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Zerode Katipo: Belt driven 12s Pinion Gearbox with 600% range and mechanical grip shifter, coil shock'd. Dead silent and compliant suspension while still having playful pop when needed. Drivetrain maintenance has literally been just washing the belt off. Never misshifts or acts unpredicably, never have to charge a battery, never have to check the rear shock pressure, never have to lube the chain, just air up the tires and go. Technically gas poor gearbox pedal pawl engagement angle but that just decouples the rear suspension from the pedals and makes it descend even better. I have to warn people following...

1. Raaw Madonna V3 — A bike about which I think, every time I get on it, "This bike is perfect." 2. Sram Maven Ultimates — I don't mind the progressive lever feel and the bases aren't silver. 3. Randolph, VT — shh. 4. Building wheels — Found my groove this year. At about an hour from pile of parts to finished wheel and haven't had to true one yet. 5. Cable-actuated drivetrains — Call me a retro grouch, but pushing a button does nothing for the soul compared to actuating a lever.

The Rotwild bike with Avinox has a swappable side load battery. It's their own design and not the battery from Avinox. 864wh battery in the latest Gen 4 version of their battery.

1. Santa Ana Mountains and long days in the oc backcountry 2. Highroller 3 3. Maven Base 4. Riding bikes with my wife and watching her get fully immersed in the sport and getting out in nature turning cranks over. 5. My riding crew and those that are within a degree of separation of it 6. The Path Bike Shop 7. Ochains on all of the things (not quite all, but most of the things) 8. All Mountain bikes (my choice in particular was the hightower 4...) are so good right now 9. Vital forums 10. Mountain biking trips

1) bike demos. Honestly shout out to every brand going out of their way to do proper demo days IN DIRT. ya its cool to check sizing in a warehouse parking lot. but putting the resources into a proper demo day at a bike park or through a shop with a nearby trail system is worth its weight in gold. And it's the ONLY way I learned more about mountain bikes as somebody who can barely afford this hobby 2) mullet set up. Finally bought one this year. After trying a 29er, which was ok, and having a touch of...

2025 was an all time year. Some stand-outs: 1. RAAW Madonna - what a bike. Fast, composed, jumps fantastic and reliable. 2. Vorsprung Telum - expensive, but so good. I'm 260lbs and have been hitting bigger drops and jumps than ever and it's stayed calm and composed without asking questions. Having a custom tune from the start helps, but having the support from Vorsprung with any questions is also stellar. 3. Profile Elite Hubs - this was my second season on them. They might be some of the loudest hubs out there (which is why I got them). They're expensive...

This is a great idea! I figure I'd give it a go. 1.) TransBC 6 Day enduro. What an amazing event and personal accomplishment for me. This is a race I've wanted to do ever since I watched it roll through Revelstoke in 2017, and getting the chance to be a part of it was a truly special experience. I could go on and on about just how cool it is to get to spend 6 days with no other responsibilities besides trying to ride your bike blind as fast as you can across some of the rowdiest trails. I...

In no particular order. Loved: Trails builders and the people that maintain the trails in the areas where we ride bikes. These legends will never get enough credit. Loved: Bikes are sooooo damn good at the moment. Whether Im riding my smuggler trail bike or riding my heavy alloy patrol enduro/park bike, the smiles these things give you and the confidence to try new things and ride harder knowing its always going to be ok. Loved: Supporting the Local Bike shops. Things arent great for these stores but still going out of their way to help out however they can...

1 - the new maxxis high roller 2 - the new maxxis forecaster 3 - short travel bikes, picked up a Norco fluid, sure its heavy for its class but its a hell of a lot of fun, simple, reliable and constantly exceeding my expectations 4 - rockshox vivid coil 5 - good customer service - I’ve had interactions with two key brands this year that when I’ve asked them a question that was something they could have easily shut down they chose not to and gave me a “choose your own adventure” type of response, I appreciated the vagueness...

Idk how heavy duty they are but I settled with the ixs flow 2.0 I compared them to 7idp transition, ion arcon lt and evoc sock type ones and found that the sock type things are too uncomfortable and too hard to put on and off. Also I don't get the honeycomb design of some protectors like the ion arcon as when I tested a fall at home the pattern kinda imprinted itself on my knee and it hurt. I dunno how this would feel in a real crash. They might be better ventilated but I prefer a protector with...

Great post OP, a few years ago I came down hard on a knee and the POC pad I had did not do nearly enough to prevent an injury. Rapha for me has worked the best out of Leatt airflex, POC vpd, TLD raid, and some 7idp and evoc pairs I bought for my son. We also pedal so comfort is a key factor along with protection. All our level 1 pads were not cutting it so we tried the TLD and learned that the shape of 3DO inserts doesn’t work for me and they are too bulky to pedal...

Things I loved this year: I'm not a gearhead, so my biking loves are pretty much about experiences: 1) YT and the YT Mill Bentonville crew: it was great until it wasn't. We had a lot of fun hanging out there, and it really felt like something special was happening all the time around the place. It wsa a pretty big bummer once rumors started flying of things going south. 2) The Monster Pro Downhill Series: being from Arkansas, I never thought we'd be traipsing coast to coast for DH races, but here we are... it was a great time...

Bronson V5, Cascade Components links for the Bronson, Intend Essential, Outlier Pendulums, Push SV8, Hope T4V4s, Onyx Vespers and STFU. Bonus: my beloved DW-link Turner DHR, now with mini-mullet wheels. Still the best looking frame on any mountain.