tech

Terrene Tires, a new rider-owned company that launched last fall, just released their fifth tire model, the McFly. The McFly is a versatile all terrain tire with a 2.8 width platform. Continuing with its goal of bringing to market a complete line of bike tires, Terrene is expanding on its current lineup of mountain, gravel ...

Words and photos by Zach White Age:42 x Height: 6’2″ x Weight: 200 lbs. x Inseam: 32” “Hey man, sweet bike!” As a bike whore, er, “product reviewer,” I get an interesting perspective on brands and their reputation. There are times when I’ll ride a completely dialed and worthy bike for months on trails shotgunned ...

Words and photos by Jeffrey Stern Hoo-Koo-E-Koo. The first time I read that Miwok Indian named fire road on my Tamalpais trails map I fell in love. With the letters, how they flowed like the purest of singletrack sections into one beautiful word – and a beautiful trail at that. Cutting across the mid-section of ...

It’s spring! Maybe you’re getting back out there after being on the trainer all winter, or maybe you’re pulling the bike out of the shed after a period of dormancy. Maybe you’ve been riding all winter long and your bike has collected salt and grit from sloppy, slushy roads and trails. Whatever your situation is, ...

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 ...

Words and photos by Zach White It seemed fitting to have a budget-oriented fat bike show up at the doorstep the day after getting back from riding a handful of various all-carbon, high-end fat bikes in Crested Butte during Fat Bike World Championships. Pedaling $5000+ fat bikes around in big, mellow, snowy loops at a ...

A couple years ago, Salsa introduced the Deadwood, a steel 29plus drop bar touring bike. It was produced in limited numbers, we heard about it for a little while, and then it disappeared. Now, it looks like Deadwood is back, but in a much different form. The drop bars are gone, steel has been replaced ...

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 ...

The Bicycle Academy is a frame-building school in Somerset, England. Recently, they have started a series of events called Old Skool x New Skool, a collaboration between frame-building veterans and a new wave of builders shaping the future of bicycle making. This video documents Tom Ritchey’s visit to the Academy in September 2016 to spend ...

Words and photos by Chris Klibowitz. While much of our society is focused on affordable—and unfortunately disposable—products, there are many within the cycling community still producing high-quality, heirloom pieces. It’s no surprise that the revitalized Silca—a brand rescued from Italy and relocated to Indiana—fits that bill, as most of us have one of their old ...

The new Viral Skeptic is not your ordinarily hardtail. And before you get huffy about that weird looking black box nestled in the bottom bracket junction, it’s not an electric motor but a 12-speed internal gearbox made by German company Pinion. The Taiwan-made frame is beautifully executed, with clean welds and a seat tube port ...

Cyclocross racing, with its drop bars, skinny tires and lycra-clad racers, might seem like a distant cousin to mountain biking, but the two disciplines have more in common than you might think. For example, have a look at some of this video of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup stop in Namur, Belgium this past weekend. ...

Photos by Caleb Smith and the author. Let me start this out with some honesty. The last time I was on a downhill hike was almost two years ago, and even then I was nursing a torn rotator cuff. While I’ve always enjoyed true DH riding, it doesn’t happen very often, so keep that in ...

Words and photos: Jeff Archer By 1994 it was becoming evident that full suspension was here to stay. Most major manufacturers had full-suspension bikes on the market, and the smaller makers were trying to keep up, with quite a few different designs coming out and varying degrees of success. Additionally, many suspension-fork makers were releasing ...

The DBCoil [IL] is a high performance, non-piggyback, coil shock aimed squarely at the trail bike market. Cane Creek describes its features thusly: • Twin-Tube Design. -Setting the DBcoil[IL] apart, oil circulates continuously through externally adjustable shock valves. On the trail, this routing of oil translates into less fade, more control, and greater consistency making it ...

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 ...

Bets around the Dirt Rag virtual water cooler (which is located in the virtual Dirt Rag HQ) put money on Trek releasing a 27plus full-suspension trail bike or a Stache 29plus full-suspension ripper. Neither guess was accurate, obviously. Instead, Trek dropped a 27.5 x 3.8 Farley EX trail bike with full suspension at the Sea Otter Classic. Actually Trek ...

XTR M8050 In not altogether unexpected news, Shimano trickles-down electronic shifting to XT level with a new M8050 group. Before you get all excited, this stuff isn’t hitting the shelves until September 2016, so you might still be pulling cable and not pushing electrons to shift for a while longer. The new XT group gets most ...

By Kate Skrainka Get to the bottom of it. That was my goal: Once and for all, to clarify the murky, muddy waters that are women’s-specific bikes. I pored over vintage bike catalogs, read up on the mathematics of frame geometry, interviewed more than a dozen people and tested a few bikes. I heard a lot ...

Editor’s note: This article by Truls Johnsen first appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #101, published in July 2003. Mountain biking eats some serious dough, and after I acquired the perfect dirt bag mountain bike road trip vehicle (an ‘84 Vanagon camper) I realized that I could use a cheap roof rack to carry bikes in ...

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 ...

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, ...

Editor’s note: This article by Brad Quartuccio and Michael Browne first appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #96, published in October 2002. Singlespeeders are obsessed with simplicity. No derailleurs to mess things up, no shifters to backfire and leave you stranded. But what happens when one of very few moving parts stops working? Most people think ...

SRAM has been slowly trickling down 1×11 tech to lower and lower price points over the last few years, but with the release of this newest 1x group, even those with a less-than-sizeable bike budget can get in on the 1x evolution that is taking over mountain biking. Read on for full details and our ...

Disclaimer: Junket- a free trip by a member of the press to a place where something (such as a new bike) is being promoted. Let’s get that out of the way first. The new Santa Cruz Hightower was introduced to select members of the media on a trip to Chile for the first running of ...

One of the more interesting features of Ibis’ Tranny 29 hardtail is its two-piece frame. Not only can it be taken apart to fit in a airline-legal bag, it can also be used to tension a chain for singlespeeding. Now you can take your Tranny fat-biking by replacing one piece of that two-piece frame with a ...

Editor’s note: This article by Lee McCormack first appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #123, published in August 2006. These days you don’t have to reel in 20 miles of singletrack to feel like a mountain biker. You can blitz a downhill run, mess around at a skatepark, session some jumps or make a playground out ...

Years ago, in search of more stiffness, cranks with 30 mm aluminum spindles were introduced. Unlike the steel 24 mm spindles already on the market, those new oversized spindles didn’t work with the established threaded BSA bottom bracket. This led to a new standard: BB30. The BB30 standard involved bearings installed directly into frames and snap rings ...

Last year, I reviewed the Ibis Ripley. I liked it well enough, but my tastes in mid-travel 29er leans towards low and slack, while the Ripley is more long-travel cross-country. I also got yelled at (via email) by for being too soft on the bike. Which was a valid complaint, as I had inadvertently cut ...

There are a lot of bad bike videos out there. This is not one of them. Good music, not too much slow-mo, good job capturing the feel of just how fast this bike is movings, and Vanderham isn’t dressed like a toddler who didn’t get out of his PJs. Bravo. Below is the bike in the ...

Last year when working on the 2015 editorial calendar for Dirt Rag, I realized the holy grail might finally be found. Found is really the wrong word, and maybe the grail is the wrong metaphor, but who doesn’t love a good Indiana Jones reference? In any case, the grail I’m referring to is a single mountain ...

The original Yelli Screamy helped to redefine what a production hardtail 29er could be, with short chainstays, a slack head angle and a playful nature. “The original Yelli was the 29er that we wanted to ride,” said Lance Canfield, owner and designer. “It didn’t exist, so we built it. It’s fun up, down, in the air, ...

Ruckus Composites is working hard to diminish the idea that carbon fiber frames are disposable. While steel is always touted as easily repairable, the crew at Rukus can do the same for just about any broken carbon fiber frame. Working with a new motto, Remade in the U.S.A., check out the new website for more ...

By this point you’ve likely heard plenty of watercooler chatter (both excitement and complaining) about the latest crop of bikes with 27.5 wheels and tires ranging from 2.8 to 3.5 inches wide. If you’re looking for some backstory, check out Part 1 of this occasional series. Here at Dirt Rag we’ve only had some short ...

  Editor’s note: In this letter from Dirt Rag Issue #85 (April 2001), serial art contributor “Captain Black” explains how he eschewed proper engineering principles and created a magical machine for sharing the joy of cycling with his son. Keep reading We’ve published a lot of stuff in 25 years of Dirt Rag. Find all ...

Editor’s note: This story first appeared in Dirt Rag #111, published in November 2004. Words by Karen Brooks. Photos by Brad Quartuccio. If you’re reading this, chances are you know the joys of gliding through the woods, the satisfaction of making it up that hill, and the release of elevating your heart rate. It makes ...

Everyone from apparel designers to component manufacturers have been on a Sisyphean quest to get the gear we carry off our backs.  The OneUp EDC (Everyday Carry) Tool System was introduced in 2017. In order to use the system, riders had to cut threads inside the fork’s steerer tube using the company’s tap. Earlier this ...

Indoor bicycle trainers hover in a weird space in the consciousness of most cyclists; Falling somewhere on a spectrum between “absolutely not” to “necessary evil” to a “performance-boosting fitness tool.” Whether you’re for, against or agnostic when it comes to indoor bicycle trainers is moot, they’re out there and they’re growing more feature-rich by the ...

Editor’s note: This story by Karl Rosengarth first appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #76, published in December 1999. It’s all about fun. I ride my mountain bike in search of maximum smiles per hour, and I’m not shy about spreading this philosophy. Occasionally, my riding crew loses their perspective, and I feel like I’m riding ...

Editor’s note: This story first appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #120, published in April 2006. Words by James Flynn. Photography by Ian Merritt. Let me tell you about the time I made my tallbike. Shortly after I moved to Chicago, my friend Mike showed up to my place to sit on the stoop. He rolled ...

With all the tire size and hub width standards getting pushed around lately, it might have been easy to overlook something as simple as a dent in a handlebar. But with the industry ready and willing to throw convention out the window these days, why not rethink bike sizing as well? The PDent is Kirk ...

We’ve ridden a lot Fox 34 forks and Float CTD rear shocks and they’ve been reliable performers that just needed a few changes to really bring them to the next level. While you could send your suspension bits away for tweaking, it seems that Fox has been paying attention to what riders are after, and updated the ...

Editor’s note: This story first appeared in Dirt Rag issue #173, published in October 2013. By Paul de Valera Mountain biking is a province of firsts. Repurposing cruisers for dirt duty: a first. Bikes with suspension on the front and back (that work): a first. Hucking huge gaps: a first. Using your coaster brake to ...

The new Carver Gnarvester is designed specifically for  29+ (29×3.0 tires) and we got one in-house for a long-term review. We are building up this titanium frame with a selection of new and used components. This is a pretty sweet chainstay yoke. What kind of word is yoke anyway? Sliding dropouts with Paragon Machine Works ...

Take a look at the bikes above. They seem to share very few things in common. One is a stripped down rigid bike, or as they say on the in Internets, “ridged.” The other is a very modern all-mountain bike, able to survive weekend trail rides and the worst downhill tracks imaginable. What are they ...

Coming as a surprise, the entire fleet of media demo bikes for the recent Orbea Oiz launch was outfitted with 11-speed 2015 XTR, including four sets of the scarce electronic shifting M9050. We managed to put in a good ride on both groups. Shimano originally announced the new XTR back in April, and we got a ...

Apart from wheel sizes and the number of gears involved, the biggest trend in the mountain bike industry in the last decade has been carbon fiber. You can get carbon anything these days: frames, rims, handlebars, brake levers, stems, seatposts, cranksets, chains… ok, maybe not chains, but the Gates Carbon Belt Drive is pretty close. ...

I think it’s safe to say that Specialized has created an instant icon. Simply put, the new Demo 8 is unlike any downhill bike we’ve ever seen. While it retains the classic FSR suspension layout, the pivot points were all moved as far down as possible, with the main pivot finding itself concentric with the ...

The stuff. All the things that I’m carrying. When it’s all laid out, it doesn’t look like much for a few weeks of living off the bike. But when I’m pushing it up a mountain road, it feels like a ton. I’ve never cared about how much my race bike weighed. I’ve always felt that ...

Bikes like the new Yeti SB5c pack a ton of technology, and usually carry a price tag to match. Lots of folks write to us criticizing the crop of new bikes that are, admittedly, pushing the price envelope at five, seven, even ten thousand dollars. Is that a bad thing for consumers? Not at all, I say.

When GT unveiled its Force and Sensor bikes last year they were a big hit with their sponsored athletes, but for the rigors of the DH-level Enduro World Series tracks, they knew they had to offer something to bridge the gap between the 150mm Force and 220mm Fury downhill bike. Enter the rebirth of the ...

If you don’t think e-bikes are a real mover in the bicycle marketplace? Look no further than the entry of Bosch in the marketplace to prove that some big brands are willing to invest serious resources in the growing market. For 2015 it has paired up with a few key brands to bring e-bikes with ...

Last year we saw a prototype fat bike rim from Stan’s NoTubes, and while we figured a 26-inch wheel was in the works, today we saw the finished product: the Hugo is a 50mm-wide, tubeless rim with a unique cross section and options in all three wheel sizes. We also got the details and a ...

Trek hasn’t shied away from developing proprietary suspension products in its search for better performance. About five years ago, the Dual Rate Control Valve (DRVC) air spring system appeared on Trek’s full suspension bikes, and has remained part of its suspension designs ever since. About the same time, Trek started talks with Penske Racing Shocks through a fortunate ...

The good old Fox 36 was getting a bit outdated, and with new wheelsizes taking hold, it was high time for a new fork. We recently brought you the news that it has been completely redeveloped for 2015, and now we have one in the office for testing and we’ve got more details to share.

Suspension designs are a complicated thing. As Kona says, it’s a game of millimeters. From its first full-suspension model in 1995 to its coming 2015 models, Kona has refined its single-pivot, linkage driven suspension designs for their ultimate application. There are three variations in the current lineup, and this cool video walks you through the ...

Photos by Maurice Tierney and Shimano In response to its rapid growth, Shimano American Corporation has expanded its Irvine, Calif., office building by some 48,000 square feet turning it into a massive 51,000 square foot distribution center. An entirely new, modern business center also opened directly across the street for Shimano’s marketing, R&D and inside ...

While it might seem a little premature to make such a prognostication, I’m going to do it, if for no other reason to get your attention. There is little argument among people who have ridden them that SRAMs 1×11 drivetrains are a serious step forward in drivetrian evolution. What isn’t appealing is the upfront cost, ...

In what seems to be a trend this month, another CEO of a major cycling brand falls on his sword and apologizes to consumers. Here, SRAM’s president Stan Day discusses what led to the recall of all SRAM hydraulic road and cyclocross brakes and what steps consumers should take if they have them. For the ...

By Jeff Lockwood

It’s the end of August and we’re in Germany. That means it’s Eurobike time. Here’s a selection of some interesting mountain bike bits we’ve seen over the first day and a half of the show.

Breezer Repack

Joe Breeze was part of the Repack gang racing down Mt. Tam back in the 1970’s. Around the same time, he was also building some of the first mountain bikes before they were known as mountain bikes. In fact, the first fat tire bike built by Joe Breeze, the Breezer #1, is now in the Smithsonian Institute of American History.

Is it an XC bike? A trail bike? Rocky Mountain would say yes to both. The Thunderbolt’s 120mm of travel and 27.5 wheels bridge the gap.

When compared to the Element, Instinct and Altitude, the Thunderbolt’s Rocky Mountain heritage is evident, with a strong family resemblance. But unlike the brand’s dedicated XC offerings, the Thunderbolt is meant to be a more playful and aggressive bike for a wide variety of riding styles. Absent, however, is the Ride-9 chip found on its siblings, so the suspension is not as adjustable.

Joe Breeze knows a thing or two about mountain bikes. He was an early pioneer in California with the likes of Gary Fisher, Charlie Kelly and Tom Ritchey and his eponymous bike company has built everything from commuter bikes to carbon mountain bikes.

By Eric McKeegan

Two summers ago, I got to fondle and photograph a Gambler at a Scott press camp. I didn’t get to ride it as the press camp’s local terrain was much better suited to the Genius bikes released at the same time.

By Eric McKeegan, photos by Adam Newman.

SRAM has been exemplary with trickling down technology from high-end groups to more affordable price points. Starting at $1,274 for the aftermarket kit, this isn’t the hoped-for X9 or X7 1×11 group many are hoping for, but it is a step in the right direction.

By Adam Newman

RaceFace

Returning strong from bankruptcy in 2011, for next year RaceFace will get into the saddle game with the Affect, a mountain bike specific saddle weighing in at about 220 grams with Ti alloy rails and an approximately $100 price tag. Look for it in late fall 2013.

By Adam Newman

A few weeks ago we brought you news that Giant’s 2014 lineup would be almost entirely devoid of 26-inch bikes and a scaled-back selection of 29ers. The company firmly believes the 27.5 wheels are a future of trail riding and have equipped most of their mountain bikes, from the price point hardtails to the enduro-ready Trance SX, as such.

By Eric McKeegan, photos by Adam Newman

Last year Marin was sold to a private European investment group. From the outside, this move didn’t change very much, but it allowed Marin to invest in more design manpower, and these bikes are the first of what Marin promises to be many new designs. All models below share 27.5 wheels, and Marin will not make any 26-inch full suspension models for 2014.

By Adam Newman

For nearly a decade Trek has been building dirt jump and slopestyle bikes for its sponsored athletes and mostly leaving consumers out of the equation. The Ticket Signature was briefly available as a complete bike, but with most riders preferring to build up their own ride depending on how they would use it, sales were sluggish.

By Eric McKeegan, photos by Adam Newman

Let’s get the basic stuff out of the way about this company first. One: Ghost is a German brand, part of the Accell group (parent company of many brands, including Raleigh, Diamondback, Redline and others). Two: Starting soon, Ghost will be available, via a dealer network, across Canada. Three: No current plans for U.S. distribution.

By Adam Newman

Norco went big last fall with its 2013 line and the introduction of bigger, 27.5 wheels. Now for 2014, it’s expanding the new wheels to more models and refining the popular Range and Sight models.

The highlight is the carbon fiber version of the Sight, with its 140mm of travel and FSR-derived suspension. The frame retains the geometry of the alloy version, but beefs up the bottom bracket to the BB92 standard. In fact, there are actually two versions of the carbon frame—one with a front derailleur direct mount and one without.

QBP surprised us over the weekend without the announcement of a new brand aimed at sportsmen. Cogburn Outdoors is the latest brand from the parent company of Surly, Salsa, Foundry and more.

Looks like we’ll get our first glimpse of them at Crankworx next week, but today Norco sent out some details of its forthcoming lineup: 

By Neil Browne,

In the heart of Orange County, California, tucked between the 405 freeway and the Santa Ana Mountains, Felt Bicycles has quietly been producing some amazing rigs.

Just a few miles away, Trabuco Canyon is Felt’s testing grounds, and with those trails in mind produced the Virtue Nine models—a 29er only trail bike designed for all conditions. The previous Virtue models were 26ers, but Felt went back to the drawing board to completely redesign the 2014 line.

By Eric McKeegan, photos by Wil Matthews.

I’ll admit to being a bit surprised when we were invited to attend a media camp for a power meter company.Dirt Rag isn’t well known for our embrace of electronics, although all of us certainly make use of our smartphones…

It was one of the worst kept secrets of the summer as several brands had already been showing it off on 2014 bikes, but SRAM’s X01 11-speed group became official today.

By Eric McKeegan

While waiting in line to start stage 5 of the Trestle Bike Park stop of the Big Mountain Enduro, I noticed two Niner WFOs that looked a little different that what I was used to.

I got a sneak peek at the new WFO at an earlier media event, but after checking out the raw prototypes, I was vowed to keep this info secret. Those vows were lifted this past weekend, and I talked a bit with Niner’s Brad Cole about where the WFO is headed.

By Karen Brooks

Lapierre is a storied French brand that has been making bicycles since 1946. Last year it debuted an electronically controlled suspension system in Europe, for 2014 that system, called Ei, will be available in the States on a trio of bikes: the Spicy and Zesty 27.5-wheeled trail bikes, and the XR 29er for cross country.

This is it folks. If you still had any notion that 27.5 was just a fad, forget it. Giant is going all-in with the middle wheelsize and 26 and 29-inch wheels are being pushed to the margins.

By Karen Brooks and Adam Newman

Mach 6

Pivot showed off three new bikes at their DealerCamp oasis. First off: the highly anticipated Mach 6.

We’re at a point in mountain bike history when factors are converging to create a fresh bloom of creativity—namely, the enduro racing scene and the 27.5 wheel size. Pivot’s been working on a bike that takes advantage of “Goldilocks” wheels to dominate this new form of racing.

By Karen Brooks

Between their excursions to “adventure by bike,” the folks at Salsa have been busy making improvements to their stable. We recently covered the 2014 Horsethief and Spearfish, which both got the Split Pivot treatment. At SaddleDrive in Snowbasin, Utah, they also unveiled a host of other changes to the 2014 model lineup.

By Karen Brooks

The first day of Saddledrive—a dealer and media-only event put on by distributor Quality Bicycle Producuts—the whistle sounded (yes, really) and eager attendees stampeded toward the line of waiting demo bikes in a grassy area at Snowbasin Resort in Utah. Among those were some surprise new models from Surly.

Straggler

First off, the Surly bikes. (drumroll please…) They’ve finally put disc brake mounts on a Cross Check-style steel cyclocross bike! Cleverly enough, it’s called the Straggler.

Remedy 9.9 27.5

By Eric McKeegan

Hot on the heels of the new 29er Fuel EX and Remedy, Trek just released info on two 27.5 models, the Slash and Remedy. I first caught wind of these changes a few months ago from some insider info passed along at Dirt Fest, but didn’t have anything else to report until news broke from Trek’s European dealer event, and a recently arrived press release.

Quality Bicycle Products’ annual SaddleDrive dealer and media show begins today, and news is quickly leaking out about some new bikes from Surly.

These are the only photos we’ve seen so far, gathered from across the interwebs. Stay tuned for more detailed reports from our editor on the scene. 

By Mike Cushionbury 

S-Works Enduro 29

Look for our long-term review of the $3,500 Enduro Comp 29 SE in Issue #172. In it, test rider Justin Steiner writes: “Specialized singlehandedly breathed new life into the long-travel 29er category by proving these bikes can be as fun and maneuverable as they are fast and stable.”

By Adam Newman

Scott unveiled its 2014 mountain bike lineup this week at Deer Valley, Utah, and as notable for what was there was what wasn’t: 26-inch wheels. Aside from some entry-level hardtails and the gravity bikes, the bigger 27.5 and 29-inch wheels have steamrolled over the range and secured their stay.

By Eric McKeegan

Recently Specialized herded a selection of journalists from all over the globe to France for a chance to see the new, 2014 Stumpjumper FSR and Camber models. These bikes are the “trail” models, sitting between the cross country Epic we wrote about earlier and the all mountain Enduro we reviewed in Issue #171.

By Adam Newman

Few trends have steamrolled the mountain bike industry as quickly as enduro racing. Well, maybe 27.5 wheels, but the two seem to go hand in hand.

The also go together with the 2014 Rocky Mountain Altitude Rally Edition. Offered in both 770 MSL and 750 spec, it features the same adjustable suspension as the standard Altitude, but comes decked out in a parts kit that is ready for the enduro starting line straight out of the box.

By Mike Cushionbury

By Eric McKeegan,

Kona continues to keep moving and shaking for 2014. With additional manpower in the bike design department, we’ve seen a ton of new bikes out of the Kona camp the last few years, and 2014 looks to be no different.

Most interesting is the Process enduro line up, which replaces the 26-inch, 150mm 2013 bike with three platforms, utlilizing two wheelsizes and three travel lengths.

By Adam Newman.

Ventana has been building mountain bikes in California since 1988, one year longer than we’ve been publishing Dirt Rag. It’s no surprise that the two would go well together, and we’ve written about several models over the years, and even took a tour of the factory in Issue #161.

By Eric McKeegan

Niner has been on a steady schedule of redesigning its entire line of bikes. Earlier this year it was the RIP9 and SIR9, and now the JET9 gets modernized with changes to geometry, materials and suspension travel.

By Rich Dillen. Photos by Brendon Purdy and Margus Riga.

With Rocky Mountain Bicycle’s recent relocation of their headquarters to North Vancouver, BC, what better place to get an introduction to the all new 2014 Instinct MSL? After the official ribbon (log) cutting ceremony, we got to find out what was up their plaid sleeves.

By Jon Pratt. Photos by Adam Newman.

By Eric McKeegan

By Justin Steiner,

With the launch of the 2014 Spearfish and Horsethief, Salsa Cycles has become the first US-based brand to license Dave Weagle’s Split Pivot suspension design. For Salsa, this partnership with Weagle is their first collaboration with an outside designer. They considered redesigning their current single-pivot platform, but ultimately decided licensing an existing design would achieve better results and mitigate potential patent infringement concerns.

By Eric McKeegan

Fresh of the introduction of the redesigned Fury downhill bike, GT Bikes invited journalists from all over the world to sunny Park City, Utah, to ride the new Force and Sensor trail bikes. Both bikes are fresh designs, based on a new suspension system and 27.5 wheels.

Enduro racing is riding a tidal wave of popularity right now and as any sport matures, the products and technology are getting more and more specialized.

Mavic has been investing heavily in the enduro scene with riders like Jerome Clementz, Anne-Caroline Chausson, and Fabien Barel. Today it released two new products designed specifically for enduro racing.

ROS 9

Niner pulled the wraps off its newest model today, the ROS 9, a slack, all-mountain or trail hardtail designed around a 120-140mm fork. The name—Ride Over Shit—was chosen from hundreds of suggestions from Niner fans.

Steve Jobs was famous for introducing new Apple products at the end of his presentations with “one more thing”, and after we got a look at the all-new Santa Cruz Solo and the revised Tallboy2 last week, there was one other trick up the company’s sleeve.

By Adam Newman. Photos by Gary Perkin and Adam Newman.

As a respected downhill and cross-country racer in the bike industry, Fox Global Marketing Communications Manager Mark Jordan practices what he preaches.

By Mike Cushionbury. Photos by Colin Meagher.

By Adam Newman

The folks at Santa Cruz Bicycles know how to throw a party. Partnering with TweedLove, the UK’s largest cycling festival, they gathered in Peebles, in the Scottish Borders, to unveil the new 27.5 Solo with some limited edition whisky and local legend Steve Peat. 

By Montana Miller

For 2014, Magura has updated the dampers and air springs in its line of 29er forks. I recently had a chance to ride the 120mm travel TS8 and got one ride in on the new 140mm travel TS8 that can be streched to 150mm.

Dampers

By Karen Brooks. Photos courtesy of Santa Cruz.

One of the coolest parts of my job is getting to meet those athletes or personalities who have inspired me in my own struggles to be a better mountain biker. So when I got an email from mountain bike legend Juli Furtado—one of my heroes from way back in beginner days—inviting me to a press camp to introduce a new brand she’s spearheading, I stared at the computer screen for a while in amazement. Juli Furtado! Wow! 

By Montana Miller

For 2014 Magura is introducing an automatic electric compression damper. To lock and unlock the fork, the eLECT damper uses the same accelerometer technology that changes an iPhone screen when the phone is flipped from straight up to sideways.

While the top-of-the-line XX1 11-speed system is getting most of the press these days, SRAM has updated its 10-speed systems with trickle-down technologies across the board.

The XO, X9 and X7 shifters have all been redesigned. All three now have internals derived from the 10-speed XX group, including zero-loss shifting, a German-engineered mechanism, a smaller body and all are Matchmaker compatible. They are shipping now.

BlackBox. It started nearly two decades ago with the original RockShox BoXXer and the desire to provide completely personalized support to a special group of riders. In this relentless pursuit of the podium, no rider request was too crazy or too costly—the average yearly salary of a pro mountain biker wouldn’t have covered the manufacturing cost of those first generation BoXXers.

By Justin Steiner. Photo by Matt Kaspryzyk.

Man, it sure is a good time to be a mountain biker. With all of the recent innovations—from dropper posts to 27.5-inch wheels—development sure is cooking along. Seems like this year, more so even than recent years, there’s simply a flood of incredible bikes and products coming to market.

By Eric McKeegan

The S.I.R. 9 was one of Niner’s first models, helping to propel the 29-only company from tiny start up to a dozen models including three full-suspension platforms. Not one to forget its roots, the S.I.R. recently got a full redesign, and Niner sent us out a test bike, set up in single speed configuration.

By Karl Rosengarth

There’s no denying the buzz surrounding 27.5-inch mountain bikes. Color me intrigued, as I begin my first long-term test on a tweener. I’m ready to clear my mind of preconceptions, ride and learn.

By Mike Cushionbury

DVO (pronounced devo and short for “developed") Suspension has been not-so-silently working towards an August release for its new Emerald fork and Jade shock. The company formed over a year ago when then Marzocchi USA president Bryson Martin and four key employees walked out the door to form this new suspension company. Their plan is to focus on top shelf downhill suspension but, when we spoke with Martin at this year’s Sea Otter Classic, he hinted that there would be more products coming, targeted at other riders as well.

By Justin Steiner

Here at Dirt Rag and Bicycle Times Headquarters it seems nary a day passes without a delivery person rolling a new bike through the door. Awesome as it is, there are challenges to constantly swapping from bike to bike. In terms of suspension bikes, quickly setting up a new bike at its manufacturer’s recommended baseline is key to kicking off a proper test.

Join damn it. That’s the message Niner has applied to its limited edition run of nine custom painted Jet 9 RDO frames that will be auctioned off to raise funds for the International Mountain Bike Association. Each is paired with a painted to match RockShox SID XX fork.

By Eric McKeegan

Banshee Bikes is known for B.C. bred big hit bikes, so I was surprised to see this prototype hanging out in the booth. Dubbed the Phantom (at least for now), this bike is still a ways off. Banshee is calling this a 2015 prototype.

By Eric McKeegan

KS is continuing to expand its dropper range, from the highest of high end, to very affordable options.

This is the LEV Carbon. This post will weigh in at a claimed 325 grams, at least 200 grams less than most droppers on the market. The drop will be limited to 65mm of infinitely adjustable travel.

By Eric McKeegan

Diamondback has been plugging away the last few years, making great bikes that seem to fly under the radar. After hitting a solid homerun with the Mason 29er all-mountain hardtail, I’d expect to Diamondback garner more attention this year with some of these other new models.

Mason FS

By Mike Cushionbury

Renthal, located in Manchester, England, has 35 years of motocross parts mastery and has recently brought that knowhow to the world of gravity mountain biking with a range of handlebars, grips, stems and chainrings. It’s collection of elite racers using and R&D’ing the product include some of the biggest names and teams: Aaron Gwin, Troy Brosnan, Mitch Ropelato, Jill Kintner, the Yeti domestic and World Cup downhill teams, the Norco International team and MS Mondraker Racing.

By Eric McKeegan

White Brothers and MRP are sister brands under the Mountain Racing Products umbrella and we stopped by their booth at Sea Otter to see the new goods. 

With 34-35mm stanchion forks taking over the lion’s share of the market, White Brothers is set to fire back with their own bigger chassis. Shown here are prototypes, but the lowers are the final castings, so the investment to make these forks happen is already in place.

By Eric McKeegan

This is Turner’s first foray into carbon frames, and the Czar does not look like a product hurried to market. The Czar is a XC 29er race bike, but is designed to handle trails more burly than the average cross-country race course.

News landed in our inbox today of a new full-suspension 29er from Specialized designed specifically for women. The Rumor uses Specialized’s M5 alloy frame with 110mm of travel front and rear with a tapered head tube, internal cable routing, a super low standover height and somehow still manages to fit a water bottle. In a size small, the standover is just 706mm.

By Mike Cushionbury

Bell’s new $125 Super (available in May) is the company’s first dedicated enduro/trail/all-mountain helmet. It combines the protection of a gravity helmet with the light weight and ventilation of an XC lid. Additionally, there are plenty of other useful features built into the package.

By Mike Cushionbury

With a change in owners and investors last year, Lake is considering 2013 a bit of a relaunch in the U.S. The Illinois-based cycling shoe company, which was founded in 1982, has a new North American distributer and it just signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the Sea Otter Classic. With 10 new models scheduled to come down the pike in 2014 Lake previewed two of those over the weekend.

I was chatting with Banshee bikes about the new prototype short travel 29er they have at Sea Otter. I’ll have more info on that bike later, but I noticed the 1x drivetrain was running a Race Face ring. Looking closer, it was a wide/narrow tooth style ring, much like SRAM’s XX.

Teva Pivot clipless shoes

We’ve tested a few pairs of Teva shoes for flat pedals, and all of them have won us over with a high level of comfort and performance, both on and off the bike. At Interbike last fall, Teva showed off a pair of prototype Pivot clipless shoes that looked like just thing for trail riders hooked on clipless, but not the standard three strap shoes that usually goes along with the pedals.

Norco

Norco embraced 27.5” wheels in a big way with the Sight and Range models. In 2014 Norco looks to expand that embrace even more. We got a glimpse of what lies ahead, check it out!

Sight Carbon

Niner RIP 9

A few days ago Niner sent around press release about the new RIP 9. The original RIP was long time favorite and a great selling bike for Niner, it was only with some trepidation that a redesign was undertaken.

The carbon RIP gets most of the attention for being high tech, but the new aluminum framed RIP should not be dismissed at low tech in any way.

Kona’s been on a bit of a tear lately, with lots of new bikes that show a revitalized spirit at this long time player in the mountain bike scene.

Hei Hei Supreme 

The 26-inch version of the Firebird was so well received it made its way into the permanent fleet of the Dirt Rag staff. Now Pivot has upped the ante by developing a completely new, 27.5-inch version.

By Eric McKeegan

Scott invited us to a media event the day before Sea Otter opened to the public. Adrian Montgomery, Scott’s PR Director sent this invite, but didn’t share any other info about what bikes we’d be riding.

By Eric McKeegan

The market for complete wheelsets looks to be getting even more crowded with the announcement of three new models from SRAM. These new wheels are aimed squarely at the trail/all-mountain market, joining SRAM’s existing cross-country oriented Rise line of wheels.

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

Santa Cruz didn’t seem to need another trail bike. It already has the well-regarded 26-inch Blur TR and Blur LT with 125mm and 140mm travel respectively; the 29-inch Tallboy LT at 135mm; and the evergreen single pivot Heckler at 150mm. Bookend those with the Nomad at 160mm, and the 100mm Tallboy, Superlight 29 and Blur XC, and it gets hard to see a gap in there to fill.

By Adam Newman and Eric McKeegan.

The Pike name has been absent from the RockShox lineup for the past few years. First used on a 140mm travel 32mm chassis fork, the Pike was a favorite for hard chargers and even showed up on some dirt jump bikes. As the market evolved, other forks, such as the Revelation and Argyle took over and the Pike quietly disappeared.

Spring is here at that usually means new bike models come out to play. Fresh off the release of the Enduro 29er, Specialized shows no signs of slowing down, with two new prototypes being ridden by pros.

Santa Cruz has been teasing the mountain bike world pretty hard over the last several months after it bought prominent ad space in Dirt Rag with the tagline "And now for something completely different."

The speculation ran wild: A 6-inch travel 29er? A new variation on the VPP platform? A unicycle?

No, it seemed most of the world was holding its breath for what would likely be the first 650b platform from 104 Bronson St.

By Eric McKeegan. Photos by Thomas Dietze and Matt DeLorme.

Fox recently released news of redesigned forks and rear shocks, upping the ante in the gravity arms race. While Dirt Rag couldn’t snag an invite to Spain for the official unveiling, we got the low-down on the new suspension bits, and we’ve got a request in for review samples.

Let’s breakdown the new stuff:

By Jon Pratt. Photos by Justin Steiner.

By Matt Kasprzyk

Why mess with a good thing? To make it better, of course. If you agree with the reviews and press; Yeti’s SB-66c is a good thing – if not a great thing. So good that I leapt at the chance for the super-bike to kill my quiver. Yeti has already received several accolades from our staff and many others for their Switch Technology suspension bikes. They must be a good thing, right? So why f’ck with it?

Aside from the frame itself, nothing has a greater impact on the quality of your ride than the fork, and a good suspension fork is anything but cheap. Top-level offerings cost as much as—or more than—many frames.

RockShox has always offered forks at many pricepoints, but the new RockShox 30 Gold offers many of the technologies of the higher-level forks but at an impressive price, starting at only $330.

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

By Adam Newman, photos by Nathan Kraxberger

One of the most anticipated and long-awaited bikes in years, the production version of the Ibis Ripley is here. Built around 120mm of rear travel through a dw-link suspension and a full carbon construction, it’s sure to be one of the most sought-after bikes of the spring.

Rather than redesign the very popular Mojo series around 29-inch wheels, Ibis CEO Hans Heim says they knew that to make the best possible bike Ibis needed to start with a clean-sheet approach. 

By Eric McKeegan, photos by Adam Newman

Word on the street (or at least the fat bike forums) is that Kona will be the next major brand to introduce a production fat bike, and we’ve got the spec sheet.

Never afraid to push into unique market segments, Kona has a long tradition of niche designs such as the long-tail Ute cargo bike and the specially-designed Africabike. Now as fat bikes continue rolling from the margins of the market to becoming a mainstream model, I’m not too surprised to see Kona getting on board. 

By Eric McKeegan

A few weeks ago, X-Fusion announced sponsorship of the Pivot Cycles factory downhill team, maybe a bit of an odd pairing, considering the X-Fusion line-up does not include a dual crown fork.

Niner Bikes posted on MTBr today that the company is readying a new model, and is asking the public for input on the name.

Saying it will "appeal to old-school MTBr readers in particular," the steel hardtail will featured a rear thru-axle, short chainstays, a slack 44mm headtube, internal routing for a dropper seatpost, and Niner’s BioCentric bottom bracket. 

By Mike Cushionbury

Two French brands, Time and Mavic, have signed an agreement for technical collaboration to design and manufacture clipless pedals together in France.

For 2013 Shimano will offer multiple 650b mountain bike wheels at various price points and new Dyna-sys Deore XT and SLX components designed specifically for 650b and 29-inch wheels.

By Eric McKeegan

Problem Solvers

Every few months Problem Solvers comes out with a widget or two that makes me think, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Here are three quick ah-ha items they were showing off at Frostbike.

I really thought they would go straight for 650b wheels. Then again, developing these products takes years, and this bike was likely well underway before the current 650b surge: the Enduro 29er. 

With 155mm of rear wheel travel in a chainstay that is only 10mm longer than the 26-inch version (430mm), it shouldn’t have the land-yacht feeling you might expect. Mated to a 150mm Fox 34 Float CTD fork, this is one of the most burly 29ers we’ve ever seen.

By Eric McKeegan.

Frostbike is the annual dealer expo put on by Quality Bicycle Products (QBP). While February in Minnesota might not sound so inviting, this is a great event, full of people who really, really love bikes. Besides QBP’s roster of house brands (Salsa, Surly, Foundry, 45NRTH, All-City, Civia, Problem Solvers, and more) there are more than 100 other companies in attendance.

By Justin Steiner,

Crankbrothers recently announced a new version of the Mallet dh. According to Crankbrothers, rider and racer feedback lead them back to a pedal with a larger platform and more traction. The first two versions of the Mallet both had a fairly larger platform, while the third iteration, launched in 2011, offered a narrower platform. Generations two and three offered six adjustable and replaceable traction pins apiece.

Portland framebuilders Ira Ryan, left, and Tony Pereira joined forces to create Breadwinner cycles.

By Karen Brooks

By Karen Brooks

Sometimes you just want to imagine yourself sailing down a silky-smooth country road, wine and cheese in the bag, and sun shining… Here at the 2013 North American Handmade Bicycle Show there are plenty of classically beautiful road bikes to inspire just such a vision. Here are a few.

Shamrock Cycles Fluid Druid

Simply a traditional road frame with fender capability. Pretty fenders, too. I love the little Brooks tool roll on the back of the saddle.

By Karen Brooks

Building a bike to be an everyday vehicle gives a lot of opportunities for creative framebuilders to add all kinds of amenities to their NAHBS show bikes. Here’s a few that have stood out so far.

Donkelope

This Donkelope caught my eye right away. Builder Greg calls it a steampunk bike. It has an actual bike lamp—yes, a lamp—from the early 1900s, retrofitted with a modern LED light inside. 

By Adam Newman

Riders are always looking for new challenges and new places to ride their bikes. Adventure touring and bike-packing are two of the fastest-growing segments of the industry, and like every year, the North American Handmade Bike Show is setting trends that the rest of the industry is likely to soon follow.

Though adventures can be had on any bike, more and more riders are designing, building, and riding bikes specifically designed around touring or racing on unpaved roads or rough terrain.

The inherent width of fat bikes’ rear tires requires the use of a wider bottom bracket shell, thus a wider crankset and spindle. There are a few options on the market, but brands spec’ing new bikes and those building them up from scratch have a new option from SRAM, the first of the “major” brands to introduce fat-specific equipment.

By Trina Haynes.

As a cyclist and a mom of two, I am quite familiar with Nashbar’s offerings. Over the years it’s been the cost effective outlet for my hubby and I to get new gear without breaking the bank.

This year Nashbar is breaking into the 650b market with the $500 Bee’s Knees single speed. This is not the first 650b I have played around on and I already enjoy this “tweener” size.

By Eric McKeegan. Photos by Adam Newman

Editor’s note: Will this process work on your bike? I have no idea, so please don’t ask me. But since we get paid the big bucks to be human guinea pigs, we went ahead and tried it anyway. Caveat emptor and all that…

By Montana Miller. Photos by Adam Newman. 

Tubeless fat bike tires have quite a few benefits. They roll faster (by eliminating friction between the tire and tube), can be run at lower pressure without risk of pinch flatting, and are lighter.

By Karen Brooks

I’ve been wanting to try one of the latest crop of fatbikes for a while now. I got to ride the Surly Pugsley we tested for Dirt Rag oh so long ago, and it was a lot of fun, as was the Jones Spacebike with its fat front tire.

By Eric McKeegan While an English bicycle company building steel frames isn’t that noteworthy, Starling stands out with a number of full-suspension bikes, including a single-speed-specific downhill bike. These bikes have an unexpected foundation, Starling founder Joe McEwan spent about 20 years as an aerospace engineer, mostly testing carbon fiber structures. So, how does a ...

Let us begin with a bit of backstory on the Olivetti Thunder Pig. Leading up to the 2018 NAHBS event, (that’s the North American Handmade Bicycle Show for those of you not hip to the acronym) I scoured the list of builders looking for people to interview in the run-up to the show. On the ...

Zwift, the online cycling platform that ties together stationary biking and video games, has agreed with UCI to host the first ever UCI Cycling eSports World Championships in 2020. First! This is eSports, not E-Bikes. eSports started in the 1970’s with video game competitions. (You could argue that e-bikes might have started in the 70’s ...

It has been a busy season for Ibis and they have just added a new member to the lineup with the Mojo HD5. The HD5 builds on what the HD4 started, a 27.5 enduro bike made for tackling the toughest of tracks. Along with the HD5 comes Traction Tune Suspension. Ibis’ full-suspension models use the ...

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 ...

Editors Note: This review was originally part of Issue 211, if you would like to receive copies of Dirt Rag to your door so you can impress your friends Subscribe Today! By subscribing to Dirt Rag now you will not only be supporting independent mountain bike journalism but you will also be receiving our next ...

Intro Craft beer and mountain biking go hand in hand. Even if you fall on the nonalcoholic drinker side of the equation, the correlation between the two is evident. It’s the post-ride happy hour, mid-ride vista paired with a trail “soda” or hell, I’ve even witnessed cold ones stored in racers’ aid station bags. Beer ...

Editor’s Note: This feature first appeared in issue 205 of our print edition of Dirt Rag Magazine. Like what you see? Subscribe today so you don’t miss issue 213, the last issue of the year. Be sure to stop by your local bike shop to pick up a copy of issue 212, out now. by ...

Donnelly Cycling $72.00 per tire What makes the ideal gravel tire? Is it size, tread pattern, or lack of rolling resistance. Likely for most of us, it’s a combination of the three. When I started looking for the perfect mixed surface tire, the Donnelly X’Plor MSO caught my attention. When Donnelly emerged as Clement a ...

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.  ...

SRAM’s new XX1 11-speed drivetrain requires a special freehub body to accomodate its massive cassette, and Kore began working on theirs before the system was even launched to the public.

The XX1 freehubs will be available with the 2013 Durox and Torsion hubs in alloy and cro-mo versions and they will be available on XCD-SL, Durox and Mega complete wheelsets. The alloy Durox version weighs 11 grams less than our standard freehub which makes the Durox rear 12/142 hub a very respectable 240g. 

The Blur TRc is perhaps the most versatile and popular model in the Santa Cruz lineup, and as it has with the Tallboy, Highball, and other models, the carbon version has now been followed with an aluminum model.

The Blur TR matches the geometry of its carbon stable-mate with 125mm of travel through Santa Cruz’s patented and popular VPP platform.

Specs include a 68-degree head tube angle, tapered headtube, 142×12 thru axle, and ISCG mounts.

By Adam Newman

Profile Racing has been building high-end, race-worthy chromoly and aluminum parts since before BMX hit it big and before mountain bikes were but a glimmer in the Klunkers’ eyes. But it wasn’t bicycle parts that got the wheels turning—company founder Jim Alley opened his first motorsports racing shop in New Jersey in 1968 and a few years later moved his growing brand to Florida.

We had heard rumors that the Kona Explosif was going to make a resurection of sorts this year, and I was excited to see they were true when I received the Kona email newsletter today. 

By Karl Rosengarth. Photos by Karl Rosengarth and Adam Newman.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 Mike Cushionbury, photos by J. Andres Vargas.

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.

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.

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.

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 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. 

Editor’s note: After the show, I chased down our new tech editor, Eric McKeegan, and asked him what he thought of the show and what kinds of products we’re likely to see more of in the next year. 

What are five products that you saw at the show that you’re really excited about? 

Nukeproof Mega TR

By Matt Kasprzyk

Yeti has come along way since the late ’80s and it doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. I recently had the chance to visit their headquarters in Golden, Colo., and meet the crew responsible for its success. 

By Justin Steiner

If there’s one thing Interbike 2012 has shown us, it’s that 650b is here to stay. Ironically, on the plane flight home from Interbike, a fellow asked me if 29ers were here to stay. With much disbelief this dude was shocked to hear yet another wheel size is in the works and certainly looks poised to stay the course.

By the Dirt Rag staff

Pearl Izumi X-Project

Pearl Izumi is making a big push back into the mountain bike market with the flexible X-Project shoes. I say flexible because it’s designed to work for any use from Enduro racing to cyclocross, and because the slim carbon shank inside it is designed to flex much more than most high-end mountain bike shoes, allowing for a more comfortable ride and better walkability.

By Justin Steiner

Niner continues to expand Race Day Optimized (RDO) carbon technology through its bike lineup. For 2013, it’s the RIP 9 that’ll receive the RDO treatment. This Rally Blue beauty offers 125mm of Constantly Varying Arc (CVA) suspension travel and is designed for use with 120mm- to 140mm-travel forks. Frame weight with shock is quoted at a reasonable 5.8 lbs. for a medium-sized frame.

By Adam Newman

Best known for its line of ergonomic grips, Ergon continues to expand into new product segments for road and mountain biking.

The BA3 enduro bag is designed for mountain bikers with a gravity persuasion. It can carry a full-face and your pads on the outside and 15 liters of cargo on the inside. Available in two sizes, it can also be futher adjusted to a perfect torso fit with a four-stage adjustable back length. Price is TBD.

By Justin Steiner

W MX Wheelsets

American Classic continues to evolve its mountain bike line with more wheel sizes and more terrain categories. All the wheels get updated graphics for 2013, doing away with the white and red look for a more subdued black and gray.

By Justin Steiner,

Though Liteville may not be a household name in the US, it’s been going strong in Germany for years. For 2013, Liteville’s 301 and 601 frames will be coming stateside and distrubted by Syntace USA.

As quality rises and prices drop, the action camera business continues to accelerate. Now Sony is getting in on the game with the Action Cam, a fully-featured digital camera that can record in full 1080p and in 720p can record 30, 60, or 120 frames per second for super-smooth slow motion action.

Sony borrowed several technologies from its still camera lines, including the Carl Zeiss lens, Steady-Shot image stabilization, and battery.

By Justin Steiner

Royal Racing women’s line

For 2013, Royal Racing is branching out into new territory with technical apparel for women. Two price points of jerseys and shorts will be offered along with a pair of women’s specific gloves.

By Eric McKeegan,

By Adam Newman

KHS 650b downhill bike

By Eric McKeegan,

By Stephen Haynes, photos by Justin Steiner.

The Marin Team CXR 29er PRO is the top of the line carbon hardtail 29er from the storied California brand. This race-inspired bike is as light as it is capable.

The frame uses Marin’s Race Geometry, which has a longer top tube to put you in a race ready stance but I didn’t feel like I was way out over the front wheel which was nice.

By Stephen Haynes

In case you didn’t know, Haro makes more than just 20-inch bikes for the likes of Dave Mirra and Ryan Nyquist to do amazing feats of acrobatics while flying through the air. They make mountain bikes too.

By Justin Steiner, photos by Stephen Haynes

Despite being one of the many large manufacturers who were slow to adopt 29-inch wheels, Giant is now safely on the longer-travel 29er bandwagon. New for 2013 is the Trance X 29er, offering 5 inches of travel out back, paired with a 32mm-chassis, 120mm-travel fork out front. According to Giant, the Trance X 29 is aimed at the “epic” trail, enduro, and super D market.

By Eric McKeegan,

By Justin Steiner,

By Eric McKeegan,

By Justin Steiner,

The Devinci camp is in high spirits after taking home first and second place finishes at the final round of the World Cup Downhill circuit this past weekend in Hafjell, Norway. Winner Steve Smith took the victory aboard Devinci’s new Carbon Wilson SL, but that’s not the only carbon fiber bike Devinci is showing and demoing here at Interbike.

Dixon Carbon

By Adam Newman

Spot Brand Honey Badger

He’s more than just nasty, he’s the latest model from Colorado-based Spot Brand. A steel 29er with sliding dropouts, it’s designed to run traditional gears as well as being Gates Carbon Belt Drive compatible in singlespeed mode.

By Gary J. Boulanger

The Ritchey P-29er is an old-school looking steel hardtail with a nearly Encyclopedia Britannica-esque history of development and racing heritage, beginning with its iconic tri-color fade paint job, as ridden to silver-medal glory by Swiss pro Thomas Frischknecht at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

By Jeff Lockwood,

Thousands of bike industry insiders, retailers, and media poured through the aisles of the Messe in Friedrichshafen, Germany this past weekend to see what’s new for 2013. Attendees chowed on some true Bavarian meals and downed many hefeweizen beers. The cold rain may have dampened the farmlands around the convention hall, but it definitely didn’t ruin the atmosphere of the show. Here are some of the more interesting items we gathered over a few days.

By John Herron

I’ve ridden my share of custom hardtail wünderbikes over the last 20 years. Not being familiar with Van Nicholas bikes, I was skeptical when I heard their bikes were sold online. The words “custom” and “online” are nearly as oxymoronic as “budget titanium”. Can one reach perfectly fit, snappy, light Ti Nirvana from a dropdown menu? Spoiler alert, yes, it seems like you can get pretty damn close.

Hot on the heels of Rocky Mountain’s launch of the new 650b Altitude comes the new-for-2013 Instinct, a 130mm-travel 29er with the same Ride-9 adjustable geometry and progressive (read: slack) geometry numbers. 

By Joshua Stamper. Photos by Extreme Photography Unlimited.

If your abhor mountain bikes with garish logos and loud colors, the stealthy good looks of the carbon fiber 29er Broadaxe from Foundry Cycles comes as a breath of fresh air. But don’t let the plain matte look fool you — there is much performance underneath its understated exterior.

By Adam Newman, action photos by Margus Riga,

When Rocky Mountain set out to redesign the genre-bending Altitude trail bike they had a broad stroke of travel lengths – and wheel sizes – to choose from. When the dust settled, the 650b wheels were combined with 150mm of travel and a novel, adjustable-geometry linkage.

We were enamored with the original Jet 9 RDO we reviewed in Issue #164 (read our first impressions here and here) and now Niner has announced some changes that make it even more likable.

By Eric McKeegan,

Some of you might remember the name Nukeproof. Part of the high end mountain bike component cottage industry that flourished during the 90’s, the name disappeared from the U.S. market years ago.

By Adam Newman

It can take years to design and develop a bike from scratch, as Norco has done with the Sight and Range 650b platforms, so neither design is a quick adaptation of an existing bike to catch the 650b wave expected to crest in 2013. Despite retaining Norco’s tried and true suspension design and other technologies, not a single frame tube is carried over from the 26-inch bike.

know you’re thinking "Kona already has a long-travel hardtail, the Honzo." Well you’re on the right track, but we just spotted this aluminum brother on the Kona website (among the complete 2013 lineup). 

know you’re thinking "Kona already has a long-travel hardtail, the Honzo." Well you’re on the right track, but we just spotted this aluminum brother on the Kona website (among the complete 2013 lineup). 

Crank Bros. didn’t just scale up its popular and eye-catching Iodine wheels when they decided to build a 29er version, they went back to the drawing board and built a whole new wheel with a redesigned rim profile.

Trek sent us some details of the 2013 mountain bike line and the biggest news is the introduction of a trail-oriented hardtail 29er, the Stache. While not as extreme as bikes like the Kona Honzo or Diamondback Mason, it is still built around a 120mm fork, a 142×12 thru-axle, ISCG tabs, short chainstays, internal dropper post rounting, and a 2×10 drivetrain. There will be two trim levels available. 

Stache

By Justin Steiner

We saw some of Salsa’s latest offerings earlier this week – see our first ride impression of the Beargrease – but today they laid it all out in the sun.

New bikes include aformentioned Beargrease, the Colassal – a disc-brake road bike, and the Warbird – a bike specifically designed for gravel racing. Changes come to nearly all the other models as well. Here’s some highlights:

By Jon Pratt,

The Aurum 2 is Norco Bicycles’ entry level downhill bike offering. At a mere $1,000 more than an Aurum frame kit, this complete bike packs a lot of punch for the money. It’s also a significant upgrade from the Team DH model it replaced; with better square edge bump compliance, more efficient pedaling through increased chain growth, a reduction in brake jack, and a more easily tuned suspension.

We caught Salsa’s Mike Riemer on the trail with a very unusual bike beneath him…

Salsa Full-Suspension Fatbike from Dirt Rag Magazine on Vimeo.

The Tracer 275 is the latest offspring from the creative mind of designer/president, Jeff Steber. The idea to do the 275 came to Steber while he was traveling abroad. A few weeks later, he was riding the first prototype.

By Maurice Tierney, wheelie photo by Matt Cacho.

With all the buzz over Surly’s new platform, I was quite excited to get a chance to ride one at Snowbasin Resort near Ogden, Utah, where it was to be unveiled. I had seen the fuzzy, grainy spy photos and had some clues as to what was going on. I knew it involved yet another new tire size. What new trend were the folks in Minnesota cooking up now?

By Gary J. Boulanger,

The governing body for international bicycle racing gave the nod for disc brakes to be used on cyclocross bikes a couple years ago, but the development process to bring a carbon machine to market takes a while. Felt responded quickly, and now offers two carbon models, the F1X and F3X, to compliment its aluminum F65X model, carried over from 2012.

By Maurice Tierney,

Whisky Parts Co. just unveiled the first carbon fiber, disc-brake, thru-axle road and cyclocross forks here at the Saddledrive dealer event in Ogden, Utah.

Road? Cross? Thru-axle? Why yes, it is a stellar idea. Whisky’s mantra is is to make tough and durable parts, and these parts express that emotion rather well.

By Gary J. Boulanger

Long before the larger bike companies took notice of carbon fiber 29er hardtails, the Irvine, California-based Felt Bicycles offered a small stable of models, and after a slow evolution of design and several international race victories, has poured heavy resources into revamping its flagship Nine line for 2013.

By Gary J. Boulanger

Originally introduced in Europe as a 26-inch wheeled aluminum long-travel machine, the 2013 Felt Compulsion is coming to America, and relies on a refined patented Equilink suspension platform, adding 10mm of rear suspension adjustability to its base of 150mm of travel.

By Josh Patterson, photos by Justin Steiner and Maurice Tierney.

In issue #163 we covered five of the most interesting bikes of this year’s North American Handbuilt Show. Hank Matheson of Bicycle Fabrication had this downhill prototype on display. It caught our eye because it stood in such stark contrast to the rows of glossy, finished frames. That, and because it appeared that a significant portion of the suspension relied on old bicycle inner-tubes and electrical tape…

We’ve been seeing the pictures online for a while, but it looks like Mondraker‘s Forward Geometry concept with a handlebar that mounts directly over the fork is ready for production. 

By Eric McKeegan

2013 Genius

Scott’s Genius line of trail/all-mountain bikes is now a decade old and after 10 years of design and development, they surprised the heck out of me by dumping the 26-inch wheel size and creating two new platforms from the ground up. The Genius 900 series is the 29-inch bike, and the Genius 700 series, pictured above, is 27.5-inch (650b).

Commencal sent us a look at its 2013 lineup today, and it includes several new bikes.

First up is the El Camino range, which includes 26- and 29-inch models, as well as a 26-inch, 120mm full suspension model and women’s specific models. Build kits are at the value end of the spectrum. 

By Karl Rosengarth and Jon Pratt

Fox Racing Shox iCD

It’s been spotted quite a few times already this year, but now we’re getting more details on Fox’s iCD electronically controlled suspension system. Both Geoff Kabush (Scott-3Rox) and Catharine Pendrel (Luna Chix) have been running the iCD on the World Cup circuit this year, but at Windham there were a total of nine riders on the system.

The battery-powered system electronically switches between three modes:

Now that cassettes have grown to wider ranges than ever before, the popularity of single-chainring setups has grown exponentially. Running a single front ring means fewer dropped chains, less shifting hassles, more tire clearance and better suspension design opportunities.

Realizing the evolution of dedicated mountain bike drivetrains, SRAM has pulled the wraps of its 11-speed, single chainring group, XX1. 

Thomson posted on its blog today new details about its upcoming handlebars, the very first of the brands’ products to be made outside of Macon, Georgia. On their way this fall are carbon mountain bike bars, carbon road bars, titanium mountain bike bars, and aluminum downhill bars. Details are live now in the Thomson website.

The famed Italian bike brand may be best known for its road racing winning machines, but for 2013 it will be re-entering the mountain bike market with the Dogma XC, a carbon fiber hardtail 29er.

If you’ve seen the Dogma road bike, you know Pinarello loves to embrace unusal frame shapes. The Dogma XC is no different, with a unique seatstay clamp design that they say dissapates vibration.

By Josh Patterson

The Avana, above, is Kali’s new all-mountain helmet. We reviewed the company’s popular Avita model in issue #156. One of our quibbles with the Avita was that it didn’t offer quite as much rear coverage as comparable models from other companies. Kali took this criticism to heart when designing the Avana. This new model offers more rear coverage and uses multiple foam densities to increase the helmet’s ability to dissipate energy upon impact.

As the popularity of dropper seatposts continues to rise, so too does the number of travel, diameter, and hose routing options.

Yesterday, RockShox unveiled the Reverb Stealth with 150mm of drop and internal hydraulic hose routing. It will also be available in a 34.9mm diameter, to accomdate more frames. The hose exits at the bottom of the post and mates to a Matchmaker compatible clamp. 

By Josh Patterson,

By Josh Patterson

Hutchinson is investing a lot of resources in developing its gravity-oriented tires. The French tire manufacturer now has full range of DH tires to suit most conditions. From top to bottom you see the Toro, an all-arounder, available in 2.5 and 2.35; the DZO, for wet and muddy courses; and the Squale, for dry and rocky conditions.

Note the stepped blocks on the DZO. These serve as guides for shaving the tread.

By Josh Patterson

Camelbak seems to be in a constant state of refinement. There’s always something that can be made lighter, more ergonomic, or easier to use. For example, last year’s Charge LR has been updated with a back-loading (Your back, that is.) reservoir. This allowed the company to up the cargo capacity significantly.

By Josh Patterson

Last year about this time Niner Bikes unveiled its first carbon full suspension platform, the Jet 9 RDO (read our review in issue #163). This year Niner took time to reinvest in one of the first frames in its line-up, the geared and singlespeed-compatible S.I.R. 9. The company felt steel bikes were being equated with retro, which seemed unfair to such a versatile frame material.

By Justin Steiner,

By Karl Rosengarth

The Mach 5.7 is Pivot Cycles‘ vision of the ultimate 26-inch trail bike. The company seems to have hit their mark, as the do-it-all Mach 5.7 is Pivot’s top-selling model. With 145mm (5.7 inches) of proven dw-link rear travel and a sexy carbon frame, the Mach 5.7 Carbon certainly has a lot going for it.

By Josh Patterson,

One of the things I enjoy most about endurance gravel events is that they challenge participants to innovate. Gravel racing is a new and evolving niche. Companies are starting to take note, but for the most part it’s about improvisation and ingenuity.

By Justin Steiner,

I’ve written previously about the extensive crossover between cycling and motorcycling. The logical extension of these shared passions is combining the two. Like many, I’ve often daydreamed about being able to commute to and from a mountain bike ride on my moto.

By Jon Pratt,

This past week I found myself in familiar territory for Magura’s press camp; the Red Agave Resort in Sedona, Arizona, where Dirt Rag had spent Spring Break earlier this year. A world-class trail system literally starts in the resort’s backyard. Trails like Llama, Highline, Templeton/Baldwin, and Slim Shady, show you all that desert riding has to offer.

By Stephen Haynes, 

The steel framed Jamis Dragon 650b is an understated beast ready to take you on any quest you may have in store for it. Saddle up and sharpen your broad sword, this bike is ready for adventure.

By Eric McKeegan

Prep Time For Trans-Sylvania Epic is almost over. I’m still debating clothing choices, getting nutrition squared away and deciding on using bottles versus a hydration pack. I’ve been fortunate not to worry too much about bike choice though: Scott was kind enough to send me a Spark 29 RC to ride and race.

Just in time to give us something to talk about over the weekend, SRAM sent out a notice that they will be releasing a new drivetrain this summer dubbed XX1, designed around a single front chainring and an 11-speed cassette. 

By Adam Newman

By Josh Patterson

By Eric McKeegan

Covering the Sea Otter classic can be a lot of work, but sometimes we’re able to slip away and get some riding… I mean, "product testing", done. I rode this setup in the Gran Fondo mountian bike ride.

Spot Brand Rocker Ti

By Eric McKeegan

Norco was showing off three new mountain bikes at Sea Otter this year; a new 29er platform, a 2012 Aurum DH bike, and the 160mm-travel 650b prototype.

By Josh Patterson

By Josh Patterson

By the Dirt Rag staff

Easton Havoc 35

Wider is better! That’s the trend in gravity-oriented handlebars. That’s all well and good, but wider bars put even more stress on bars and stems. Easton found that the stresses produced by 800mm-wide bars were pushing the durability limits of the existing bars and stems. Easton’s all-new Havoc 35 addresses the issue by upping the handlebar/stem diameter from 31.8 to 35mm.

By Eric McKeegan

By Adam Newman

Foes is getting into 29ers this year as well, with this prototype of the 2013 Shaver 29. The 68.5 degree headtube is slightly steeper than the 26-inch Shaver’s and travel is slightly reduced to 5 to 5.5 inches. Slight geometery tweaks are expected from the version you see here, including incorporation of an inset ZeroStack headtube. Look for it in fall of 2012.

Continental’s new Revo sealant uses four different sizes of fibrous particles to help seal punctures. A 250ml bottle of sealant will retail for $10 and should seal about three high-volume tires.

Conti is also offering a new tubeless-ready tire construction that features an additional rubber-coated nylon ply that aides in sealing and improves durability.

By Josh Patterson

SRAM unveiled a 650b version of their Rise 40 wheelset. The aluminum wheelset shares the same rim profile of the 26 and 29-inch Rise 40 wheelsets: 19mm inner width; 24 bladed spokes laced two-cross, front and rear; and compatibility with quick-releases or thru-axles.

By Adam Newman

ENVE has been leading the way in carbon rim development from its headquarters in Ogden, Utah, and still manufactures all its products there. There are essentially two mountain bike model lines: the XC and the AM, with internal rim widths of 18 and 24mm respectively. For 2012, both models will be available in 26-inch, 650b (pictured), and 29-inch sizes with updated graphics from previous years.

By Adam Newman

Now that industry veteran Jim Wannamaker is designing treads for this rapidly-expanding brand, they’re making a huge push into the U.S. market. Almost all of their treads are available in a huge range of sizes and nearly all retail for just $40. The brand is not without some pedigree, as they manufacture Pacenti’s new 650b tires.

By Karl Rosengarth

The all new FSA Orbit Option adjustable headsets offer three sets of angle adjustment cups to allow plus/minus 0.5 or 1.0 or 1.5 degrees of head angle adjustability. The Option S fits 1.5" standard headtubes. The Option T fits 50mm/1.5-inch tapered headtubes and 1 1/8" steerers. The option T1 fits tapered 50mm/1.5-inch zero stack tapered headtubes and 1-1/8” steerers.

By Adam Newman

Set to debut last year with the redesign of its 26-inch wheel CrossMax line, the prototype 29er CrossMax wheels from Mavic weren’t performing up to the brand’s and its racers’ standards, and they went back to the drawing board to make them right.

Offered in three versions, the CrossMax SLR is the lightweight race/cross-country wheelset, the CrossMax ST is the trail or general use set, while the CrossRide is a wallet-friendly, entry-level option.

By Eric McKeegan

First off, X-Fusion has quite a history with suspension manufacturing dating back more than 20 years, although the brand name X-Fusion has only been around since 1999. Fast forward to 2012 and the company will bring three new technologies to market: the Uni-Crown, a new stanchion coating “Gold Slick Ano” and a cartridge damper with a “Mid-Valve”.

Introducing Zee

Zee is a new line of gravity components that are an ideal starting point for aggressive riders and racers. Zee is the gateway gravity component line that allows riders to get on board with Shimano’s gravity program and experience premium new component technologies at a price they can afford. Highlights in the Zee line include a 10-speed system that comes standard with new ICE Tech and Shadow Plus technologies.

By Justin Steiner

Spring is springing and we’re getting closer to one of my most anticipated yearly landmark; Massanutten Resort’s Yee-Ha! downhill race. This will be my third year in a row kicking off the race season at this long-standing event, thanks to its early placement on the calendar and the wonderful folks you’ve made this event happen continuously for the last 16 years.

By Adam Lipinski

Many companies have products from their pasts that are icons of their brand. One of GT’s is the mid 80’s Performer BMX bicycle. If you rode BMX bikes in the 80’s chances are you desired a Performer. GT has decided to make a retro induced 26-inch wheeled version of their classic ride, as part of their Adult BMX line. They intend you to use this bike as a simple town cruiser, or take it to your local dirt jumps and track.

Intense first got into carbon fiber construction with the introduction of the Carbine SL back in January, and now the company has released its first hardtail 29er, the Hard Eddie.

By Adam Newman

Foundry Cycles was cool enough to stop by our office last fall and let us take the first spin on its upcoming carbon-fiber hardtail, the Router. It was expected to be available by now, but some manufacturing issues have led Foundry to cancel the model outright, citing a commitment to quality and a replacement model that is ahead of schedule.

By Adam Newman

Lynskey is one of the largest titanium framebuilding companies in the U.S., if not THE largest. The Lynskey family put titanium on the map with Litespeed Cycles back in 1986 and after that brand was eventually sold, a new company was born in 2006 as Lynskey Performance. They build frames under their own name as well as for several other brands.

If you’ve missed the craze lately about ft bikes, then it’s time to crawl out from under your rock. While the term fatbike has been around since the sport of mountain biking was developed in the 70’s, the more recent reference to the all‐terrain fat bike refers to a unique animal all on its own.

Taking it to the next level, Rolf Prima is releasing the first ever aero, carbon fatbike wheel.

Mike Ferrentino of Santa Cruz Bicycles walks us through the new Tallboy LT carbon from Dirt Rag Magazine on Vimeo.

By Josh Patterson

By Josh Patterson

To be fair, this isn’t really a “first impressions” blog. More like a second and third impressions blog really, since I first rode the Jet 9 RDO at a press camp last summer. Click here to read my actual first impressions, and here for our first take when we built our test bike up.

By Justin Steiner

We set up our photo studio in the back room of the Sacramento Convention Center during the 2012 North American Handmade Bicycle Show and sat down with the builders to get the behind-the-scenes story of their creations.

This is the first in a series of videos we’ll be rolling out in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

See more coverage from NAHBS 2012.

By Josh Patterson, photo by Robert Ligon

By Justin Steiner

SRAM has long touted the breadth and diversity of their XO group, given it’s ability to span the performance spectrum from XC race to DH race. For 2013, Avid will further broaden their offerings with two unique models of the XO brake to better meet the needs of riders across these diverse disciplines. The XO Trail brake will cater to those on the trail/all mountain/gravity end of the spectrum, while the lighter XO brake shaves grams for the weight-saving crowd.

By Justin Steiner

With riders constantly pushing the limits of bike and body, manufacturers are seeking ways to stabilize our drivetrains to minimize dropped chains without resorting to chain retention systems. Last year, Shimano introduced the XTR Shadow plus rear derailleur, creating the stabilized rear derailleur market as we know it. Now, SRAM has introduced their stabilized rear derailleur, called the Type 2.

Magura has completely revised its suspension fork range for 2012, now featuring a new design and new internals. The new forks are called Magura TS (Team Suspension). Whether it’s a 26-inch, 29-inch or 650b for the latest trend – this season Magura offers a matching model for every wheel diameter and a wide range of applications.

By Shannon Mominee, photos by Adam Newman

Adjustable seatposts have almost become a requirement for today’s riders, with more and more options coming along each season. This spring, Crank Bros. ups the game with the Kronolog, featuring a unique fixed cable attachment point.

By Josh Patterson

Bicycle Fabrications

Hank Matheson of the Bicycle Fabrications is not afraid to push the limits of bicycle design. This year, Matheson had two very interesting prototype downhill bikes on display.

We got a ton of new info from Shimano today, including the details of the redesigned SLX group, additions to the XT and XTR groups and some all-new wheels.

Built to perform like XT and XTR, SLX now includes many of the same Trail options including award-winning Shadow Plus RD technology, and three new Rider Tuned 2×10 crank set options are available on the new style SLX crank. Look for it to be available in July.

The Uzzi has been Intense‘s trail-destroying all-mountain bike for more than 10 years, and now they’ve redesigned it from the ground up.

Highlights include a 65-66 degree head angle, depending on the travel selected (6.5-7 inches), new geometry, new tubing, an adjustable dropout system (including 142×12), dropper seatpost cable routing, and a direct-mount front deraileur.

By Eric McKeegan

An unseasonably warm weekend welcomed bike dealers (and a few media folks) from around the country to Minnesota for Frostbike, Quality Bicycle Products’ annual dealer expo. More than 150 companies were on hand to show off the goods and services you might see this spring in your favorite local bike shop.

By Josh Patterson

Santa Cruz invited Dirt Rag along with a gaggle of other journos out to Sedona, Arizona, to unveil four new models. We didn’t stumble across any vortexes, but we did have a great time testing four new bikes.

Superlight goes big

Photo by Dan Barham

By Adam Newman; photos by Adam Newman and Mathias Marley

By Jordan Villella:

So I know cross season is now over nearly everywhere, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ride a kick ass cross bike around. The Van Dessel Gin and Trombones has entered Frick Park, and it’s eating it for breakfast.

By Adam Newman

The Hei Hei has been one of the most popular models in the Kona lineup since the first version—a titanium hardtail—began production in 1990. The current iteration is a full-bore, dual-suspension race 29er with 100mm of travel front and rear.

By Adam Newman

Riding with the Kona gang near Tucson, Arizona, today, I got my first look at the Kona Raijin, the American-made titanium 29er we first heard about back in January.

In development for two years in conjunction with the Santa Cruz Syndicate team, ENVE‘s full-carbon downhill rims and wheelsets are now ready to ship to customers.

The Santa Cruz team has proven their worth, with more than 50 podium finishes on the new rims, ENVE says. Despite what you might think about carbon, ENVE claims the key advantage is not the weight, it’s their durability, citing Steve Peat’s entire 2011 campaign aboard the same wheelset.

Niner’s expanding line of RDO (Race Day Optimized) products got a big new addition with the unveiling of the Air9 Carbon RDO, an even lighter and more refined version of the Air9 Carbon.

We’re going to diverge from your regularly scheduled mountain bike content for a moment because I think this is pretty exciting: SRAM’s next generation Red road groupset will include hydraulic road disc and rim brakes, the company confirmed today. 

Word on the street – or rather the interwebz – is that both Fox and Rockshox are readying new forks designed sepecifically for 650b wheels and the number of tire options is quickly growing.

Bicycling Magazine is reporting that the 2013 RockShox fork (which they could not confirm or deny) would be built in the 130-150mm range, while the Fox would be 140-160mm.

By Josh Patterson

Niner Bikes, the company that prides itself on its singular focus on producing mountain bikes with 29-inch wheels, unveiled their first all-carbon full suspension last summer at a press camp in Deer Valley, Utah. I was one of a lucky few to spend several days riding the Jet 9 RDO.

Intense has been getting rave reviews for its Carbine trail bike, and now they’ve gone and lightened it up to create an all-new teammate.

We’ve got some exclusive pics and details of the Salsa full-suspension fatbike prototypes to share.

Few brands have embraced the fat bike as much as Salsa and its QBP siblings, Surly and 45NRTH. Today Salsa posted on its blog that they’ve built some prototype full-suspension fatbikes.

Obviously the frame and swingarm must be specially designed, but sourcing a fat-compatible fork will likely involve some custom work as well.

Posted over at the Kona Cog are the details of an all new model for spring 2012. Seems Kona is partnering with Lynksey to offer an American-made titanium 29er – the Raijin.

Designed around all the modern touches like a Press Fit 30 bottom bracket shell, 44m headtube for tapered steerers, sliding dropouts for geared or singlespeed use, a 27.2mm seatpost for flexness, and five sizes to choose from, all built around a 100mm fork.

Vittoria Cycling Shoes’ US Sales Manager Michael Musil shows the staff the 2012 shoe lineup.

By Adam Newman

By Adam Newman

Sidi might be a household name in the cycling business, but as a share of the shoe market, they are a surprisingly small player. With most cycling shoes selling in the $99-$150 range, Sidi refuses to compromise quality and fit and thus commands a higher price premium.

Already the most popular action sports camera on the market, GoPro has upped the ante with a complete redesign of its popular HERO video camera.

Countless hours spent surfting the web once again pay off, in this case by spotting a beautiful unveiling of a prototype of Lenz Sport‘s new Mammoth 29er platform.

Born and bred in Anchorage, Alaska, FatBack knows a thing or two about snow bikes. In a continued effort to bring as much of its manufacturing to the USA as possible, aluminum frames now join their steel and titanium counterparts in domestic production.

Details include an oversized heatube, direct mount front derailleur, new dropouts, and clearance for Surly’s new 4.5-inch Big Fat Larry tires.

They’ve built a few prototypes and show bikes in the past, but this fall the Moots snow bike will enjoy a full – albeit small – production run.

The FrosTi (one of the best names ever – Ed.) is built around the quickly standardizing collection of fat bike parts out there, including a 44mm head tube, 100mm bottom bracket, and 170mm rear spacing. The $3,975 frame is designed around the 135mm Salsa Enabler fork.

SRAM pulled the wraps off four new wheels this week: The Rise 60 with carbon rims and the Rise 40 with aluminum rims. Each version is available in 26-inch or 29-inch versions.

As mountain bike component standards inevitably evolve, it comes as no surprise that builders would begin incorporating new technologies into their products. Mike Ahrens of Ahrens Cycles blogged this week about developing a hooded fork dropout for 15mm QR.

By Karl Rosengarth

As one of my local mountain bike heroes once said: "It’s all about tires and tire pressure." While that may be an over-simplification of a complicated sport, there’s no doubt that mountain bike magic happens at your tire’s contact patch.

This year at Interbike I roamed the floor, looking for the latest and greatest MTB and CX tire offerings. I found a rack-full of interesting choices. Below are ten tires that tickled my fancy.

By Karl Rosengarth

Photos by Adam Newman and Justin Steiner

Read Part 1 of our report on Specialized and 29ers.

Words by Josh Patterson

Photos by Emmanuel Molle and Josh Patterson

Words by Josh Patterson

Photos by Emmanuel Molle and Josh Patterson

By Maurice Tierney

My first impression? This Periwinke blue is really striking. Powdercoat, yep. Environ-Mentally better than spray paint, too. I have gotten a number of positive comments from passersbys.

Thomson is not known for being an innovative component manufacturer. They stick with what they know and make bomber products. Much like the Model T, you can get Thomson’s stems and seatposts in any color, so long as that color is black…or silver. But now, times are changing.

Rim and wheelset manufacturer NoTubes was showing off three new rims at this year’s show.

Carbine

By Justin Steiner

Intense has long been known and respected for their domestically produced bikes. When Intense decided to build a carbon bike, they invested time and resources pursuing domestic carbon manufacturing, but found they simply found that route to be cost prohibitive. All Intense carbon bikes will be produced overseas, while dropouts, suspension links and other detail parts will be made stateside.

By Josh Patterson

AWS-7

This Y wrench has a 4, 5 and, instead of a 6mm hex, it has T25 Torx head for this increasingly common fastener. The handles of all of Park Y wrenches have been enlarged for better ergonomics.

TL-6

By Justin Steiner

We covered New Zealand company Freeload’s first rack, the Sport Rack, back in Issue #150 where Karen simply lashed dry bags to the top of the rack. Since then, Freeload has launched their Tour Rack and Side Frames to greatly increase pannier compatibility.

By Justin Steiner

For 2011, American Classic announced two new wheelsets; an ultra-light tubeless race set and a mid-priced tubeless set.

Mavic has added helmets to its growing line of cycling apparel. The three new lids are based around a common design with different construction details and price points.

By Karen Brooks

A small but pesky obstacle for women getting serious about mountain biking: it’s tough, if not darn near impossible, to make a full-suspension frame with complex linkages in smaller sizes. Granted, you don’t necessarily need complex linkages to enjoy dirt, but sometimes it really helps.

By Jeff Lockwood

Horsethief

First up is the all-new Horsethief, a 29er trail bike, build around 120mm of travel front and rear. Don’t think of it as a replacement for the Big Mama, either. It takes many of its styling and engineering cues from the Spearfish.

Details include a 6061 alloy frame, PF30 bottom bracket, ICSG tabs, 142x12mm rear axle, cable guides for dropper seatposts, and sealed bearing pivots.

By Jeff Lockwood

The annual bicycle trade show circus season opened this week in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Eurobike can boast being the largest show of its kind. As such, the show floor scenery is diverse, interesting and colorful. And since Eurobike precedes the Interbike trade show in Las Vegas by a couple weeks, many companies use Eurobike to unveil new product.

RockShox combined two of its most advanced technologies, a carbon fiber air can and the XLoc hydraulic remote lockout, to create one of the most advanced rear shocks for cross country racing and trail riding.

Ibis pulled the wraps off their new 120mm 29er, the Ripley, today. The highlight of the fullly carbon fiber frame is the new, miniturized dw-link with eccentric links.

Surly finally pulled the wraps of the super-fat Moonlander bike they’ve been teasing us with, plus a bunch of other new stuff and updates to their classics.

Moonlander

Niner Bikes announced considerable changes to two of its most popular bikes today, the aluminum Air 9 and E.M.D. 9. Both new frames benefit from new tubing shapes, feature tapered headtubes and new finishes.

Air 9

The Air 9 drops the scandium alloy in favor of newer 6000-series aluminum, allowing for more advanced hydroforming tube shapes. The new frames have tested stiffer than the outgoing, round-tubed models, Niner says.

Words and photos by Eric McKeegan

Commencal Meta Am

Hot on the heels of last year’s redesigned Supreme DH, the Megavalanche-winning Meta 6 gets a makeover too. The result is the Meta AM. Taking lessons learned from the Supreme’s new linkage, the Meta gets longer, lower and slacker. The pivots have been moved to work in harmony with double cranksets.

By Eric McKeegan

Pivot has taken the carbon fiber expertise of their sister road brand BH Bikes and applied it to their popular Mach 5.7 trail bike to create an all-new, full-carbon steed. The hollow box internal molding method allows them to fine tune not just the external but the internal shaping to make the frame both lighter and stronger. The frame weighs in at a claimed 5lbs.

By Eric McKeegan

We first brought you some details a few weeks ago, but between runs in the bike park and XC loops at Lost Lake at Crankworx, I had time to see the 2012 bikes from Rocky Mountian in person, namely their 2012 Element line up in both 26" and 29".

As full suspension bikes get more and more complex, getting the proper suspension setup can be tricky. Now Trek is trying to take away some of the strain with an online suspension setup calculator. Just pick the year and model of your bike (Fisher Collection is represented too), type in how much you weigh and it tells you the ideal pressure and rebound settings.

Intense Carbine

By Maurice Tierney

Felt Bicycles held their 2012 model year press outing in their parking lot in Irvine, CA the other day. I flew down to see what was up. Good to meet the principle people behind the brand, and get a handle on what the company is all about. One thing is for sure, the Felt line is growing. There really is something for everyone, a broad range of bikes at a broad range of pricing. Let’s get started.

By Eric McKeegan

After finishing up at the Norco press camp I stuck around Whistler until the end of Crankworx. I made sure to make a few phone calls beforehand to connect with industry connections that might be showing new product at the show. One of the first to respond was Kona.

By Eric McKeegan

With much anticipation I packed my bags for my flights to Whistler, site of Norco’s 2012 press launch. Riding brand new models on some of the best trails on earth? No need to twist my arm. A full XC and DH kit made for a very full suitcase, but I made it on just under the 50 pound limit.