Best MTB Gear of 2020 - Vital MTB Staff Picks 8

Much as 2020 was a weird one, it also produced some pretty rad bikes and gear. The level definitely keeps going up, but as good as the average is these days, there were still some things that really stood out - the cream of the crop! We thought this would be a good time to share our top picks with you, so the editorial staff put their heads together and we came up with our personal favorites - what we thought was the best MTB gear of 2020:

0:57 Deity Lockjaw, Supracush, and Deftrap
1:45 OneUp EDC Tool System
2:24 Shimano 12-Speed Groups
3:46 YT IZZO
4:46 Transition Spur
5:27 RockShox Reverb AXS
6:15 Specialized Turbo Levo SL
7:07 Race Face Turbine SL Wheelset
7:52 Trek Slash

Credit: Vital MTB
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8 comments

View replies to: Best MTB Gear of 2020 - Vital MTB Staff Picks

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chamaedorea.elegans
4 years ago
So much boring shit
No custom-geo, long travel hardtail mullet titanium gearbox bikes? (Nordest cycles btw)
No TRP 2.3mm rotor brakes? Ebike/DH inspired.
No DVO onyx love? There’s a coil for first 30% of travel..plus the ebike single crown version has 45% more bushing height than a fox 36..DVO is wayyyy ahead of the game.
No Ochain love? The spider attachments that dramatically reduces pedal kickback on your bike...? (Won world cups this year)
No RXR R-Pro air-inflated chest/spine guards? If you slam hard enough the guard will actually ‘blow off’ and act as a crumple zone...intelligent. Refined.
No mention of the Vorsprung smashpot coil insert *with* hydraulic bottom out for fox/RS forks? Or the Vorsprung secus air chamber+ attachment?
No love for cascade components and all the aftermarket kinematic improvements they’ve made for a litany of bike brands..?
No love for the dual crown fox 36 Morc36 (developed by Chris porter)..?

The new Canfield 29/mullet downhill bike how it has an almost perfect, unmoved center point during the entirety of its travel..??? They made a new 170mm 27.5 trail bike too!
The legend Chris Kovarik dropping his own signature pedal ft. the widest axle on the flat pedal market..or his wildly innovative STFU chain slap eliminator..!??

Rev grips just updated their rubber inserts. You can mix an match different rubber compound types (3) PLUS two different spacer thicknesses w/10+ combinations to dial in your grip tune🔥🔥🔥
Y’all are not keeping it real.
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BHowell
4 years ago
"Exciting" stuff doesn't always land in our office for product testing and some of it isn't that grand in real life. Many of the titillating products you called out have yet to be tested by Vital and therefore we can't speak to the validity of them when things get dirty. There's some really neat marketing in what you've listed but without trail time, Vital can't speak to it objectively.

We have a huge product guide for members to add their own product reviews, please share your own, first-hand experiences. We know our Vital community rides a ton, so we love to hear from you!

This video is a list of new products that we actually tested and some of it we bought with our own money, full retail. How's that for keeping it real?

Here is a link to the only item you've listed, that we've tested. Check out the review and you'll see why they didn't make the cut.
- Ochain Review

We are excited about the Cascade links and do have two of them in-house right now that are being tested, look for that review to drop this winter.
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TEAMROBOT
4 years ago
"'Exciting' stuff doesn't always land in our office for product testing." I wonder if, and I'm just spitballing here, you could maybe reach out to manufacturers of exciting new products and ask them for test products instead of just waiting to see who ships something to you. Now that we're brainstorming, even if manufacturers didn't want to send you a product for free, I guess you even buy it to test.

Crazy ideas, I know.
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El Spruce-ador
4 years ago
C'mon, that might provide valuable information and could be devoid of the "free stuff shipped to us-itus" that often inflates reviews.

It would also eliminate the possibility of the mfg sending "special" product that they have taken apart and given the factory treatment before sending so it doesn't shit the bed on day one like the true consumer experiences.

You crazy....
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iceman2058
4 years ago
Perhaps a misleading choice of words, "land in our office". We do often request test products, and we try to get around to testing as much relevant AND exciting stuff as we can. We don't just "wait around and see who ships us product".
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