Reviews
Starling has just launched a longer-travel version of their Murmur, now with a fully-UK-made frame, appropriately dubbed the “Mega Murmur.”
2024 Norco Fluid FS Carbon
Norco released their updated all-rounder Trail bike, the Fluid FS Aluminum, last season, which was an immediate success due to its combination of performance and value for riders of all kinds. They’ve now introduced a carbon version with a few new build kits, too — check out all the details.
Race Face Era Cranks
Race Face calls the Era the “strongest, stiffest, and most durable” carbon crank they’ve ever made, and we’ve spent nearly a full year on a pair to find out how those claims hold up on the trail.
2024 RockShox BoXXer
RockShox’s athletes have been openly riding what looked like a new version of the BoXXer DH fork for some time now, and now that new iteration is here, with 38 mm stanchions and a whole lot of features that carry over from RockShox’s latest crop of single-crown forks — plus a few surprises.
23/24 ZAG Harfang 106
The Harfang 106 is ZAG's widest directional freeride model — check out our initial thoughts on how it's been comparing to the competition.
Endura MT500 MIPS Helmet
We have been spending the last several months in Endura’s updated MT500 MIPS helmet and have been impressed by its comfort and versatility. Check out our full review to learn more about this high-end Trail helmet.
Trek Fuel EXe Aluminum
Trek’s Fuel EXe gets a new aluminum version today with a more affordable frame, new build kits, and — perhaps surprisingly — some further geometry adjustability that the carbon version doesn’t offer.
Five Ten Kestrel Boa
Five Ten cut its teeth in the bike world by making gravity-oriented shoes, and they’re still best known for those offerings. But the new Kestrel Boa is a much more XC-oriented shoe than we’ve seen from Five Ten before, and it’s meant to add a little bit of their gravity shoe know-how to an XC shoe form factor.
SRAM GX Transmission & Bronze Stealth Brakes
SRAM’s new T-Type groupsets launched just a few months ago with high-end XX SL, XX, and X0 tiers, and now there’s a new, more affordable GX version. While the high-level details closely mirror those of the higher-end variants, SRAM has done a lot more than just make a less-expensive, heavier version of the Transmission. Check out our First Look for all the details.
23/24 WNDR Alpine Skis & Snowboards | Blister Summit 2023 Brand Lineup Video
At Blister Summit 2023, we sat down with WNDR Alpine founder, Matt Sterbenz, to get a state of the union on the brand and discuss their 2023-2024 ski and snowboard lineup. We cover the brand-new Nocturne 88 skis; Shepherd snowboard and splitboard; revised Vital 98; the evolution of their “Algal Tech” and “Spiral Made” construction techniques; and much more.
2023 Specialized P.Series
Specialized has overhauled its longstanding P.Series line of Dirt-Jump bikes, and the lineup now includes versions for the whole family, with wheel sizes ranging from 20’’ to 27.5’’.
Flash Review – Liv Intrigue LT Advanced Pro 0
The Liv Intrigue LT Advanced Pro 0 is an ultra high-end women-specific Enduro bike that we've been spending time on — Blister Members can now read our initial on-trail impressions.
Yeti SB160
The Yeti SB150’s geometry was notably radical when it launched back in 2018. Since then, the mountain bike landscape has changed a lot, and the SB150’s successor, the SB160, no longer stands out as much on paper. On trail, though, it’s still an especially game-on Enduro race bike — and a damn good one for folks with the right approach and preferences.
2023-2024 Nordica Dobermann 5 S
Here are our measured specs, photos, and a quick rundown of Nordica’s race-inspired boot, the Dobermann 5 S, as well as details about the entire 5th generation of the Dobermann lineup.
Canfield One.2 Super Enduro
The Canfield One.2 has been around for a couple of years now, but there’s a new “Super Enduro” build for the folks who’d like to earn their turns aboard this 190mm-travel bike, and we’ve started spending time on it
EXT Aria
We’ve been very impressed by a number of EXT’s coil shocks over the years, and having now spent a lot of time on the Aria — their first air-sprung MTB rear shock — we’re ready to weigh in on how it stacks up to EXT’s own Storia, as well as the modern crop of high-volume, beefy air shocks.
Women’s Bike Bib & Chamois Roundup
If you spend any time in the saddle you’ll know that a proper chamois, butt, and saddle interface is essential for sustained comfort during rides. In this roundup, we discuss a variety of bib and chamois options that one of our female reviewers has been logging a lot of saddle time in recently.
Scott Kinabalu 2
A dependable, predictable option is an invaluable addition to any shoe quiver, especially one already loaded with terrain- and distance-specific models. After testing, the Scott Kinabalu 2 is giving strong indications of being just that. Check out our full review to learn more.
Stuff We Like: June 2023
For June’s edition of Stuff We Like we feature everything from daypacks to heavy-duty backcountry packs, shorts, lightweight mountain bike and ski apparel, bike helmets, espresso machines for on-the-go, river shoes, & more. Check it out to see all the latest stuff our reviewers have been digging.
2023 Devinci E-Troy
Devinci’s new E-Troy gets a big update with a revised suspension layout, massively overhauled geometry, and move to Canadian manufacturing to boot.