Tested

Review by Johan Hjord // Photos by Johan Hjord and Tal Rozow Rims have been getting wider and wider over the past few years, with manufacturers citing features like lower tire pressures, wider contact patches, and higher air volume as the main reasons behind the trend. Additionally, the plus-size tire “movement” has once again opened people’s minds to experimenting with fatter tires, and as a result, there’s a fresh batch of weird and wonderful new tire widths to choose from. Hope took their time before jumping in with an extra-wide rim offering of their own, but with the 35W they have now...

Review by Brandon Turman // Action photos by Courtney Steen "Wait, is that an Öhlins fork?!" The sight of some "Swedish gold" bolted to the front of our test bike often makes savvy riders do a double take when we're out on the trail, and for good reason - Öhlins has an excellent reputation thanks in part to dozens of World Championship titles in the motorsports world since the company was founded in 1979. With performance suspension components made to fit just about any two or four-wheeled racing vehicle, it was high time for the brand to make an entrance into the mountain bike world just a...

We had a shaky start with the original SR Suntour RUX R2C downhill fork we tested back in 2014. After some refinements provided by the brand, however, the result was an outstanding review. SR Suntour is back at it in 2017 with their new 27.5” RUX R2C2. With a redesigned air spring, a new cartridge featuring both externally adjustable high- and low-speed compression and rebound, as well a few new other revisions, SR Suntour is aiming to take on the top dogs in the suspension world in a modestly priced, high performing package. We’ve been rocking the new RUX for the past few months to see if...

Review by Nick Zuzelski // Photos by Carl Gray These days, setting up tubeless tires usually goes fairly easily. For times when you need an air compressor to pop that difficult tire on the bead and you are away from the shop, you can find yourself out of luck and fighting an uphill battle with only a floor pump. Specialized recently released the Air Tool Blast Tubeless Tire Setter – a product that is designed to take the air compressor out of the equation and give people one more trick up their sleeves while keeping things simple. Air Tool Blast Highlights Removes the necessity for an air...

Review by Joel Harwood // Photos by Peter Wojnar When Trek debuted the Slash in 2012, their Active Braking Pivot and Full Floater suspension technologies were considered by many to be ahead of the time. The Slash received a number of refinements over the years, but never created significant waves in the all-mountain category. Fast forward to today and the Slash has grown 29-inch wheels, shifted a few degrees here and there, abandoned the Full Floater, and is now being hailed by many to be the benchmark of what a modern enduro bike should be. We’ve been aboard the Slash 29 since late summer...

With the less-than-stellar Joplin and Kronolog, Crankbrothers had pretty much taken themselves out of the dropper post game, so they knew they had to go back to the drawing board and get their next attempt right. The Highline is a completely new product and a full departure from the design of the previous posts, which is a good first step in the right direction. When it was first released in 2016, only a 125mm version was available, but a 160mm version joined the line-up more recently which means we can now compare it with the droppers tested previously for our big shootout feature. After many...

Review by Jo Pauly // Photos by Jean-Marie Plaçais When you picture the North Shore, you probably think of a thick, humid forest with a crazy trail weaving through it. Suddenly Thomas Vanderham rides into sight and shreds the living hell out of the trail. Well, Thomas Vanderham is part of the Ryders' team and was involved in the making of the new Tallcan goggle. With a double lens, which is hydrophobic and scratch-resist-coated, and clever venting placement on the frames, these goggles have been designed to keep your vision clear in even the most humid of conditions; just like on The Shore...

Review by Steve Wentz // Action photos by Jeff Cricco It was only a few short years ago that Spank was one of the 'little guys' amongst some of the heaviest hitters in the component world. They had some colorful bars, pedals, and rims to upgrade your ride. Over time they have added tremendous versatility to their line of products, not just with additional components, but most importantly with specific product lines for all-mountain, downhill and so forth. Spank's Spike Race 33 wheelset slots into their lineup as an affordable gravity wheelset at just $499.99. Just as with their other products...

Review by Matt Swenson // Photos by Chris Wellhausen (Action) and Matt Swenson (Product) OneUp Components produces a wide range of drivetrain products and this Bash Guide, they claim, will “eliminate dropped chains forever and more than double your chainring life.” The simplistic, light and durable chainguide isn’t just for enduro racers like Richie Rude and Jared Graves, we used it for trail riding, bike park ripping and even some DH racing. After two months of testing on two different bikes, we’re ready to share our thoughts on this guide. OneUp Bash Guide Features Weight: 87g 28-30T, 102g...

Review by Courtney Steen // Photos by Brandon Turman When first introduced to the Sombrio Vista jersey and shorts, I swooned and hoped to have the opportunity to check them out further. I love the colors, and I can’t lie about also loving that they glow in the dark. That is some good ol’ fashion fun! Sombrio didn’t solely focus on just the good looks of this jersey and shorts, though. They also loaded them with technical features meant to keep every ride comfortable. I've been riding in the kit for three months, and it's time to let you know if the looks match up with their performance on...

Review by Courtney Steen // Photos by Brandon Turman When first introduced to the Sombrio Vista jersey and shorts, I swooned and hoped to have the opportunity to check them out further. I love the colors, and I can’t lie about also loving that they glow in the dark. That is some good ol’ fashion fun! Sombrio didn’t solely focus on just the good looks of this jersey and shorts, though. They also loaded them with technical features meant to keep every ride comfortable. I've been riding in the kit for three months, and it's time to let you know if the looks match up with their performance on...

Review by Jeff Brines // Action photos by Matthew Doreghty We’ve spent the better part of two months testing Yeti’s latest big-wheeled all-mountain brawler, the SB5.5c, and for the right rider it could be one of the best performing frames. Should you add the bike to your stable? How could it be improved? Read on to find out. The SB5.5c was unveiled earlier this Spring in Moab, during which we received the bike quiet favorably. However, Moab is an outlier of "normal riding conditions," which is why we reserved our full opinion of the new steed until we had ample time to test the rig in a number...

Reviewed by Steve Wentz and Brandon Turman // Photos by Shawn Spomer // Action modeling by Scott Hart It wasn't long ago that YT unleashed the Capra CF, a carbon bike that helped push the limits of what a ~160mm travel bike could be and do. The hydroformed aluminum model followed not long after, and even it sees the use of a one-piece carbon seat stay to keep things stiff. New for 2016, the AL Comp 1 model comes ready to rally the roughest descents with an additional 10mm of travel up front on the burly 170mm RockShox Lyrik RCT3. Pair that with some stout wheels, 150mm travel dropper post...

Review by Brandon Turman // Photos by Courtney Steen and Brandon Turman Maybe it was our hangover from the launch party the night before, but we were overwhelmed the first time we laid eyes on our Santa Cruz Bronson test bike equipped with Shimano's electronic XTR Di2 drivetrain. "What the hell are all these tiny little wires all over the bike? Why are the shift levers backwards? And for god's sake, STOP BEEPING." Yeah, it probably was the hangover. Like many, we couldn't stand the thought of electronics on a bike. Part of why we go mountain biking is to get away from all of that. Yet here we...

Review and photos by Fred Robinson and Brandon Turman e*thirteen- the name is synonymous with chain guides, guide rings, drivetrain innovation and more recently wheels. But tires? We not going to say it’s rare to see a component brand take on tires, but we will say we were a bit surprised when they showed us some early prototypes, complete with hand-cut modifications, at the EWS in Finale Ligure last year. As you might have gathered from our recent article showing the ins-and-outs of e*thirteen as a brand, it’s clear they are in the business of creating products that don’t necessarily complete...

by Jeff Brines Some fifteen years ago Moab served host to the start of the downhill season for those in the greater Rocky Mountain region. Racers far and wide would descend on the desert, sporting new race bikes only to pilot them with more heart than skill, crushing them into concert-like ledges, hucks to flat, and slippery corners. I’ll never forget leaving Moab year after year with wheels that resembled octagons, a handlebar that had lost its symmetry, and a creak or two that no amount of grease would ever take care of. In those days, Moab could change a bike for good. Fast forward to early...

Review by Evan Turpen // Action Photos by Joel Harwood, Product Photos by AJ Barlas and Evan Turpen Over the last 20 years there have been incredible changes in mountain bike technology, but drivetrain technology still seems to change at a snail’s pace. We’ve only added three additional cogs to our cassettes in that 20 year span. Gearboxes are the potential holy grail of durability, gear range, and weight placement, but they may never be ready for the mainstream yet. Narrow-wide chainrings, clutch-equipped derailleurs, and add-on cassette expanders are recent steps towards greater performance...

SRAM entered the wheelset market a few years ago with its ROAM and RAIL families, a light-weight and high performance series of factory built wheels. Today, it adds the all-new, updated ROAM 60 wheelset to the line-up, and at least on paper, it looks like it will tick off a lot of boxes on many a rider's wish list. Weighing in at a svelte 1625 grams, the new ROAM wheel sports a 30-mm internal width (up from the 21-mm of the previous generation of this wheelset), carbon rim with a hookless bead. Laced to a 52-POE hub via 24 bladed, double-butted steel spokes, the ROAM 60 wheelset supports...

Reviewed by Brandon Turman // Action photos by Courtney Steen Just a few years ago Young Talent Industries was a relatively unknown German brand, and today they are setting up to rival some of the industry's greats. How can that be? Where did the fire come from? Excellent reviews of their Capra enduro bike certainly helped, as did their consumer direct sales model and aggressive pricing. There's also the athlete factor, and with names like Cam Zink, Andreu Lacondeguy, and Kelly McGarry truly pushing the limits year after year, it was only a matter of time before bikes started flying out the...

Reviewed by Brandon Turman // Action photos by Courtney Steen Every year at the UCI Downhill World Championships, the Pros are treated to one-off bikes, custom colors, special tunes, and the best of the best in an effort to propel them to the top of the box and the top of the world. Back in 2013, Devinci's Stevie Smith rolled out of the pits on a prototype 165mm travel rig paired with a unique 175mm travel RockShox BoXXer. The purpose built Pietermaritzburg killer was designed to excel on the course's blend of a steep and hairy upper section, big blasty jumps, and a good deal of mashing on the...

After creating cartridges claimed to improve other brands' forks, Öhlins is ready to shake things up again with the introduction of their very own mountain bike fork. The new RXF 34 is geared towards trail, all-mountain, and enduro race use. It features a twin-tube design and an interesting triple-chamber air spring configuration that should allow for additional fine tuning for the tinkerers among us. Looking at the controls, the hi- and lo-speed adjusters remind us of the TTX shocks, with 5 clicks on the hi speed adjuster that also acts as a lockout, and a number of clicks for fine tuning the...

When SR Suntour sat down to redesign their Durolux fork, they set out to meet the same high level of performance as their big competitors while also ensuring consistency in the production process. Lofty goals no doubt, considering the competition is pretty dang dialed these days, but the brand has much more experience than many of us may think, including what it takes to make high-end products. Like all of their forks, the new Durolux was built with the "Quick Service Product" philosophy in mind, which boils down to "less wrenching and more riding." Now add in fully adjustable high and low...

by Brandon Turman Every year it seems like we hear same thing from suspension manufacturers: "Our new (insert product here) weighs less, is more sensitive, has refined damping, and provides more control." Sounds great, doesn't it? To be honest, we take it with a grain of salt, just as you likely do. There's only so much Kool-Aid a guy can drink, but occasionally a company truly does hit a home run. We had the opportunity to get some trail time on FOX's all-new 2016 Factory Series Float DPS shock to see if the claims are true. 2016 Factory Float DPS Shock Highlights New Extra Volume (EVOL) air...

Review by Johan Hjord // Photos by Tal Rozow and Johan Hjord Looking through the history books of mountain bike technology, Hope Technology features prominently and with good reason. They made their first commercially available mountain bike disc brake in 1992, and by the mid-nineties they were seeing massive success with their C2 hydros. Even more ubiquitous than their brakes, the company is also known for its hubs, a staple of many a wheelbuilder’s arsenal, not to mention a multitude of CNCed goodies ranging from seat collar clamps to headsets. “Proudly made in Barnoldswick, UK” reflects...

Review by Brandon Turman // Action photos by Courtney Steen BOS is a company whose suspension products have an almost Ferrari-like reputation - high-end, foreign, and ahead of the curve in many ways (and expensive). With a good history in the gravity racing scene and a no nonsense, performance first approach to marketing and design, the French brand is now looking to bring their experience and know how to the cross country scene. The new Dizzy fork was designed to "combine the plushest, most controlled travel available with superior pedaling prowess for the ultimate XC race fork." We've spent...

by Brandon Turman As we've written before, Birzman tools combine good looks, clean design, and clever innovation that make working on your bike a more pleasurable experience. The statement certainly applies to their high-end hand tools, but what of their new Maha Apogee floor pumps? Could the already relatively simple task of pumping up a tire be made even easier? Let's take a look at Birzman's answer to that question. Maha Apogee MTB Pump Highlights MTB specific high volume track pump design Pump tilts towards the user providing unparalleled ergonomic comfort Stable aluminum alloy base with...

Review by Brandon Turman // Photos by Brandon Turman and Dave Trumpore We caught a glimpse of DVO Suspension’s Diamond fork nearly two years ago in prototype form. Since that time the company has been tweaking and tuning their first single crown fork, and they’ve been very open about the entire development process. For those biding their time, the wait is over and the fork is now available. Like the Emerald DH fork that came before it, the Diamond makes use of DVO’s Off The Top (OTT) external negative spring adjustment and has an easily removable and tunable compression loader. The Diamond...