Mountain Bike Reviews
After making a big splash with their rear shocks, EXT’s first fork is here. There’s a whole lot that’s interesting and unusual about the Era, but how does it all add up on the trail? Check out our full review to find out — now with some additional thoughts from Xan Marshland.
Mountain Bike Tires: A Guide & Comparisons
In this guide, we're comparing more than a dozen of the most popular Trail, Enduro, & DH tires to each other, highlighting their pros and cons, and helping you figure out which option might work best for you. In our latest update, we've got a couple of new additions from Schwalbe and Michelin.
Mtn Biking 201: A Guide to Tire Casings & Rubber Compounds
What are tire casings and rubber compounds — and why should you care? And how do one brand's casing and compound options compare to another's? In this Gear 201 article, we answer those questions and more, and we've just added our thoughts on the latest rubber compounds and casings from Schwalbe and Michelin.
2021 GT Force
High-pivot Enduro bikes are popping up all over the place these days, and now there’s another option on the market — the all-new GT Force. Check out our First Look for more info.
Flash Review — Ibis Ripley AF
Update 8.3.21: Luke Koppa adds his thoughts on Ibis's budget-friendly, shorter-travel Trail bike.
2021 Pivot Trail 429
Pivot’s longstanding Trail 429 recently got a major update, but how true to the original recipe is the new, V3 version? We've now had two reviewers spending a lot of time on the new bike, and you can check out our full review for their thoughts on the new bike and how it compares to the rest of the market.
Nobl TR37 Wheels
Carbon wheels have become fairly commonplace but Nobl’s TR37s are quite different from most of the market, with front- and rear-specific rims and an unusual “Sine Wave'' rim profile. That's well and good, but how do they compare to the competition on the trail? Check out our full review to find out.
Flat Pedal Roundup — 2021
It’s certainly possible to spend a whole lot of money on a pair of flat pedals, but should you? Flat pedals cover a huge range from basic composite options through super-blingy machined aluminum wonders, and we’ve been testing nine different options across the whole spectrum. Check out our roundup to find out how they all stack up.
Blister Brand Guide: Orbea Mountain Bike Lineup, 2021
From extremely light hardtails to long-travel Enduro bikes, Orbea's current lineup covers a pretty broad spectrum over just a handful of models. Check out our Brand Guide for a breakdown of what sets each bike apart, what builds are the best bang for the buck, and more.
Chromag Minor Threat
Chromag has long been known for making aggressive hardtails, but they’ve just released their first full-suspension model — and it’s a kids' bike. The Minor Threat (which is the best new product name we’ve seen in a while) is an interesting new direction for the brand and looks like a very promising option for the younger rippers out there. Check out our First Look for all the info.
Blister Brand Guide: Santa Cruz / Juliana Mountain Bike Lineup, 2022
Santa Cruz and its sister brand, Juliana, have now released their full model-year 2022 lineup, and in our Brand Guide we provide a rundown on all the bikes, builds, and other specs to help you figure out which bikes you might want to consider.
WTB Proterra Tough i30 Wheels
WTB says their new Proterra Tough wheels “won’t let you down,” but they’re also relatively affordable and not especially heavy. So has WTB beaten the old “cheap, light, strong; pick two” adage, or is there a catch? Check out our full review to find out.
2021 Santa Cruz Nomad
The original Santa Cruz Nomad was one of the first bikes to shape the mold for the modern Enduro bike, way back in 2005. Now in its fifth generation, the new bike stands out from the rest of the market in some interesting ways. We've been spending a ton of time on this 27.5''-wheeled bike, and it makes a compelling case for why smaller wheels should stick around. Check out our full review for more.
Flash Review — Forbidden Dreadnought
High-pivot bikes might be even trendier than mullets right now, and we’ve now been spending time on the Forbidden Dreadnought. Check out our Flash Review for our early impressions of this very interesting offering.
Men’s Mountain Bike Jersey Roundup — 2021
We've been testing 11 different MTB jerseys, from standard options to casual-looking ones to some that you could even wear to a pretty nice dinner. Check out our roundup to see how they all compare.
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.
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.