Dirtscrolls

This 13-mile ride is highly ranked in Virginia on MTB Project. It will give you a flavor of both the 25-mile Oak Mountain Trail and the 44-mile Virginia Endurance Series showcase ride. This ride has a bit of everything including easy climbing, fast descents and technical rocky areas. Don’t miss the intersection for an overlook that ...

OneUp was one of the first, if not the first, to market wide range adapters for 10 speed drivetrains. It is not surprising to see the same thing for 11 speed. The Shark is a 10-50 “system,” as it requires a range of components to make it work: OneUp 50 tooth cog OneUp 18 tooth ...

Let me tell you, few things make quite an impression as seeing one of these in person. The Carbonara fat bike fork is the second major product release from Lauf, after the Trail Racer mountain bike fork, first for 29ers and then for 27.5. Hailing from Iceland, Lauf is a small company dedicated to bringing ...

SRAM has debuted a new line of Truvativ components for all-mountain and downhill applications under the Descendant name. The goods were designed in conjunction with pro enduro and DH riders to “thrive on the world’s rowdiest trails.” Descendant Cranksets Features direct-mount rings and SRAM’s X-SYNC 1x chainring teeth. Compatible with all 1x drivetrains in 10 and ...

The Juliana-SRAM pro women’s mountain bike team is picking up its 2016 season at the Enduro World Series this weekend in Corral, Chile. Here’s a look back at all the great riding and racing from 2015. Juliana-SRAM Pro Team 2015 Season Recap from Juliana Bicycles on Vimeo. Photo: Sven Martin

On the Cover Photo: Ryan Creary “On the mountains of truth you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow.” — Friedrich Nietzsche Columns and Readings Watts Dixon writes about learning to ...

Tester: Justin Steiner | Height: 5’7” | Weight: 165 lbs. | Insteam: 31” Bike sizes: S, M (tested), L, XL | Price: $4,899 Polygon is a name much more well known outside the United States. Unless you follow World Cup DH racing, where you’ve surely seen Tracey and Mick Hannah rocking Polygon’s Collosus DHX race bike, ...

Words and photos: Jay Goodrich The City: Chiang Mai, Thailand Chiang Mai is a city built upon a city. A place where history totals many hundreds of years instead of the mere 100 that my current home in Wyoming has under its belt. It’s a place in northern Thailand that boasts the highest mountains in ...

Illustration: Stephen Haynes My event would allow only two bikes—any two bikes the racer wanted, but only two, with just tire swaps allowed between stages. No question, the Enduro World Series is a great racing event. It’s well run, truly global in locations and is attracting some of the fastest riders on two wheels. I ...

Photos: Emily Walley Marin designed the Four Corners and Four Corners Elite for the daily commute and the weekend adventure, and it couldn’t be more on point. I’m testing the lower priced model, with an MSRP of $1100. It offers all the bells and whistles for fully-loaded touring in an affordable package. The Four Corners is an ...

Photos by Justin Steiner, Adam Newman and Kyle Heddy In the new issue of Dirt Rag, #190, you’ll find our side-by-side-by-side comparison of the latest and greatest Specialized Stumpjumper FSR models. Now available in three wheel sizes, it’s likely the longest-tenured mountain bike model in existence, after company founder Mike Sinyard introduced it to the ...

Editor’s note: This “Recommendo” column by Jeff Lockwood appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #113, published in April 2005. All of the books reviewed are still available. We don’t watch much television in our house. In fact, by the time you read this, our daughter Kaya will be 2 years old, and I can say with confidence ...

Simply utter the word “Moab” to many a mountain biker and you can watch their eyes glaze over joyfully as they’re spirited away on their daydreams to slick rocks, red dirt and technical ledges. One of those daydream-inducing rides is Captain Ahab. This featured ride, which is just one combination of trails in this location, ...

It’s that time of year, SRAM is dropping the new product news on the regular. The latest out of Chicago is a Reverb with all new internals and more travel options. The changes aim to improve reliability, and offer longer travel options for modern trail bikes. Bushing overlap is increased, which should increase longevity. SKF, ...

There are people who love mountain biking, and there are those who love it so much they dedicate a vehicle to mountain biking. Chris and Leslie Kehmeier are two of those people, and Henry Tan Van is one such vehicle. The Kehmeiers live in Golden, Colorado, and have each worked at IMBA for over six years. ...

Ibis is updating its Mojo HD3 to Boost 148 spacing, with new bikes in stock right now. Much like the newly released Mojo 3, this will make the HD3 compatible with standard and plus-size 27.5 tires up to 2.8 inches wide. This turns the HD3 into a very versatile bike for almost any condition, handling ...

Cecile and Cedric Ravanel took to California to enjoy some sunsets with their Commencal META AM hardtails. COMMENCAL META HT AM 2016 – I Love My Hardtail from COMMENCAL on Vimeo.

We have some choice, new beverage receptacles in the house. Snag one for yourself.  

Editor’s Note: This letter from Sky Boyer appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #121, published in May 2006. Photo of Don Whitehead (no relation to Cindy) racing on a 1985 custom Ibis bearing serial number 102 by Chris Poese. Dear Dirt Rag, About a year ago some friends and I decided that we wanted to take ...

Finally, I get my grubby mitts on a bike with them thar plus-sized tires. My portulent partner for the next few weeks is Marin’s Pine Mountain 1, sporting a pair of 27.5 x 3.0 inch Schwalbe Nobby Nic tires rolling on wide-bodied Maddux DD40 rims. Those tires and I are bound to become best buds, ...

  We teamed up with Five Ten to offer you the chance to win a pair of its new Kestrel Lace mountain bike shoes. All you have to do is complete the survey below by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, March 16. We will notify the winner the following day. Good luck! Built off of the ...

The Sandy Ridge Trail System provides directional singletrack opportunities specifically designed for mountain bikers in the foothills of the Cascade Range. Located on a ridge just west of Mount Hood and above the Sandy River, the trail system winds through a typical Western Oregon forest of Douglas-fir, western hemlock, western red cedar, and various hardwood ...

Photos: Josh Sawyer and Emily Walley A community is a village, a town or a city, but a sense of community is not defined by proximity. It’s the nurse and the lawyer, the photographer, designer and the park ranger; it’s the social media specialist, the bike shop salesperson and the mom all pursuing a common goal. ...

No dubstep, all brap: mountain bikes, motos and a car worth far less than the bike are featured in this new edit from Pivot Factory Racing out of New Zealand. When Kerr isn’t jumping off car roofs on his bike, he will be chasing the King of Crankworx crown and podiums on the World Cup circuit. Video: Paul Rayner  

Lezyne launched two new pumps of interest to mountain bikers at the Taipei International Cycle Show last week. The Micro Floor Drive XL (above, silver) is friendly to fat bike tires. It is simply an “XL” version of Lezyne’s popular Micro Floor Drive portable floor pump. They gave it a huge barrel to be efficient ...

Words: Rebecca Rusch Illustration: Chris Escobar In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few. – Zen master Shunryu Suzuki Fat biking is not a fad. It’s here to stay and has opened the doors to a whole new segment of riding, especially in winter climates. I was not ...

Catch up: This is a cross-country bike tour with a twist: Chris Reichel pedaled a road bike towing a mountain bike from Colorado to North Carolina and hit all the best trails along the way. If you missed earlier installments of the Ultimate Ride to the Ride, see them here. By Chris Reichel I know that there ...

Words and photos: Dan Milner From Issue #188 “It looks farther when looked at through sober eyes,” mutters Taj Hendry, more with surprise rather than alarm. Laid out before us on the gravel beach is a map showing the trail we’re going to ride. But it’s not the trail that has Hendry rubbing his beer-blurred ...

Editor’s note: This haunting letter from Tomas Drew-Bear first appeared in the “Last Chance for Gas” column in Dirt Rag Issue #172, published in August 2013. Illustration by Ana Benaroya. Dear Dirt Rag, I guess I’m writing this ‘cause I need some therapy, need to find some way to close these demons … Haven’t slept ...

Round 2! More bikes that impressed me at NAHBS 2016 Collin Schaafsma – Matter Cycles “Single pivot 4 life” award I’ve spent a lot of miles on good old single-pivot mountain bikes, including the most recent incarnation of the Santa Cruz Heckler. In my opinion the single-pivot is still a viable option in a world of ...

Over the last three years Diamondback has been quietly working on a new trail bike platform called Release. The design is based on dual, counter-rotating short links in the same vein as the famous VPP suspension. Diamondback calls its version Level Link because the lower link stays parallel to the chain (or level to the ...

Paris Mountain State Park near Greenville, South Carolina, is a popular trail system that offers an 11.5-mile loop with a few short side options. This ride will give you a taste of the terrain and trail types available in the state. Expect extended climbs and descents over 95 percent singletrack with an average grade of ...

RockShox updated its entry-level suspension forks with offerings from 80 mm to 140 mm. Variations on the theme are found primarily in travel, hub compatibility and weight. BOOST and 27plus compatibility arrive on the scene while forks for 9 mm quick releases and 26-inch wheels are still available. Recon Silver RL – $235-$295 Crown and ...

At this point most everyone knows the who, what, where and why of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show. I haven’t been since 2009, and the increase in quality for both bikes and booths was easy to notice. Here is a selection of some of my favorite bikes from the show. Rick Hunter – Hunter Cycles ...

Frostbike is an annual dealer gathering hosted by Quality Bicycle Products (QBP), the parent company behind several brands such as All City, Foundry, Salsa, Surly and others. The event takes place at QBP headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in late February and allows shop owners and media types to gather, drink beer and talk shop. With the Taipei International Cycle ...

Updated March 1 with information from the bike’s official launch at Frostbike 2016.   Heller Bikes, the carbon-only mountain bike brand from Quality Bicycle Products (also the parent of Surly and Salsa, among others), announced its presence at Interbike in 2015 when it dropped a fat bike on us. Heller has now added to its ...

REEB Cycles is the American-made bicycle brand offspring of Oskar Blues Brewing. The company’s first foray into suspension bikes, aluminum frames and curved tubes has resulted in the SqWEEB, a full-suspension trail bike built on the Boost platform with 135 mm of travel. Using a mix of 6000 series aluminum tubing, the first prototype will be the ...

Multi-time U.S. Cross-County National Champions Ned Overend and Todd Wells are reuniting for the second annual Todd & Ned’s Durango Dirt Fondo presented by Fort Lewis College. Limited to 500 spots, riders will join Ned and Todd in their backyard training ground of Durango, Colorado, on Saturday September 17 for a mountain bike gran fondo ...

An all-mountain hardtail with 120 mm – 140 mm of suspension, Boost spacing, 27plus tires and a titanium frame is not unique in and of itself. But Steve Domahidy, one of the co-founders of Niner Bikes, struck out on his own a few years ago and has never been content to just make normal bikes. ...

Editor’s note: Mark Tierney takes readers on a Minneapolis trip, deep into the underbelly of the 2000 Single Speed World Championships. This story originally appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #80, published in July 2000. Photos by Maurice Tierney and Karl Rosengarth. Ha! Of course I reserve my young ass a seat on the magic Dirt ...

Salsa Cycles’ Pony Rustler is the rotund sibling of the brand’s well-admired Horsethief. Both bikes feature the same basic platform and very similar components, with the obvious difference being the wider wheelset of the Pony Rustler. I’ve been riding the Carbon X01 build for a few weeks and have been impressed on how well it ...

SRAM just announced Guide brake technology in a more compact, lighter package for cross-country and trail applications. Five different models of Level brakes will replace the SRAM XX, X0 and DB5, and Avid DB3 and DB1 models. All models of Level brakes feature SRAM’s DirectLink lever design with 2-piston calipers and reach adjusters hidden from ...

This newest Mojo has almost nothing in common with the steel hardtail that first wore that nameplate. But like the original Mojo, the Mojo 3 is a pretty lust-worthy trail bike. This bike doesn’t break any new ground for Ibis. It continues with Ibis’ successful combination of the industrial design ascetic of Roxy Lo, the smarts ...

The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) may not be the kind of organization you would expect to be facing vocal opposition from mountain bikers. But some are calling on IMBA to take a stronger stance on mountain bike access after the upstart Sustainable Trails Coalition has grabbed headlines with its mission to undo the blanket ban on ...

The original inspiration for Soma’s Wolverine was “monster cross,” but this frame’s geometry, versatility and even the screaming orange means you shouldn’t save it for just one, specific purpose. This type of bike is becoming more and more common, and we’re out to discover what sets this beast apart. Soma currently sells its Wolverine as a ...

Industry Nine has announced the Torch Classic Mountain Center Lock hubs. Front hubs range from 130-135 grams while rear hubs weigh between 260-265 grams, depending on specifications such as hub spacing, endcap selection and freehub spec. Riders can choose from Industry Nine’s palette of eleven anodized color options to make any mood or match any ...

For our recent Canfield EPO build, we went with carbon Atomik 29 AM/Enduro Mod-Hook rims laced up to Antifreeze Green Onyx hubs using Sapim Race spokes and Sapim Polyax nipples. The wheelset was beautifully handcrafted and customized by Hubsessed Cycle Works out of Ogden, Utah. Not only do these wheels look incredible, the rims are ...

We teamed up with Zoic to offer you the chance to win The Prophet flat-pedal shoes and a set of Spank Oozy pedals. All you have to do is answer a few questions below by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, February 24 to get entered! We will choose a winner the following day. Zoic teamed up ...

While not particularly technical, the White Ridge Trail System stands out in the Albuquerque area for vertical exposure and stunning views. It is ranked the number 2 ride in New Mexico on MTB Project. The main loop is 8.4 miles, mostly singletrack and hovers around 6,000 feet of elevation without a tremendous amount of climbing. ...

Pivot Cycles has unveiled the all new Phoenix DH Carbon with 27.5 wheels. Driven directly by the company’s work with the Pivot Factory racing team, the new chassis is two-thirds of a pound lighter (for a possible total bike weight under 31 pounds) and features additional rear tire clearance. The frame comes with 204mm dw‐link® rear suspension, a 157mm X ...