Dirtscrolls

Plus-sized tires might be the next big thing in the mountain bike world, but for its latest product Mantiou reached back to its roots and revived a classic nameplate. While the original Magnum of 20 years ago used elastomers, the new model uses a version of the Dorado air spring in the left leg with ...

This week’s featured ride from MTB Project is southwest of Olympia and is called the Capitol State Forest’s “signature ride,” linking intermediate and advanced trails. This particular 16-mile ride covers everything from steep, loose climbs to fast, flowy downhill and everything in between. Greenline #6, the black-diamond trail, features sections known as The Luge, Roots of Fury and ...

Win a $250 voucher to spend on SOURCE Outdoor hydration Systems, biking packs and outdoor sandals! Complete the survey below by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, July 20, to be entered to win. We will choose and notify a winner the following day. Some terms and conditions apply, but don’t they always? Open to U.S. residents, only. ...

Lauf hails from Iceland, where I’m led to believe it gets somewhat chilly. Naturally, fat bikes have erupted all over the volcanic island, and the company has adopted its leaf-spring design from its mountain bike fork into a fat bike version. It’s not just wider; it’s completely redesigned with no shared components. The carbon fiber ...

VP Components R62 Price: $90 Tester: Eric McKeegan I’ve ridden a lot of these clipless/platform pedals. They are my go-to pedal for bikes that might do double-duty on long rides and casual trips around town. I’ve been using these for over a year now, and you can color me impressed. I have a few pairs ...

With a handful of high-end bike companies going full-carbon-only in their popular lineups, its refreshing to see Santa Cruz embracing aluminum for 2017. Highlights include aluminum versions of the Bronson, Tallboy and 5010 (pictured above), with complete builds starting at $2,600; SRAM Eagle 1×12 build kits; and various new colors across the line, including a black ...

As forks get longer in travel, and trail and all-mountain become our favorite buzzwords, it’s refreshing to see a brand like Fox make a dedicated effort to address the cross-country segment—to the tune of shaving half a pound off its current 32 platform. You read that right: The new Fox 32 SC (Step-Cast) weighs right ...

Words and photos: Montana Miller Originally published in Issue #191 My back just went numb, right between the shoulder blades. Which actually feels a lot better than the shooting pain I had a few minutes ago. I hike slowly next to my bike; hopefully I can make the top of this pass before sunset. I’m ...

A preview of Shimano’s 2017 soft goods has arrived … in our inboxes. Here’s a peek at the shoes, sunglasses and hydration packs coming soon to your local bike shop (shop local!). The new Mountain Enduro (ME) shoe series uses Shimano’s “torsional balance” technology which allows some lateral movement in the heel while focusing on pedaling power at the ...

The first Sequoia bikes were designed by Tim Neenan as a road bike with an adventure attitude. The second generation, designed by Jim Merz, evolved into a full-blown touring rig to take you around the world. The name appeared on a series of, let’s say, “less-than-exciting” hybrids and city bikes through the years, but has ...

This reader submission comes to us from Hannah Heydinger. She just finished her senior year racing in the Texas High School Mountain Biking League where she was team captain for St. Stephen’s in Austin. In 2015, Heydinger was invited to the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) banquet to be awarded the Specialized Student Athlete Leadership Award. ...

It has happened and we’re not particularly surprised: Niner Bikes is now offering 27plus models in addition to its steadfast dedication to 29ers. The new JET 9 RDO and RIP 9 RDO were also treated to suspension bump-ups. The JET frame is now 120 mm and will be paired with a 130 mm fork if set up ...

Cheat Mountain is a relatively unknown riding area in West Virginia. This 13.8-mile ride is fairly remote, even for West Virginia standards. While the trails are well-signed, you’re definitely out there. Self-sufficiency is mandatory. This technical, backcountry-style ride is characterized by things you might find in the pages of a Tolkien book: dense mixed forest covered ...

Building on the lightest, most versatile production carbon crankset on the planet, the Next generation G4 couples CINCH compatibility with an elegant arm profile that seamlessly integrates the crank arm with the Next Direct Mount composite spider. G4 is lighter weight (430 grams for the 32-tooth Direct Mount) with improved lateral stiffness; a critical advantage when the ...

Blue Bicycles was once based in Georgia but is now in California. It was once struggling to survive but now has new life breathed into it. It was once only (or best) known for triathlon and cyclocross bikes but now has three different mountain bikes in its line. We took a peak at what’s coming ...

Dave Guettler sat down to tell River City Bicycles in Portland the story of “the grand daddy of them all”, his early 1980’s Ritchey Mountain Bikes mountain bike. “This one’s pretty much the grandaddy of them all. This one is a 1981, maybe 1982, Ritchey Mountain Bikes,” said Guettler. “The very first mountain bike race I ...

At this year’s Press Camp, Ellsworth previewed its newest bike, the Rogue Sixty. This carbon enduro/all-mountain rig will feature 160 mm of travel front and rear, 27.5 wheels, internal cable routing, aluminum chainstays, a 1x-only design, threaded bottom bracket, Boost spacing front and rear and Di2 compatibility. Ellsworth added a house-designed shock bolt called the “Hex ...

In this video from The Pro’s Closet Museum Series, Parker tells the story of his life as a fabricator—from his background in Hollywood’s special effects industry to the birth, rise and transition of Yeti to his next bicycle venture. Stick around until the end of the video to discover how Parker secured athletes such as ...

At this year’s bike Press Camp in Park City, Utah, Cannondale released several new models, as well as existing model updates and an expanded women’s line for 2017. Keep reading for details on the new plus bike and refreshed carbon rigs. Cujo 1 27plus The Cujo is a new 27plus bike based on Cannondale’s other ...

At this year’s Press Camp in Park City, Utah, Smith introduced a new helmet, Camelback launched a new protection hydration pack, Ryders Eyewear showcased its fog-free lenses and Thule showed us its GoPro-specific backpack. Keep reading for details on all of those new and nifty goods. Smith Rover Helmet Smith’s first mountain bike helmet, the Forefront, ...

Words: Rebecca Rusch Illustration: Kyle Stecker Originally published in Issue #191 Since you are reading this column, I know that the simple act of moving around on two wheels has changed your life. Riding a bike might elevate your physical and mental health. It might fuel the competitive juices. It might be your social outlet, ...

During some discussions at Sea Otter this spring, Trek dropped hints it was working to simplify its trail bike line up. This was right before it dropped a new full-suspension fat trail bike, so I wasn’t sure how to take that statement. These simplification ideas became more clear few weeks ago when Trek invited us to Squamish ...

The Narrowback Mountain Loop ride is located near Harrisonburg, Virginia, in the North River District of George Washington National Forest. There is a bit of everything on this 12.5-mile sample loop including ridgeline riding, rocky sections with alternate lines and one memorable descent off the mountain. The ride ascends and descends a total of 1,500 ...

You could win an Industry Nine Torch Trail S Wheelset, valued at $845. The heart of the Trail S is a new hub design: the wheelsets employ a 28-hole, stacked hub flange maximizing the spoke bracing angle to increase lateral stiffness. Internally, Torch S-series hubs employ three A2 tool steel pawls and 60 tooth drivering. This provides ...

At this year’s bike Press Camp in Park City, Utah, GT released several new models and significant updates for 2017, including a plus bike, more women’s models, a sub-$2,000 full-suspension bike and a throwback bike you’re probably going to want. Read on for details. Pantera 27plus The Pantera is a GT model not seen since ...

Liv, the women’s bike brand produced by Giant, is offering three new full-suspension models designed and tested by women: the 160 mm Hail enduro bike, 120 mm Pique race bike and 120 mm Embolden trail/XC bike. Liv’s design process includes analyzing global body dimension studies and testing by female professional mountain bikers. Liv is now ...

The Element has always been a cross-country bike that can handle more than it far share of rowdy trails. Rocky Mountain is making it even more capable with the newest version of its cross-country “race” bike. From Rocky Mountain: This is the result of over two decades at the front of the pack. The new ...

We just returned from a week at Press Camp in Park City, Utah, where several companies announced new stuff for model year 2017. Cannondale, GT, Blue, Ridley and component maker 3T all trotted out fresh bikes at the event for industry journalists to check out. Full disclosure, Press Camp is not a standard bike industry event, which ...

By Stephen Haynes, Dirt Rag Art Director While the wicked winds of winter were still whipping through west Pennsylvania (bringing with them a bounty of alliteration apparently), Dirt Rag editor-in-chief Mike Cushionbury and I were hatching plans for our latest issue. Mike floated the idea of having blogger, artist and cycling personality Stevil Kinevil sit ...

Floyd’s of Leadville, a new Colorado based recreational marijuana infused product brand, announces its launch this week. Founded by former professional cyclist Floyd Landis, his new company enters the recreational cannabis industry specializing in pesticide free cannabis oil sourced from high altitude growers using an industry leading, pharmacy grade CO 2 extraction process. Uniquely formulated ...

Opening the discussion at the 2017 Scott Spark 29er introduction in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, which happens to be the home of the brand’s marque rider and current cross-country World Champion Nino Schurter, its engineers made it very clear that that Spark’s main focus is competition and going fast. In fact, the resort town and mountain bike ...

We’re in Park City, Utah, this week for Bike Press Camp, and one of the trails we get to ride is Mid Mountain. It’s part of the local IMBA Epic and just one of many options that can be accessed either by brute uphill pedaling or ski lift. The trail starts at 7,800 feet and ...

We teamed up with ZOIC to give away two jersey and short sets, one for men and one for women! Women will snag the orchid Kate Jersey along with our popular Navaeh shorts in the angle print (shown below) or any print of their choice. (MSRP value: $160 per kit). Men will score our black ...

For some insane reason, we decided to hand the reigns of Issue #192 over to Stevil Kinevil of All Hail the Black Market (AHTBM) infamy. Then we let our designer, Stephen Haynes, loose to make this thing look like an old-school zine, complete with several skull drawings done by all of our staff. (You can win ...

Tester: Eric McKeegan Price: $550 (each) Carbon rims are becoming more and more commonplace on high-end bikes. They aren’t cheap, and these WTBs are no different, although they are on the more affordable side of the bell curve in regard to carbon rim prices. Aluminum WTB rims have proven themselves over the years; carbon from a ...

Tester: Eric McKeegan Prices: Rear — Silver $332, Black $337, Colors $352; Front — Silver $169, Black $174, Colors $189 Nice rims need nice hubs. White Industries has some nice, new hubs in these XMRs. Designed to handle any standard out there for road, mountain and cyclocross bikes, including options for Boost spacing and the ...

The all-new Transfer seatpost features an infinitely adjustable design with the choice of internal or external cable routing, three drop options, and two lever designs. Low lever force and great modulation make it easy to regulate return speed and small height adjustments. Specs: Low lever force provides consistent actuation pressure even with saddle weighted or ...

Curt Gowdy State Park, located between Wyoming’s capital city (Cheyenne) and primary college town (Laramie), is two hours north of Denver and is slowly being discovered as a worthy weekend destination, even for Colorado’s trail-spoiled mountain bikers. Wyoming State Parks has embraced mountain biking at Curt Gowdy, and its trails were specifically built to accomodate ...

The Xpedo GFX offers a new design for all-mountain to downhill racing. The “latitude” entry system allows rapid engagement in any condition positioning the front claw upwards for intuitive seamless contact with the pedal. The Posi-Fit retention system is fully adjustable for fine-tuning the entry and release. The low-profile 6061 CNC body with adjustable height ...

Words: Brice Shirbach Photos: Abram Eric Landes Originally published in Issue #189 Growing up, I’d often sit and stare at it. My obsession began the moment my family moved to Emmitsburg, Maryland. I was 7 years old and we piled into a single-story rancher a mile and a half down the road from town square. ...

Anthill Films is back with Not2Bad, this time featuring big names going big in Spain. The full-length movie will be available on iTunes July 12. Check out the preview below and look for an official tour screening near you. Starring: Brandon Semenuk, Brett Rheeder, Cam McCaul, Ryan Howard, Casey Brown, Andrew Shandro, Ruben Alcantara and Sergio Layos, with ...

Charlie Kelly was one of the early pioneers of mountain biking in Marin County, California, in the late 1970s. He’s seen quite a few things in cycling change over the years, so we asked him to share his thoughts on cycling technology. Originally published in Bicycle Times (our sister magazine) Issue #40.  I’m way low ...

Words and photo: Chris Milucky aka Bama From “On the Road With Bama,” a column in the print magazine Originally published in Issue #191 A child of the ’80s, I began my photography with a plastic 110-film camera. The pictures were pretty bad, and I think it’s fair to share the blame with both my ...

Tester: Eric McKeegan Price: $1,500 Weight: 22.4 pounds Sizes: 43, 45, 51, 54, 56, 58 (tested), 61 More info: Felt Bicycles V85 Felt makes a lot of drop-bar bikes: race, endurance, aero, cyclocross, track and women’s. This V85 is the middle child of the adventure branch of the Felt drop-bar family. What makes this bike ...

Tester: Eric McKeegan Age: 42 Height: 5’11”, Weight: 160 lbs., Inseam: 32” Price: $2,899 frame; complete bikes from $4,599; $6,499 (tested) Sizes: M, L (tested), XL  More info: Santa Cruz Bicycles Photos: Gary Perkin Santa Cruz was very late to the 29er ballgame, but came out swinging with the Tallboy. That was soon followed by the Tallboy ...

For Issue #190, contributing editor Adam Newman sat down with Tony Ellsworth to catch up on the last few years and talk about bike technology. Photo: Adam Newman You’ve been off the radar lately. What have you been up to the last couple of years? That’s a big question. I could write a book with ...

Three new pairs of shades could be coming your way from MORR Protective Gear. A lot of smart engineering goes into MORR eye gear so that bad stuff won’t get into your eyes. That’s why each model is named after a smart person. Fill out the survey below and you can win the following: MARRCONI Z75 ...

This is an opinion essay from our editor-in-chief. Let’s call this what it is: a mass murder. On June 7, a 50-year-old Michigan man drove his pickup truck into a group of cyclists outside Kalamazoo, killing five and injuring four more. The tragedy has garnered national news but despite the horrific violence committed on these ...

This loop ride near Fraser, Colorado, offers a 13-mile tour of the edge of the Arapahoe National Forest and is easily accessible off the main highway if you want to stop and stretch your legs during a road trip, or want to sample some singletrack in addition to a downhilling trip at nearby Winter Park. There are plenty ...

Words and photos: Zach White Originally published in Issue #190 When I was a kid, my great-grandmother’s humble backyard was my favorite place in the world. It couldn’t have been more than 1,000 square feet, yet within that confinement was a separate little area behind the broadside of a detached garage with a massive wall ...