David Golay reviews the 2023 Santa Cruz Hightower for Blister

Deep Dive: Santa Cruz Hightower 3

We compare the Santa Cruz Hightower 3 to the Hightower 2, Guerrilla Gravity Smash, Santa Cruz Bronson, Yeti SB130, We Are One Arrival, Antidote Carbonjack, Orbea and Occam LT.

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2023 Santa Cruz Hightower

The Santa Cruz Hightower has long been a very versatile, well-rounded Trail bike, and with the new V3 bike, Santa Cruz hasn’t messed with a good thing too much. But they’ve still found things to refine and improve, and the Hightower remains a very good all-rounder.
Vaea Verbeeck at Proving Grounds 2022 (photo: Lear Miller)

Vaea Verbeeck on Just Going For It (Ep.134)

On this week’s episode of Bikes & Big Ideas, we chatted with Vaea Verbeeck about her long and varied MTB career, and along the way, we get into it about motivation & how to keep things fresh year after year; Vaea’s wild introduction to mountain biking and early run-ins with some of the biggest names in the sport; the upcoming Proving Grounds event; and much more.
David Golay reviews the 2023 Santa Cruz 5010 for Blister

2023 Santa Cruz 5010

The mullet-ification of Santa Cruz’s formerly-27.5’’ models continues today with the 5010, and Santa Cruz is talking a big game about the new bike, calling it “the best handling trail bike ever”.
David Golay reviews the Hope Tech 4 V4 for Blister

Hope Tech 4 V4

Hope’s disc brakes got a major overhaul in the form of the new Tech 4 generation earlier this year, and that brought a very major increase in power to the range. But how does their burliest brake, the Tech 4 V4, compare to the competition? Check out our full review.
David Golay reviews the Canfield Jedi 29 for Blister

Flash Review — Canfield Jedi 29

We've been spending time on the Canfield Jedi 29, and it's an excellent update to a longstanding classic. Check out our Flash Review for our early impressions.

Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions

To get our comprehensive Deep Dives and our initial, unfiltered reports on new gear, become a member and receive many other services, deals, and discounts.

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David Golay and Luke Koppa review the Giro Latch for Blister

Giro Latch Flat Pedal Shoe

The Giro Latch is a flat pedal shoe designed for all-around use, going squarely head-to-head with the venerable Five Ten Freerider Pro, and the Latch succeeds at being a compelling alternative with good grip, solid durability, and a comfortable fit.
David Golay reviews the RockyMounts GuideRail for Blister

RockyMounts GuideRail

RockyMounts’ new GuideRail looks quite a bit like the venerable 1Up hitch rack, which has been a longtime favorite of many, but having now spent a lot of time with both, the Guiderail is significantly nicer to use in several key ways.
Reynolds on the Environmental Footprint of Bike Manufacturing (Ep.131)

Reynolds on the Environmental Footprint of Bike Manufacturing (Ep.131)

We chatted with Reynolds about their new environmental impact study and what they learned about the emissions output from making bike frames. We also get into recycling & why some materials are better suited to it than others; how Reynolds hopes to be a blueprint for other brands to take studying their own output more seriously; and touch on everything from Spitfire airplanes to Roman swords and classic Jaguar race cars along the way.
David Golay reviews the 2023 RockShox ZEB for Blister

2023 RockShox ZEB

RockShox recently gave their longest-travel single-crown fork, the ZEB, a major overhaul, and the new fork is a big improvement in several key areas — without really compromising what the previous version already did very well. Check out our full review for the rundown, including how it compares to the Fox 38 and Öhlins RXF38.
David Golay reviews the Rocky Mountain Element for Blister

2022 Rocky Mountain Element

The Rocky Mountain Element has long been a traditional XC race bike, but the new one very much is not. It’s got a bunch more suspension travel and wildly more aggressive geometry than the bike it replaced, but still maintains a fair bit of XC influence, too. So how does that all add up, and who is it going to work best for?