Springtime in Utah calls for cool mornings and beat-down sunny afternoons followed by an inch of snow on your lawn the next day. It's the good and bad about living along the Wasatch. Because of that, it's always nice to have a variety of jackets on hand for just the right conditions for that morning trail run or mountain bike ride. Critical to jackets for trail running or mountain biking is its ability to block the wind and its ability to breathe. On top of that, having just the right fit is also something I look for--you don't want to have the sleeves flapping in the wind, catching on a passing branch or interfering with the fit of your hydration pack. Fortunately, Outdoor Research seems to have all of this nailed with the new Avido Jacket....

It's funny how things can come full circle. When mountain bike suspension forks were first introduced, RockShox was the king of the hill. Their famous Mag21 fork was legendary and everyone drooled over the fold-flecked magnesium lowers and how plush 60 mm of travel felt. Ahh, the days. Then, Marzocchi came on the freeride scene with all the grace of a 500-lb. gorilla just squashing both RockShox and Manitou out of the market. RockShox's lone ray of hope was the Boxxer World Cup, which shined on World Cup courses and was and still is ridden by the DH man-to-beat, Steve Peat. Somewhere in between the decline, the ray of hope, the amazing success on the DH circuit and my garage, RockShox has once again emerged as (in my mind) the premiere manufacturer of mountain bike ...

The French aren't so much known for building mountain bikes, though there have been several Frenchman who have been ultra-successful at both XC and DH disciplines. When I think of France and bikes, I think of bikes of the skinny tire variety. Contrary to that stereotype, Commencal has been building a handful of downhill and freeride-type mountain bikes since 2000. I didn't really notice Commencal until freeride and DH phenom Cedric Gracia jumped from Cannondale to Commencal a couple of years ago. I haven't seen much of Gracia lately, so I'm not sure if he's settled into the European spotlight and dropped of the US radar or not. However, at the Interbike Outdoor Demo, I was determined to at least swing a leg over one of their rides to get a first-hand feel for how they perform....

There's no doubt that I love singletrack trails. There are few things that compare to that winding ribbon of dirt fading in the distance or twisting though a beautiful aspen grove. It's spring (even though it snowed at my house yesterday) and that means the waiting game is on for the really good singletrack to thaw from a long winter's slumber.Winter snowfall along the Wasatch has been above normal and spring temps have been slow to warm up, so chances are that the good stuff won't thaw for at least another couple months. Luckily, there are plenty of low-lying singletrack trails along the foothills around Salt Lake City. As it turns out, I've been exploring the myriad of trails near Draper on the north side of the Point of the Mountain. With all the development in the area, ...

Few things are as fulfilling as buzzing down a nicely buffed out section of single track. Wind in your face, trees rushing by, dust kicking up and you're almost flying. Capturing that moment, the feeling, is something or a rarity. To that end, IMBA (the International Mountain Bicycling Association) just announced their first-ever "Celebrate Singletrack" short-format film contest. Mountain bikers from around the world are invited to submit 3-5 five minute film or video shorts that celebrate the spirit of mountain biking. As the platform for upload they've enlisted YouTube by making a Celebrate Singletrack group which once you've joined you're then able to upload your videos. Right now there is one entry, a short and sweet piece. Check it. What are you waiting for? Pick up that camera of ...

I've been impressed with what I've seen thus far from Pivot Cycles. Building all their bikes on the successful DW-Link suspension design, every bike in the line is guaranteed to be plush and efficient--the holy grail of suspension design. Complementing the Pivot Mach 4 and Mach 5 is the all-new Pivot Mach 429. Why 429? Well, because it's a Mach 4 that's been re-engineered around beautiful, trail-smoothing 29-inch wheels. I'm a believer in the 29-er revolution and apparently Chris Cocalis and the crew at Pivot are also. It is currently in prototype stage, but I'm sure it will be production ready come this fall when the Interbike Outdoor Demo rolls around again. One cool thing that Chris mentions in the following video is the way the headtube is designed to accommodate a 50mm zero-stack headset, which then lowers ...

Sunglasses are uber-important pieces of gear for nearly every outdoor activity. Mountain and road cyclists typically have several pairs of sunglasses or at least a pair with interchangeable lenses. In my mind there are three imperatives with biking-friendly eyewear: 1) they must be lightweight and 2) they must stay put--even while sweating up a storm and 3) They've got to properly block the wind. With high-end sunglass prices typically in the $100-$150 range, it's hard to afford multiple pair or even that one do-it-all pair of sunglasses. Markup on a typical pair of sunglasses must be huge--either that or they are having to carry a huge amount of overhead with their behemoth marketing budgets. Either way, it's hard to imagine that a pair of sunglasses can be worth that much. So, in my mind, even though the big boys have ...

Showing off some eye candy, Yeti Cycles is displaying two prototype bikes to the public to generate some buzz. Well, it certainly worked for me because these bikes look amazing! No, they aren't for everyday riding on the local trails, but as far as big hit, park and slopestyle riding, these new bikes look to expand on Yeti's innovative Zero Loss rail system used for several years now in the current 303 DH. Full specs are forthcoming as these are purely prototype bikes. But, they look pretty darn refined for prototypes. I'm guessing they are tweaking angles here and there to get things just right. Looking at the function of the Zero Loss Technology and imagining the wheelpath, it all makes perfect sense. Since the seatstays and shock maintain their straight back-and-forth stroke, both pedal feedback and brake ...

With so many mountains and trails in close proximity to Salt Lake City, it's no wonder mountain biking is so popular around here. But, as interest in DH and freeride-type trails has increased, so have scuffles with land managers and other trail users. Sometimes, our non-mountain biking brethren (equestrians and hikers), just don't understand. And well, they may never understand just how fun it is to dawn the helmet and protective padding, then hurl yourself down a trail at breakneck speed on a squishy speed machine. Adding to the mix is the desire to build stunts, ramps, and bridges within the flow of these trails, which just won't fly with many other trail users. So, how do the freeride boys get their fix while maintaining the right balance with all trail users? Where can they legally build ...

The calendar says it's spring here in Utah, but I'm not buying it. Actually, it's been the typical up and down roller coaster weather that dominates April along the Wasatch Mountains. One day, it's 75 degrees and sunny, then the next it's 30 degrees and you've got an inch of snow on the lawn. It definitely makes for a challenging time to get consistent riding days in. Still, I've gotten a few days of riding inbetween backcountry skiing sessions and am looking forward to more. It's great to have early-season trails in my backyard in Lambert Park (Alpine, UT). Spinning a quick 2-hour session is easy and the trails dry out early in the season, revealing the only singletrack trails in the area until at least mid-May. I've got ...