components

Contest ended. Congrats to Robby Bennett of Calera, AL! We’re sorry the promotion you are trying to access has ended. SR SUNTOUR has partnered with us to give one winner a Auron 35 or 34 RC2 PCS Fork. Enter to win below. The Auron is our multitool trail fork. We designed it to perform to task ...

In the days of old, the Shimano freehub body standard was universally used in most hubs (we are not counting Campagnolo; after all, this is a mountain bike magazine). SRAM’s XD driver threw that standard out the window with a new design that accommodates a 10 tooth cog. No more interchangeability between SRAM and Shimano ...

By Jon Pratt I switch back and forth between clipless and platform pedals to test various shoe / pedal combinations at work, but when I’m out riding for pure pleasure, you’ll find me on flats more often than not. I’ve always liked the ability to adjust my foot position based on the terrain I’m riding, ...

The Float X was feeling a bit off the back these days. With the DH-worthy Float X2 holding down the gravity racing side of the spectrum, and the newish Float DPS supporting the XC side, the Float X was never a terrible shock, but it felt and looked outdated. It’s large size and barely-accessible rebound ...

I have a warm place in my heart for Paul. Just look at that happy camper. Paul Components and Dirt Rag Magazine both started in 1989 and we’re both pushing 30 years as companies. We met at Interbike before either of us were big enough to even have a booth. And we’ve grown together over the years ...

For 2017, Bontrager has added new Trail and XC wheelset options at an affordable price point. Line Pro 30 TLR Line Elite 30 TLR Line Comp 30 TLR Kovee Elite 23 TLR $1,200 $600 $300 $700 27.5” – 1539g 29” – 1608g 27.5” – 1708g 29” – 1794g 27.5” – 1978g 29” – 2080g 27.5” ...

A few of the interesting things we saw at the 2017 Sea Otter Classic: WTB Byway The Byway is a 27.5×47 tire, part of WTB’s “Road Plus” line. With the same casing as the Horizon, this new tire has some cornering knobs and file tread for better dirt action. We’ve got a set in for ...

Both FOX and RockShox have been moving to larger negative spring in rear shocks, and now we see them moving to forks as well. The 2018 36 has a new EVOL air spring that promises “plushness off the top, extra midstroke support, and more tunable bottom-out progression.” I’ve been riding a new 36 the past few ...

Contest ended. Congrats to Neil Aiello of South Plainfield, NJ ! We’re sorry The promotion you are trying to access has ended. SR Suntour has partnered with us to give one lucky winner a Auron 34 or Auron 35 RC2 PCS  suspension fork! Enter to win below.       Auron 34 or Auron 35 RC2 PCS– ...

Words and photos by Zach White Michelin’s mountain bike program has been busy in the last few years creating and fine-tuning four new tire models that multiply to a total model count of sixteen new products when the various wheel sizes and widths are thrown into the count. While the Jet XCR, Force XC, Force ...

Words and photos by Jeff Archer Industry 9 has a place in the history of cycling because of the wheels and hubs it has produced for the past decade, but it goes deeper than that through its parent company, Turnamics Inc. in Asheville, North Carolina. Turnamics produced some of the parts for the original RockShox ...

Wolf Tooth Components is always coming out with interesting products designed to make the experience of riding a bike better and more fun, and that focus on reliability, functionality, and performance. Here are some of their latest product releases: GCX46 This is a 46-tooth cog that replaces the 42-tooth on SRAM’s XX1 and X01 cassettes with ...

The collection includes a new Phoenix Team Carbon Handlebar, Phoenix Team Enduro/Trail Stem, Phoenix Team XC/Trail Stem, Phoenix Team PadLoc Grips, and a Phoenix Team Carbon Seatpost. The system is meant to augment the company’s industry-leading standard of frame stiffness and ride quality, and allow riders to further upgrade their cycling experience by eliminating the problems ...

Tester: Eric McKeegan Price: $500 Wireless actuation of devices is well-established in the tech world, but Magura is one of few using it in the bike world. While some might expect my normally curmudgeonly self to be grumpy about the complexity of an electronic system replacing mechanical devices, I’m willing to make an exception for ...

Tester: Eric McKeegan Price: $90 (120 TPI version) Plus size tires have mostly stuck to the “buncha small knobs” design brief. While this has been surprisingly effective, sometimes terrain and riding styles call for some big, sturdy knobs. The Surly Dirt Wizard answers that call with a mean-looking tread pattern and aggressive cornering knobs. Looks ...

Tester: Stephen Haynes Paul Components has always struck me as a company born in the wrong era. They are the stuff of old school fabrication like Fender Stratocasters, Zippo lighters and straight six engines. Simple, well-designed products made to last a lifetime that have the added benefit of being easily serviced, providing you had the ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

To compliment our recent wheel size explainer (which you should check out, here), we tested four plus-size tires from MAXXIS and WTB that cover various riding conditions. MAXXIS Rekon+ Price: $130 (each) Tester: Eric McKeegan The more aggressive of the two MAXXIS tires in this review, the Rekon+ looks much like the offspring of an Ardent/High Roller ...

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it ...

Words and photos: Emily Walley and Justin Steiner The mountain bike market is a flurry of activity right now as frame, wheel and tire manufacturers strive to sort out where the current evolution and specialization of mountain bikes will end up. On one end of the spectrum, we have enduro bikes with descending capabilities that ...

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 ...

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 ...

Fouriers Trailhead (HB-MB017-M) – $90 Tester: Eric McKeegan Fouriers has teamed up with Chris Sullivan, the man behind the Gnar bars. The Gnar bar and the Trailhead feature the Control Curve bend—an extra bend in the grip area said to match the curve of a palm. The Trailhead sweeps forward then back at 28 degrees, ...

This is Dirt Rag’s second year doing an official “Editor’s Choice.” With editorial staff of all shapes and sizes, spread out all over the country, we can’t just pick one product per category and call it the best. Also notice our timing. While we could do this in the early spring, how much ride time ...

Editor’s Note: Katherine, our new web editor, wasn’t on staff when the 2015 Editor Choice Awards were being collected for Dirt Rag Issue #188, so her honorable mention list is made up of stuff she purchased during the past year on her own dime. If you want to know what the rest of the staffers chose as their favorite bikes and gear ...

Editor’s Note: Our 2015 Editor Choice Awards are out now in Dirt Rag Issue #188. But those items aren’t the only things we were impressed with this year. Here is a list of honorable mentions from our general manager and photographer. If you want to know what we chose as our favorite bikes and gear of 2015, ...

Editor’s Note: Our 2015 Editor Choice Awards are out now in Dirt Rag Issue #188. But those items aren’t the only things we were impressed with this year. Here is a list of honorable mentions from our editor-in-chief. If you want to know what we chose as our favorite bikes and gear of 2015, pick up the ...

No one knows better than a woman how impractical and uncomfortable fashion can be. And no one knows better about suffering on a mountain bike than a singlespeeder. While I have no patience for the physical tyranny of high heels, I will—apparently—put a hard leather saddle on a derailleur-free, suspension-free mountain bike and commit myself ...

From Bicycle Times Issue #36 What’s old is new again it seems (aren’t hifi stereos and albums grand?), but what never gets old for serious cyclists is the leather saddle. Prior to Avocet developing the first gel saddle in the 1980s, nearly all saddles sold were leather. While the company that John Boultbee Brooks founded ...

Editor’s note: This product review by Adam Lipinski first appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #56, published in February 1997, back when V-brakes were all the rage. Welcome to the Dirt Rag V-Brake Clone Linear Pull Plus Shoo Tout. This test consists of the Curve Jaws II FS, Hershey Longneck Billet, Paul Motolite, Shimano XTR V-Brake, ...

Editor’s note: Maurice Tierney was one of the first journalists to get his grubby mitts on the original RockShox suspension fork. Here is his product review from Dirt Rag Issue #13, published in November 1990.  Photo by Maurice Tierney who had this to say: “I used to shoot the photos on black and white film ...

Back in July, SR Suntour invited us to Mountain Creek Bike Park to check out new-for-2016 front and rear suspension products. Although SR Suntour may be best know to some readers as a the suspension brand most often spec’d on trekking and budget mountain bikes, the company has been working incredibly hard in recent years ...

Oval, egg shaped chainrings aren’t new. Despite the failure of Shimano’s Biopace effort from the mid to late 80’s (the “clocked” or wider part of the ring was in the wrong spot and actually decreased pedaling efficiency) newer designs have seen success on the road, most recently in past years with wins in the Tour ...

Editor’s note: This “shootout” style product review first appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #66, published in July 1998—back when 100 mm of travel was considered “freeride” territory. This look back offers perspective on how far mountain biking, and suspension technology, has evolved since then. These five so-called double-triple clamp forks are good for something besides paperweights. ...

Until the very recent release of the new GX group (which also offers multiple chainring options if you go that way), SRAM’s X1 drivetrain was the company’s entry level, full mountain bike, 1×11 offering. Whether you’re a cross-country, trail or all-mountain rider, this X1 group is a great way to get a taste of wide-ratio ...

By Eric McKeegan Since the original introduction of the 29plus platform with Surly’s Krampus, riders in love with the plus-size concept have been wishing for/hoping for/ demanding a more aggressive tire than the all-purpose Knard found on that machine. While there are more plus-size tires in the pipeline, these two tires are the first we’ve ...

Whisky has just released a new fork that should make the minimalist mountain biker and weight-conscious bikepacker quite happy. Sticking with their number system, Whisky has assigned this model as the No. 9 Boost LT. Coming in at 660g, it is quite lite for a mountain bike fork.  I mounted this sleek beast on my ...

Dropper posts are typically a tough item to review; they work, or they don’t. In the case of the OneUp Dropper, the company not only delivers a lightweight post that is reliable, but OneUp Components has also managed to provide riders even more travel from their dropper. First, OneUp shaved every millimeter the company could ...

Stan’s NoTubes was slow to the draw when it came to producing a carbon-rimmed wheelset, and in some aspects it’s not surprising. The company’s range of tubeless aluminum rim and hub combos has been among the best available. Personally, I’ve been using various builds of the brand’s offerings on my own bikes for years and ...

Like many gear-oriented guys I know, when I first got into cycling I went all in. I bought the spandex shorts, the fingerless gloves, and of course, those wacky clip-in pedals. But now that I’m a little older and wiser, or at least a lot more pragmatic, I’ve taken a shine to flat pedals for ...

Renthal is well known in the off-road motorcycle world for, among many other things, its hi-quality chainrings as well a collection of top-notch bicycle parts including bars, stems and grips mainly directed towards the downhill, all-mountain and enduro crowd. After 18 months of development and testing Renthal has just this week officially introduced its new ...

 The long awaited change to SRAM’s brake line is finally here. Don’t look for the Avid name or the usual XX or X0 style designations, the new brakes are named SRAM Guide, and model level is identified by features rather than drivetrain family. We received one of the first sets available back in May ...

By Eric McKeegan The Trail version of Shimano’s excellent XTR stoppers gets all the attention, but there is a Race version that deserves some attention as well. The power and control of the Trail brakes are well documented, but we’ve never had a chance to put the Race version through its paces, until now. Visually ...

This is Part 2 of my first real shakedown rides with the new Shimano XTR Di2 group. Read Part 1 here. In the span of just a few days since receiving the goods I was able to put almost 150 off-road miles on Shimano’s exciting new XTR Di2 electronic components. Here’s a rundown of how it ...

Shimano unveiled its fleet of long-term test bikes for its revolutionary electronic XTR mountain bike shifting in sunny Palm Springs, California. My bike is the potent Pivot Mach 429 Carbon, which is one of the first available to be designed specifically for all internal Di2 wire routing as well as battery storage. After a few ...

Joe Cocker passed way December 22. Say what you will about his singing, but there is no denying that man put his heart and soul and body into his performances. It was against that backdrop that I unpacked boxes this Christmas Eve, the help from our friends to get the XTR and Deore groups we have ...

By Adam Newman RockShox deserves a lot of the credit for driving the latest wheel-size trends in mountain biking these days. As the first major manufacturer to offer 27.5 forks, it created the watershed moment for that wheelsize to quickly dominate the industry. I predict the Bluto will do the same for the fat-bike scene. ...

First off, this is NOT Ui2. There is no such thing and never will be. A lot of folks think the “D” is for Dura-Ace, the trim level where the electronically-controlled shifting first appeared. It actually stands for “Shimano Digital Integration Intelligence” – Di2, get it? In the six years since it’s introduction, the concept ...

  I’m a huge fan of the single ring set up with no chainguide—I have been since the day SRAM released XX1. Between then and now, every one of my personal bikes has been converted to 1×11. My final changeover was to my BMC Fourstroke 29er cross-country race bike. Because it’s spec’d with a Shimano ...

Fabric is a new brand woven from the folks at Charge Bikes and the Cycling Sports Group. With the goal of creating a whole line of high-quality parts and accessories, it has started with touch points, including grips and saddles. The Scoop saddle is designed for multipurpose use, from road to cyclocross to mountain biking. ...

Mountain bikes have been reaping the benefits of hydraulic disc brakes for years now, and while they were finicky at first, the products available now are virtually maintenance-free. When they first began appearing on road bikes, mechanical discs were the obvious stop-gap—a brake cable is a brake cable, after all. But now that discs are ...

Our reviews of the (L-R) Specialized Butcher Control, Michelin Wild Mud and Specialized Purgatory Control.

Mavic is all about component systems, and as such, the Crossmax XL line includes everything from wheels and tires to shoes and pedals. The Crossmax XL pedals are essentially rebranded Time ATAC pedals, which is a good thing to me since I’ve been a huge fan of the ATAC system for years and have several ...

We put two of WTB‘s latest treads to the test, from the fast and furious Bee Line to the heavyweight Vigilante.

While the standard Fox 32 chassis received a major face-lift in creating the first generation 32 Step-Cast, the changes to 34 Step-Cast chassis were not quite as extreme after going under the knife. Aside from the distinct external steps in the lower casting, the most notable change to the (MY2019) 34 Step-Cast chassis is locking ...

It’s October and in the mountain bike world, which means Red Bull Rampage, the most iconic freeride event of the year. Marzocchi riders have been Rampage frontrunners ever since the godfather, Wade Simmons won the very first edition in 2001. Beginning on Monday, October 21st, in an ode to Marzocchi’s heritage, all team riders will ...

Industry Nine 101 Trail S 29er wheelset Starting today, complete tubeless-ready aluminum wheelsets featuring the Industry Nine 101 hubs are available for $750. The wheelsets are offered with either Trail S or Enduro S rims and feature 28-hole i9 101 hubs, and Sapim Race J-bend spokes laced 3-cross. Hub options include Boost (QR and TA) ...

Admittedly, since I’ve been running a Fox 34 Step-Cast on my hardtail for some time now, I was not exactly eager to try the new 32 Step-Cast. The original 32 Step-Cast, while light as a feather, was an absolute noodle in the most unpleasant way. I was not the only one who felt that way ...

Name: William Kirk Age: 36 Height: 5’10 Weight: 190lbs Weights (In Grams) M6 Stem: 85 grams (40mm) M6 Bar: 190 grams M7 Stem: 35 grams (35mm) M7 Bar: 230 grams Price M6 Stem: $280 M6 Bar: $160 M7 Stem: $280 M7 Bar: $170 www.enve.com Standards are a constantly moving target in the cycling world, and ...

Race Face announces today its new Æffect R crankset, dropper post and lever. The crankset is designed to keep an enduro-strength crank in the weight-range of a typical XC crank (632 g for DM alloy without bottom bracket, or 696 g for DM steel without bottom bracket). It uses forged 7050 AL construction added stiffness ...

Industry Nine is known for their pretty bike baubles. Not just because they are stunning, colorful additions to any bike build that will make your ride sparkle (and match!) with their anodization and CNC craftmanship, they are also lightweight and high quality. Dirt Rag visited their Asheville space back in February and reviewed the A35 ...

By Jess Nelson and Scott Williams A new wheelset is one of the best places to look when you want to make a component upgrade from the stock parts that came on your bike. In most cases, a new set of wheels could shed a pound or more and offer a faster-engaging hub that’s serviceable.  ...

By Eric McKeegan

I’ve always been interested in internally geared hubs, but other than servicing a random few in my shop days, I’ve had little riding time with them until we started Bicycle Times. Over the last year I’ve spent many of my commuting and utility miles on Shimano’s Alfine group.

By Justin Steiner

Editor’s note: This story originally ran in issue 210 of Dirt Rag Magazine for our Fast and Loose segment. Like what you see? Subscribe today to catch issue 212 before it flies off the shelves. By Zach White Tucked away in an unassuming, moderately industrial cul-de-sac in Loveland, Colorado, sits the purpose-built, 7,300-square-foot headquarters of ...

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in issue 206 of Dirt Rag Magazine in our Stuff section. Like what you see? Subscribe now at dirtragmag.com/subscribe Santa Cruz Reserve Wheelset – $1,600 santacruzbicycles.com By Scott Williams “We (Santa Cruz) believe in building quality bicycles and components (hence the tagline ‘Quality Bicycles Since 1994’), and quality, to ...

Photography by Paris Gore and Sterling Lorence The long-awaited updates to Shimano‘s Deore XT and SLX groups have finally arrived. Last year the top of the line XTR group took it to 12-speed with a lot of significant updates and upgrades to the componentry. As of today, XT and SLX enter the 12-speed arena with ...

    No, it’s not a pet hamster. New for 2019, Industry Nine introduces Hydra, a project over two and a half years in the making. Since the success of the company’s lightning-quick 3-degree engagement Torch Series hub introduced in 2013, i9 continues to advance forward in re-defining what is capable.   Hydra offers a ...

Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT – $250 wahoofitness.com By Scott Williams Claimed to be the first, fully aerodynamic GPS bike computer, the Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT is packed with features that will please data junkies and weekend warriors alike. While I find the aerodynamic computer and mount integration impressive, the simple user interface is what makes the Wahoo ...

Fox 36 Float Factory GRIP2 – $1,065 By Eric McKeegan This review is about this bright orange 2019 Fox 36 fork shown above. But in reality, this review is really about the new GRIP2 damper that replaces the RC2 damper in the all-mountain 36 and downhill 40 forks. This damper is an example of trickle-up ...

Editor’s note: As the holiday season rolls around, everyone is inundated with ads and marketing campaigns for every product imaginable, in companies’ hopes to capitalize on…well, capitalism, I guess. It can be hard to weed out what a publication is putting out there as an ad or as a genuine recommendation, so we at Dirt ...

I’m not a huge race nerd. I’ll just put that out there immediately. It’s cool and all, and going fast is really fun, but I’d much rather be out riding myself than sitting home watching others have all the fun, and I just can’t bring myself to do the things—  train, practice, analyze my wattage, ...

Whether you are a mechanic at a shop trying to find the best bars for your customer’s custom build, or a daydreamer wistfully putting together a vision board of your dream bike, the options for some components can be staggering. Some componentry comes with built-in parameters such as size, measurements, and budget. In this era of ...

Superpedestrian came out with the Copenhagen Wheel a few years ago and has continued to maintain and grow their wheel technology. The Copenhagen Wheel is an electric assist wheel that turns an acoustic bike into an electric bike. There is no throttle. The wheel feels the force of pedaling and kicks in based on the ...

Dakine has a sick new gravity line called Thrillium, with their partnership with Graham Agissiz and Team Aggy, bringing a very specific “wolf” vibe, which I am not opposed to, into both their men’s and women’s cuts. They have new knee pads and gloves, and their baggies have been redesigned to offer a ton of ...

Tire selection is a very personal choice. Bontrager understands that.  The company’s website says, “The first step in finding the right tire is deciding how much tread you need.” That’s solid advice. I find that few components choices are more personal than tires. Bontrager classifies its tires on a 0 to 5 scale (plus a ...

A few weeks back, Shimano took me (and other media) to the mountain town of Crested Butte, Colorado for a few days of high-altitude riding on the newly-released, 12-speed XTR M9100. Unlike the previous two generations, this newest version of XTR looks and feels like a true redesign rather than a few small updatess. Shimano ...

Enter for a chance to win a Sunrace CSMX8 11-46 11 speed cassette & DLMX30 11 speed rear trigger shifter! Start clickin’ below to earn 20+ entries. Once you enter, you’ll receive an email with additional sharing instructions to improve your odds! 🙌 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Silver Mountain Resort, tucked away in North Idaho (or as we non-locals call it, the Idaho Panhandle), is WTB’s choice of dirt to unveil the company’s new aggressive trail tires. North Idaho doesn’t sound quite as odd once you figure in that Clayton Wangbichler, public relations and content editor for WTB calls the area home and ...

If you’ve been dragging your feet on upgrading your 11-speed SRAM drivetrain to 12-speed Eagle, or if you are really into cool projects, e*thirteen may have something for you. The new TRS Plus 12 Speed Upgrade Kit is a possibly-simple way to upgrade your gearing without replacing your whole group. If you’re relatively handy, this can save ...

While at Santa Cruz headquarters this spring for the company’s new Blur and Highball launch, a few attendees were offered a tour of the Santa Cruz factory led by Santa Cruz CEO Joe Graney. The company operates closer to a boutique brand than the powerhouse that it is. Unlike many large bike brands, Santa Cruz ...

Early in 2017, Bontrager unleashed a handful of enduro/trail and cross-country wheelset options to help make upgrading to a stronger and lighter wheelset more affordable. One offering from Bontrager is the Line Pro 30, which offers a hook-bead carbon rim with 29 mm internal /36 mm external widths. The Rapid Drive 108 hub (Shimano 10/11-speed ...

Everyone knew a new XTR group was coming, but what Shimano released today is still unexpected. The new 12-speed 10-51 cassette wasn’t that hard to guess, but three cassette choices are unexpected. There are new hubs and brakes as well, but let’s tackle the drivetrain first. (Full disclosure: this is all info from Shimano’s press ...

Paul Component has a friend her name is Boxcar! Cigarettes and beer in El Sob…. er wait, that’s the wrong Boxcar. Paul Components has updated their beloved Boxcar stem. With the addition of the 110mm length, there is a Boxcar stem for almost every length desired. Machined from 2024 alloy Paul boasts that the Boxcar stem ...

As the industry seems to be working itself back from 3-inch plus tires, we may have just struck gold with the new 2.6 offerings. When mounted up, the 29×2.6 is just shy of the width of a 27.5×2.8 and only a smidge taller than a 29×2.4. So, increased volume and traction without sacrificing bottom bracket ...

Fox released its entire 2019 line up. Here are some of the highlights: 34 Step-Cast More than one staffer around the office has eyeballed the 32 Step Cast for personal bikes, but the 100mm travel limitation prevented anyone from pulling the trigger. Rather than extend the travel of the 32, Fox slimmed down the 34 chassis, ...

The original Marzocchi Bomber Z1 changed the way we all ride mountain bikes. Not only did it change riding, but it forced the competition to step up and offer better products. The new Z1 looks to carry on the tradition of ride quality over all else. Marzocchi is now owned by Fox, so these forks will share ...

Cross-country racing continues to get more and more technical and demanding and the new SID looks ready to continue RockShox’s winning ways in the Lycra arena. RockShox SID World Cup A no-compromise, elite-level racing fork, the new SID World Cup is a short-travel tool for winning races. FEATURES / BENEFITS New friction-reducing DebonAir™ air spring delivers ...

In the early days of mountain biking, quick-release seatpost binders were on the bikes even when the wheels were nutted. The trails in those days were usually pretty primitive and bore little semblance to the IMBA-spec’d trails being built today. Many steep descents required the saddle to be lowered out of the way so you ...

I’ve been a fan of Bontrager’s Chupacabra tires since they first hit the market. For something so light and fast the Chupas manage to provide predictable traction in conditions that should stymie its pattern of small tread blocks. But that lightness comes at a price. I’ve punctured these tires a fair number of times in ...

Every time Dirt Rag editor Eric McKeegan looked at the Soma Condor drop bars on my gravel bike, he just shook his head and laughed. Which made me laugh. Why? Because they do look pretty ridiculous. But all giggles aside, these bars do have a purpose aside from looking funny, and that’s to provide an ...

By William Kirk Kenda introduced the Hellkat as a full-on downhill tire capable of handling the most rugged of world cup tracks. The tire is aimed at a wide variety of technical terrain; its large center blocks and aggressive cornering knobs place it at the forefront of Kenda’s assortment. I fitted the 2.4 inch Hellkat’s ...

By Ryan Eisenhower If you have ever spent time in Central Pennsylvania in the middle of winter, you know that we can experience a wide range of conditions over the course of 4-5 months – from mud to packed snow to slush then frozen solid in what seems like a never-ending cycle most years. Fat ...

In 2014, Brian Davis went to Kickstarter looking for support of his new creation, the replaceable steel Fix It Sticks. Heck, I was one of those 1,522 backers and continue to use the original set I bought to this day. However, since the sticks lacked a chain breaker and were no lighter or more compact ...

Yokozuna is best known for making some of the best cables and housing on the market. The Motoko is Yokozuna’s first foray into components, aiming for the heart of the rapidly expanding disc-brake, drop-bar market. The Motoko is a cable-actuated, hydraulic disc brake. Unlike almost every other hydraulic system on the market, this is a ...

Plus tires aren’t just for mountain bikes any more. With the success of oversized tires firmly established in the dirt, the originator of the plus tire movement is moving to road bikes as the next likely target. Yes, Road Plus is a thing, and in a lot of ways, it might be an even better ...

Words by Mike Cushionbury, photos by Eric McKeegan  When Shimano introduced its XTR Di2 electronic shifting system two years ago it was obvious that this technology would trickle down to the more affordable, second tier Deore XT. As in the past, trickle-down tech from XTR gets tweaked and improved when it reaches XT. In this ...

Back in the mid-2000s, the Pike was a nondescript 32 mm chassis fork. It developed a bit of a cult following but didn’t really separate itself from its field of competitors. It wasn’t until 2013 that RockShox put the rest of the suspension world on notice with the 35 mm chassis Pike. Not only was ...

Two thousand grams. 4.4 pounds. That’s it. That’s all this fork weighs. A fork that has smashed its way to multiple Enduro World Series victories, endless laps in bike parks, and countless sketchy descents. If nothing else, the fact that a 160 mm-travel 29er fork can weigh less than a Chihuahua and still be capable ...

Words by Kurt Gensheimer, photos by Colin Meagher I’ve hauled ass down Baby Heads more times in my life than I can count, a thrilling high-speed jeep road descent that’s a staple of the Downieville Classic Cross Country race. It’s a trail that claims countless tires, rims and even bodies, because slamming into baby head ...

By Eric McKeegan The Auron fork isn’t new, but the PCS damper is a new addition to the Auron lineup. PCS stands for Piston Compensator System. The piston in question keeps the air and oil separated inside the damping cartridge. The piston is spring-loaded to be able to move (compensate) for changes in oil volume ...