, but by the wants and desires of advertisers.

By Adam Newman

Few new bike models seem to become household names as quickly as the Honzo has. A serious heavyweight in terms of both design and well, weight, it has become the poster child for a new breed of 29ers that are pushing the limits of where you thought those big wheels could go.

The 68 degree head tube is slack. The 120mm fork is long. The 16.3 inch chainstays are short. The smile on my face is large.

Photos by Steve Z.

MTB Ayiti is billing itself as the first international cycling event in Haiti. Ayiti literally means “land of mountains” and is the perfect backdrop for a unique event that combines a once-in-a-lifetime cultural immersion experience with the opportunity to build the foundation for a sustainable adventure tourism industry.

By Matt Kasprzyk, 

If you like to trade the mud and gray skies of winter for florescent lights and gray floors, then Pittsburgh can soon accommodate. The town totes plenty of all the aforementioned and plenty of vacant warehouses.

It’s not cyclocross, it’s not mountain biking, it’s not gravel grinding… it’s Ultracross.

Whatever it is, it’s a lot of fun and we’re excited to see the calendar expanding to seven races in 2013:

It’s not cyclocross, it’s not mountain biking, it’s not gravel grinding… it’s Ultracross.

Whatever it is, it’s a lot of fun and we’re excited to see the calendar expanding to seven races in 2013:

Recently we brought you news of the founding of a new race series that included some of the biggest enduro events of the year, and now we’ve got a schedule. 

The Enduro World Series, in association with the Enduro Mountain Bike Association (EMBA), will offer seven events taking place in Italy, France, Canada and the US between May and October of 2013

By Eric McKeegan

The more bikes I ride, the more I get excited to try models at the edges of acceptability. The Mason is going to bike that many find unacceptable, after all, a 66.5 degree head angle can’t really work on a 29er, right?

That is very, very slack, the slackest of any production 29er that is on my radar. Match that head angle with 140mm travel Fox 34 fork, a KS dropper post, and chainstays shorter than 17 inches and you can expect a 29er hardtail that wants to find the big boy lines down the hill.

By Gary J. Boulanger. Photos by Carmen Freeman-Rey.

German by birth, Austrian by nationality, Hans Rey has been an ambassador for adventure riding for nearly 25 years. Beginning as a trials competitor, he first shifted to extreme riding through exotic locales, then transitioned to a seasoned evangelist, all the while making films to bring the world along for the ride.

By Adam Newman and Justin Steiner. Photos by Justin Steiner.

As the darkness of winter descends, it’s great having a high-powered light that can keep you riding year-round. There is no doubt LED lighting is now the standard, and the arms race of higher and higher lumen ratings seems to only be accelerating as prices fall and output rises.

By Shannon Mominee

As the morning commute and evening mountain bike rides turn colder, I find myself searching for the warmer clothing I know I have somewhere. Fortunately, it’s easier to find my dog Roman’s winter gear and before the snow falls I thought it would be a good idea to give his Ruffwear a test run to check on its condition.

The popularity of enduro racing continues to rise, and a new series is poised to become the hottest ticket of 2013. 

Better head on over to your local shop and make nice. Some bike shops attending Interbike in 2013 will be allowed to invite their favorite customers to the annual tradeshow in Las Vegas, opening the door to consumers for the first time.

The limited-access initiative, called Interbike by Invitation, will allow registered retailers to invite customers to attend. These special invitees will be treated as special guests of that shop and will be afforded preferential treatment at the show.

Head on over to our online store and get your shopping done early, with plenty of time to head out for a ride. See our holiday specials here.

Now you can ride the same bike that Steve Peat, Josh Bryceland, and World Champion Greg Minnar of the Santa Cruz Syndicate have been piloting throughout the 2012 World Cup. 

By Adam Newman

While all the buzz these days is about disc brakes for both cyclocross and road bikes, rim brakes aren’t going away anytime soon. True, cantilevers seem to be off-the-back when it comes to power and performance, but you don’t need to go out and buy a whole new frame, fork, and wheelset if you want more stopping power. The Paul Comp Mini-Motos are one such measure for riders who want to upgrade without replacing their whole bike.

By John Herron

When I heard I would be getting a Surly Moonlander for the winter, I couldn’t wait for the “snow bike” (and the snow) to arrive. Sadly, we had an eerily snowless winter in 2011-2012. Fortunately, I’ve come to understand that the Moonlander is a “fatbike” not just a “snow bike.” And that Roger Rabbit cartoon tires are just as fun on sand, ice, and slime as they are in snow.

By Jon Pratt. Photos by Jon Pratt and Justin Steiner.

By Shannon Mominee

We often hear of bicycle products created by bikers for bikers, but Bike Blood Synthetic Lubricant can claim roots to a rich racing history. Bike Blood is brought to market by former pro BMXer and Pittsburgh native Mat Harris.

It’s summer somewhere: A Patagonia travelogue

By Andreas Hestler

While North America slumbers under a peaceful blanket of snow Wade Simmons, Thomas Vanderham, Geoff Gullavich, and Andreas Hestler head south in search of hundreds of miles of pristine singletrack on the underside of the world.

Cross training: Is it really preferable to letting yourself go in the winter?

By Thom Parsons

Yes, Milwaukee. As in, Wisconson, where you don’t expect to hear about things like gravity riding and lift-served trails. But it’s true. A local developer is planning to biuld a recreation complex that includes baseball fields, snow sports, and mountain bike trails.

Local State College pro Aaron Snyder (Scott Pro Team) used his trail knowledge to help search out leaf-hidden trails during our two-day media camp. He finished fourth overall at TSE in 2012.

By Mike Cushionbury, photos by A.E. Landes.

Coming into its fourth year, the top mountain bike stage race in the contiguous United States has big plans not only for 2013’s edition but also for its fifth anniversary in 2014.

By Justin Steiner,

Our review of Yeti’s much anticipated, and subsequently revered, SB-95 has traveled a rocky trail to fruition. First, we intended to do a head-to-head comparison with the SB-66 like we had with Specialized’s Stumpjumper 29 and 26.  

By Adam Newman

Isn’t this a sight? These two little guys are just waiting to get good and dirty. Most of us here in the Dirt Rag office are still fairly new to fat bikes and haven’t been able to get much time on them. Well that’s about to change. 

Six 1 Six

By Mike Cushionbury, photos by J. Andres Vargas.

By Maurice Tierney. Photos by Maurice from 2011. 

There’s something for everyone at the SF Bike Expo this weekend, November 10 and 11. If you are in the Bay Area and reading this, you need to be there.

"A Life of Mountain Bike Adventures", offers a detailed glimpse into Hans Rey’s 25 year career as a professional mountain biker and icon, riding his bicycles in some of the most beautiful and remote places on earth.

By Matt Kaspryzk. Photos by Matt Kaspryzk and Bill Freeman.

Riding bikes with Brian Lopes in Laguna Beach for a couple days? As if that wasn’t enough of a reason to pack my bags, throw in a pair of the much-anticipated new shoes from Pearl Izumi and I’m reminded why this job can be so much fun.

Dirt Rag Magazine—the independent voice of mountain bike riders for more than two decades—is excited to announce Mike Cushionbury has joined the staff as Editor. He brings 20 years of industry experience to the role as the magazine continues to grow.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the Dirt Rag family. I’ve always been a friend and fan of the publication since day one so this is a truly great honor to be leading a group of core mountain bike riders who also happen to be the best and most creative people in the business,” he said.

By Karl Rosengarth

Gather ‘round the fireplace kiddies, and Uncle Karl will tell you a story. This one’s the tale of how we used to make the Dirt Rag, back in the day.

See this big envelope? It contains the archives from Dirt Rag #20, which was published in November of 1991. Inside the envelope are the original 8.5×11” hardcopy pages that we sent to our printer, and other fun stuff that I’ll tell you about in a moment.

By Harlan Price,

Dirt Rag has been supporting IMBA since Day One.

Words and Photos by Gary J. Boulanger.

More than 350 devoted mountain bikers from 20 countries gathered for the 2012 International Mountain Bicycling Association World Summit in Santa Fe, New Mexico, October 10-13, rallying the troops to advocate increased trail access for all in a celebration of IMBA’s 25th anniversary.

From the team’s website:

By Maurice Tierney,

Lucky me. I’ve been riding the new-for-2012 GT Xizang in preparation for a titanium grouptest in an upcoming Dirt Rag. Stoked I am—I always dug the GT hardtails back in the day (mid-90’s), so it’s something to write home about when one of your old favorites makes a comeback.

Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky and Saguaro National Park in Arizona are the two most recent National Park Service properties to allow mountain biking on both existing and future trails.

The regulation at Mammoth Cave opened two existing and two future trails to bicycle use on October 12, 2012. Mountain bikers now have access to the Mammoth Cave Railroad Bike and Hike Trail and the White Oak Trail, and will have access to the planned Connector Trail near Maple Springs and Big Hollow Trail north of the Green River.

By Karl Rosengarth and Karen Brooks

You may have noticed that the world of bicycle lights has quickly become dominated by LED technology. These little wonders are different from regular incandescent light bulbs, and superior in many ways, but there were some challenges to making them work for bike use. Read on to get educated.

By Stephen Haynes. Photos by Justin Steiner.

Like a sure-footed dwarven fighter graced with the agility of an elven ranger, the Jamis Dragon 650B inspires confidence in hardy adventurers willing to straddle its sparkly green body.

The Dragon 650b is, at first glace, a very simple looking steel bike. A look at the geometry of the little monster tells a different story. More on that later…

On September 16, RockShox pros Ryan Howard and Red Bull Rampage winner Kurt Sorge played a best of three game of B.I.K.E. up in Kamloops, B.C. RockShox put up $5,000 for the winner, as long as the game was played over Facebook on the RockShox wall so everyone could watch and participate.

B.I.K.E. is essentially a game of H.O.R.S.E., but with each rider thowing down trick runs instead of trick shots.

There’s been quite a debate brewing around the office lately that maybe mountain bikes have gotten way too high-tech and complicated. There are so many f’ing switches on the handlebars these days that I don’t know whether to pedal or prepare for a lunar landing. And now batteries? Gimme a break. 

By Eric McKeegan and Jon Pratt. Photos by Justin Steiner.

An overview of the bikes

Both of these EVOs are built with the same vision: take a standard Stumpjumper FSR, slacken the head tube angle from 68 to 67 degrees, add a few more millimeters of travel, widen the rims, bolt on a chainguide, slide in a dropper post, and let ’er rip.

By Mike Cushionbury. Photos by AELandes Photography.

Under a large but ultimately unrealized threat of rainy, hypothermic conditions the 10th annual running of Pennsylvania’s legendary NoTubes’ Iron Cross treated riders to 63 miles and 6,500 feet of climbing with crisp, cloudy skies and perfectly tacky trail conditions in and around the scenic Pine Grove State Park in the Michaux State Forest.

The Kali Fall of the Enduro will be an awesome and exciting test of speed, skill and endurance for mountain bike enthusiasts of all levels. Dirt Rag is proud to be a sponsor of this event.

By Shannon Mominee. Photos by Justin Steiner.

Oskar Blues Brewery has a long history of supporting mountain bike culture. It sponsors many events and delivers tasty canned microbrews to campsites and post-ride trailheads everywhere. It’s no wonder that its latest foray doesn’t involve malts, hops, and barley, but rather 29-inch-wheeled, steel and titanium mountain bike frames.

Have you been naughty or nice this year? Either way, if you act fast you can order your own Moots Frosti fatbike and take deliverty in time for the holidays. 

There will be four stock sizes only, with some limited customization. The frames are designed to work with most "standard" fatbike parts, including a 100mm bottom bracket, 170mm rear spacing and an 80mm suspension corrected fork. The max tire clearance is 3.8 inches.

Here at Dirt Rag we’ve long been fans of Jeff Jones‘ unique style of bikes and handlebars. His eye-catching Spaceframe originally debuted in titanium, and is now available in a steel version as well.

Perhaps even more well known, or at least more common, are his swept-back handlebars. Now you can get the Cut Loop bar, as well as the Loop bar in either aluminum or titanium, with a 31.8 clamp area, so no shims are needed. 

By Matt Kaspryzk

Mountain bikers came from far and wide to experience what could be the longest enduro race in the world. We introduce you to a few. You can also read our race recap here.

Chewy Aikin, Sedona, Ariz., Mechanic at Bike & Bean