What's In, What's Out - Mountain Biking in 2026 - Mountain Bike Feature

Are you happy? Are you satisfied? How long can you stand the heat? Out of the doorway, the bullets rip to the sound of the beat. Look out another one bites the dust. Those beloved words come from the bassist of Queen, John Deacon, sung by Freddie Mercury (not Loris Vergier), and are an embarrassingly banal segue into Vital's annual article about in-and-outbound trends in mountain biking. With the passing of a another year, we've forgotten more than we remember, but as someone somewhere must have said at least once, "history is for suckers," and at Vital, we're only forward-thinkers, embracing nothing but the future. So with out further adieu, here are a selection of foolproof, investment-worthy prognostications for the humble, little activity of all-terrain bicycle riding in the year 2026.

What's In

E-bikes. Tell your analog bike you love it, its time is limited.
Alloy rims with lifetime warranties. They were kinda already in, but you can’t release a new alloy wheelset without promising some kind of replacement guarantee.
32-inch wheels. The dumbest square on the bingo card of "MTB evolutions" this decade. If don't like it, vote with your wallet or inseam.
Talking about all things bikes and racing in our forums. The Vital community is both fun and well-informed, and we’re stoked to see you all hanging with us!
Customizing your perfect ride(s). If your seat tube is half a degree off in 2025, that’s on you!
Doing more with less – A 2025 budget bike probably outperforms a 2018 factory rig in many aspects.
Good, powerful brakes. There's no excuse to suffer from a weak brake setup anymore.
Goldstone vs. Bruni vs. Pierron. And anyone who will rise up to play spoiler.
High-level regional racing. World Cup's tightening up could bless the local events.
Crew edits and jams. 50:01 never stopped putting out the vibes, and others have followed. In The Hills Gang has been carrying the torch with authority.
More Hardline stops.
Whistler World Cup. The stars have finally aligned.
Awesome riding apparel and protection. Seriously, how good are all these modern fabrics we get to ride in these days?
Niche solutions that make a difference. e*thirteen threw a rock in the anti-kickback pond with their Sidekick, Aenomaly keeps improving their SwitchGrade saddle angle adjuster, and aftermarket suspension bolt-on stuff is getting better and better.
Going light. If you ride an e-bike, save those precious grams by leaving pesky carry-ons like water at home.
Illegal trail building. Everyone knows the best trails are built in secret and require only hand tools. If you're up-in-arms about this, don't worry, it's not even actually a thing, we promise.
More integration of electronics on e-bikes. Orbea pushed the envelope this year with their own remote, dropper post and dropper lever that run off the main battery. It’ll be cool to see more follow suit.
Owning a downhill bike again. The earth is healing; we are all healing.
Modular trail/all-mountain bikes. More and more brands will offer bikes with numerous travel options, wheel configurations, and geo tweaks.
Full(er)-length videos. Take us behind the scenes. Show us the personalities. We have the time.
Juniors making a splash in Elites: Eliana Hulsebosch, Max Alran, Asa Vermette, Till Alran, Tyler Waite.
Erice Van Leuven’s return.
Printed materials about mountain biking.
Luca Shaw finally winning a World Cup.
Dakotah Norton finally winning a World Cup.
Run-what-ya-brung mentality. You don’t always have to be on the latest and greatest
More talk about positive mental health. More and more people are speaking up about their struggles. It’s becoming less taboo.
Minimalist backpacks. Keep it light, and keep it tight.
Vests. They’re nearly the perfect article of clothing. Breathable, lightweight, and packable.
More #crablink (faux bar) bikes. Mark our words.
The little guys. Brands like Frameworks, Madrone, Jank Components etc. #Problemsolvers
Good trail builders. Well thought out trails that are build with proper drainage, use of terrain and sustainability (especially if they're secret).
Industry transparency. More stories to come about how things actually work.
Short-travel bikes. Now that the majority on brands have modernized their geometries, less is more.
Grassroots and community driven events and racing. Back to our roots!
Pedaling! Eebs are sweet no doubt, but nothing clears the head like a solid effort on the pedals.

What's Out

Analog bike sales. Sure, the ‘core’ will be powered by their own efforts for eternity, but factory production numbers don't lie.
"SL" e-bikes. It’s been a slow-death, and it will continue this year. The gap between weight and power is dwindling and soon enough we'll have all the power, all of the range and none of the weight.
Overweight eebs. Over 50 pounds? No thanks.
32-inchers. Never mind what the “What’s In” section says.
Vaping. If you vape at the trail head, or in the lift line, please grow up and buy a pack of cigs like a real adult.
Bad geo. As per “What’s In”, having whack geo numbers is on you these days.
Weak brakes. Just say no.
Talking about chainstay length, seat angle or seat woo ad-nauseam in the new and improved 2026 Tech Rumors forum thread. Get a room.
Sketchy flat pedals. You can do better.
Unfortunately, World Cup enduro racing doesn’t seem to be on the way in…
Bike maintenance. It's been proven by computers that bikes work best when they remain sealed.
Privateers at World Cups. Bittersweet, but we think they will ultimately be better served in the regional series.
Believing anything you read or see online. Thanks, AI. (This artikle is 100% compleetly hooman-kreated bye the way).
Being an ambassador. “Budget? Never heard of it!” It’s tough out there right now to make a living on two wheels.
Someone actually winning the Gates belt-drive sweepstakes challenge.
YT’s reputation. We hope they can flip the script and right their wrongs. To start, might we suggest a simple, “Sorry for what happened in 2025.”
Over-the-top marketing on social platforms from brands and ambassadors. Everything feels like (actually is) an advertisement these days. Be unique and stop following TikTok trends.
Spomer locking Tech Rumors forum (thankfully we're going yearly).
Enduro bikes. For so many riders this is a truth. Just get a 150/160 travel bike, toss some DH tires on it, and hold on. It will be fine almost everywhere.
CMG (Check-me-Guy/-Girl) social media. We’re getting burnt out on the shameless self promotion or brand advert. Give us something real!
Half-assed trail building. Trails built to mimic steep scree lines. There’s nothing worse than having to skid down chutes and burn vert for glory at the bottom. Put some thought into it (and keep it secret)!
Batteries for everything. Is there a patent on bump-canceling grips yet? Like noise-canceling headphones but for your mitts?
Chain and drivetrain slap. It’s becoming an industry focus, finally!