Marzocchi Bomber DJ Fork
Overall Review
When Marzocchi reintroduced the Bomber DJ in 2020, we were pretty excited to get our hands on one. While dirt jumping never died, it is certainly on the rise. The rebirth of the Bomber DJ is a testament to the industry paying attention. Our Bomber DJ saw plenty of days at the local parks, boosting lips and flying around the skatepark. Is it a worthy upgrade for your trusty ride? Let's dig in. Marzocchi Bomber DJ Highlights 100mm travel Grip Damper 1.5-inch Tapered steerer 20x110 non-Boost 26
Marzocchi Bomber DJ Fork
7
Vital Rating:
BikeYoke Sagma Saddle
Overall Review
The saddle is obviously an important contact point, given how much time your butt will spend on it during any given ride. Saddle fit is an individual thing too, what with all the shapes and sizes of both peaches and their perches that exist. Now, if you know anything about BikeYoke, you’ll know that this small company is not in the game to just do what others have done before them, so it should come as no surprise that when they decided to enter the saddle game, they would do so with something a
BikeYoke Sagma Saddle
10
Vital Rating:
Stan's NoTubes Flow MK3 Wheelset
The Good
- Reasonable Price
- Fairly Strong
- Adequate Engagement
- Competitive Weight
- Comfortable yet Laterally Stiff
The Bad
- Rear Hub Reliability Issues
- Not Immune to Dents and Cracks
Overall Review
Aset of Stan's Flow MK3 wheels arrived as standard on my Niner JET9 RDO 3.5 years ago. Since then I've put over 2,500 mountain miles on them, riding everything from hardpack XC trails, to steep enduro runs, and even some of the tougher lines at Snowshoe and other bike parks. The Rim: The front wheel is still true and dent-free. As with most wheelsets, the issues I had were all with the rear wheel. In 2019, I put a sizeable dent in the rear rim, which cause a small crack, making the rim no
Stan's NoTubes Flow MK3 Wheelset
Member Rating:
Bluegrass Seamless Lite D3O Body Armor
Overall Review
Last year, we tested the Armour Lite back protector from Bluegrass with good results. Continuing to search for something even more comfortable and minimalistic, the company has just launched the new Seamless series of back protectors, so we thought we should give one of those a spin too. We reviewed it in the May 2021 episode of our Gear Show, you can jump ahead to 5:37 in the video below to see it in action, or keep reading if you prefer that format. Strengths Weaknesses Super comfortable Very
Bluegrass Seamless Lite D3O Body Armor
2
Vital Rating:
Ride Concepts Hellion Elite (2023) Flat Pedal Shoe
Comfy but no grip
The Good
Durable, comfortable
The Bad
So so grip
Overall Review
Iwanted to love these shoes but they just aren't great. I have 130 miles and 22 hours of riding on them including an enduro race and they just dont have good grip. I have been riding flats for years and these shoes are the only pair I have ridden where my feet fly off and move around on the pedals in rough chundery sections. They are comfortable and seem very durable but for me it comes down to grip and these just dont have it
Ride Concepts Hellion Elite (2023) Flat Pedal Shoe
1
Member Rating:
2020 Revel Ranger X01 Eagle Bike
Vital Review
Tested: Revel Ranger X01
Overall Review
Revel Bikes is a rider-owned and privately funded bike brand out of Carbondale, CO. They might be small but they are trying to make a positive impact on the bike industry as well as the environment. Their goal is to design the best bike from the ground up and make that bike as environmentally friendly as they can. Enter the Revel Ranger! This is Revel’s third offering. With 115/120mm of travel and an XC biased geometry, the Ranger made Vital want to spread its lycra wings and fly. Highlights
2020 Revel Ranger X01 Eagle Bike
2
11
Vital Rating:
2021 Trek Supercaliber 9.8 GX Bike
Overall Review
In 2019, Trek showed up to the World Cup with a mysterious XC bike that was under wraps for most of the racing season, with what was sure to be a unique suspension layout and some fancy tech hiding under the hood. Eventually, after every cycling forum overflowed with bad photoshopped images of the new bike, the real deal was unleashed unto the market. The frame designers had taken a different approach to making a fast race bike, and in parallel with a new Top Fuel being released with revised
2021 Trek Supercaliber 9.8 GX Bike
2
5
Vital Rating:
Privateer 141 Gen 1 (2021-2022) Frame
Vital Review
Vital's Custom Privateer 141 Tested
Overall Review
It seems like only yesterday we were wrapping up our custom build Privateer 141 project. As it turns out, that was February! Since then, the hills have thawed and as we've gotten a lot of projects off our plate, we've had time to enjoy a bike we've been so eager to ride - the Privateer 141. Privateer made waves when it launched the 161. An alloy frame with aggressive geometry and smart details had the enduro crowd going bananas. The 141 sought to bring all that real-world goodness to something
Privateer 141 Gen 1 (2021-2022) Frame
3
8
Vital Rating:
7iDP Project 23 ABS Full Face Helmet
Overall Review
Protection specialist 7iDP has had a few helmets in the line-up over the years, but the Project 23 is by far their most ambitious undertaking in this product category. All the development was done in-house over a period of several years, with the goal of producing a lightweight but downhill-certified helmet that offers good breathability. We tested the carbon version last year with good results, so when the more budget-friendly ABS version became available to us we took the opportunity to check
7iDP Project 23 ABS Full Face Helmet
4
Vital Rating:
Giro DND (2016) Gloves
The Good
The material on top is decent, durable, quite breathable.
The glove has very rubber strips for grip on the thumb and index finger.
The Bad
The quality of the seams were not great, this was quite common issue with most gloves on the market at the time of writing, and can vary from glove to glove & brand.
I've experienced similar quality issues with some of the Poc Resistance Strong gloves.
The thumb stitching failed after just few days of riding
The first thing I noticed when I put these gloves on was I could feel the seams, everywhere, it's not painful, but it's not comfortable, these gloves were too big for me, but these gloves were the only gloves I could fit, I think I tried small or medium in the local shop years ago, but I am not sure which size i tried, they did not fit me.
Overall Review
Since I used the wrist support it resulted in wear on the top of the glove. In Large These gloves don't fint me when worn directly on my skin, but the shop I bought them in only had Small and Large, so I went for Large, small did not fit me, but Large was too big, but now I use them in the winter. The seams & quality issues: The quality of the stitching was not great, this was quite common issue with most gloves on the market at the time of writing, and can vary from glove to glove & brand. I've
Giro DND (2016) Gloves
Member Rating: