Shimano ME7 Clipless Shoes
Shimano’s ME7 is a clipless trail shoe that’s meant to be up for a bit of anything, so how well does it live up to Shimano's claims about its versatility? Check out our review to find out.
Mountain Bike Reviews
Men’s Mountain Bike Shorts Roundup — 2021
These days "mountain bike shorts" can be a lot of things, from highly-technical pieces with fancy fabrics and bike-specific fits to more casual options that look good on or off the bike. We’ve been testing 10 options across the whole spectrum, and you can check out our latest roundup here.
Fox Speedframe Pro Helmet
Fox’s Speedframe Pro is a high-end, broad-coverage Trail / Enduro helmet with a 5-star safety rating from Virginia Tech. And given its solid coverage, it's also been very impressive in terms of ventilation for hot rides. Check out our full review for more, including several comparisons to its competition.
Specialized 2FO DH Clip Shoe
Specialized recently launched the 2FO DH Clip shoe with design input from Loic Bruni, and after several months with it, we think a lot of gravity-oriented riders should be considering it — not just those racing DH tracks.
Flash Review: Commencal Meta TR 29
We've got five rides on the latest version of Commencal's Trail bike — check out our initial thoughts.
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2021 Transition Spire
Transition’s just-released Patrol was the longest-travel non-DH bike in their lineup — for just 48 hours. Enter the all-new Spire, Transition’s 170mm-travel 29er. So how do the two bikes differ, and who should be most interested in each? Check out our First Look on the Spire for all the details.
Flash Review: 2022 Fox 34
Fox gave their 34 a substantial update for 2022, and we've been spending time on the new one. Check out our Flash Review for our initial impressions, including how it compares to the new and old Fox 36.
Blister’s Flash Reviews and Deep Dives are accessible to those who purchase one of our paid subscriptions
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2021 Transition Patrol
The Patrol has long been in Transition’s lineup as their longest-travel Enduro bike, with 27.5’’ wheels. Today they dropped an updated version, and while the 160 mm of rear travel remains, the new Patrol gets the mullet treatment, with a 29’’ wheel and 160mm-travel fork up front. There’s a lot more that’s new than just wheel sizes, so check out our First Look for all the details.
Stuff We Like: May 2021
In our new monthly series with the remarkably descriptive title, “Stuff We Like,” our reviewers share a broad range of products they’re currently using — and really liking — from small accessories to the clothes they’re lounging around in, to just about anything and everything else.
Flash Review: EXT Era Fork
We loved EXT's rear Enduro / Trail shock, the Storia, and now we've been spending time on the Era, the fork meant to pair with it. 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
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Blister Brand Guide: Giant / Liv Mountain Bike Lineup, 2021
With a wide range of bikes spanning entry-level hardtails to high-end Enduro bikes, Giant and its sister brand, Liv, offer a little bit of everything. Check out our Brand Guide for the rundown on the two brands' entire 2021 lineup.
2021 Marin Alpine Trail
The Marin Alpine Trail is one of the most playful Enduro bikes we’ve been on recently, but also manages to keep a great deal of capability in technical terrain — and is an impressive bang-for-buck to boot. We think it’s a really compelling option for the right sort of rider, and you can check out our full review to find out who we think will get on best with this unique offering from Marin.
Blister Brand Guide: Santa Cruz / Juliana Mountain Bike Lineup, 2021
Santa Cruz and its sister brand, Juliana, have been steadily updating several of their long-standing bikes over the past year. Check out our Brand Guide for more info on their whole 2021 lineup, and which of their bikes might make sense for you.
Ride Concepts Hellion Elite Shoe
Ride Concepts recently added a new flat-pedal shoe to their lineup, the Hellion Elite, which is a relatively low-profile option with the brand's stickiest rubber. But how does it compare to popular options like the Five Ten Freerider Pro, and which riders are going to like this new shoe the most? Check out our full review to find out.
Öhlins TTX22 Shock
The world of high-end shocks is one filled with lots of dials and adjustments, but that can also make it a bit tricky to arrive at your ideal settings. The Öhlins TTX22, however, has proven to offer the reliable, high-end performance you’d expect of a top-tier product, but is also very simple and easy to get running really well. Check out our full review for the whole story.
2021 Rocky Mountain Altitude
The Altitude has been in the Rocky Mountain lineup for more than a decade now, but what, exactly, the Altitude is has changed a lot over the years, and the bike got a dramatic overhaul for 2021. We’ve been riding the latest iteration, and have found it to be surprisingly versatile for a 160 / 170 mm travel Enduro bike.
TRP TR12 Drivetrain
TRP’s TR12 drivetrain is marketed as a high-end option at a high-end price, but can it compete with the likes of Shimano XTR and SRAM X01? Check out our full review to find out.
Giro Source MIPS & Giro Manifest Spherical
It’s not hard to spend several hundred dollars on a mountain bike helmet, but should you? And what do you give up, in opting for a less-expensive option? We’ve been doing some head-to-head testing of Giro’s moderately-priced Source and high-end Manifest Spherical helmets to find out, and you can now read our full review to see how they compare.
2021 Marin El Roy
Marin calls the El Roy “the ultimate aggressive steel hardtail,” and its geometry numbers are certainly eye-popping, even in our current world of longer, lower, and slacker. But who should be interested in a hardtail that’s so emphatically oriented towards descending? And does the El Roy really deliver on what looks like a promising recipe? Check out our full review to find out.
Öhlins RXF36 m.2 Air
Öhlins has long been known for their motorsports suspension, but have more recently branched out into the mountain bike world, and we’ve been testing their RXF36 m.2 Air Enduro fork. It’s an impressive offering, but who does it make the most sense for, and how does it stack up to the competition from Fox, RockShox, and Manitou? Check out our full review to find out.