I must say I’ve become quite a believer in the 29-inch revolution. However, my enthusiasm is a bit tempered because 29-ers aren’t for everyone.  Still, there are a whole lot of riders out there who can benefit from the increased momentum and smoothness only bigger hoops can provide. So, from cycling’s counter-culture to mainstream, 29-ers are coming out of the woodwork and who else to wave that banner than Mr. Tony Ellsworth with the newly-introduced Ellsworth Evolve 29-er. Ellsworth knows a thing or two about building bikes, but can we expect the world from a first-generation product? If it’s an Ellsworth, I think we can....
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I should have known better than to ride with the same helmet for 5 years. Luckily, I didn’t crash on it to test how well it still worked after all those years of abuse–both on and off the bike.  However, it was time to step into something new. Looking around, I knew I wanted something that had a bit more coverage than normal and I knew that I didn’t want to mess around with anything other than a completely fused shell design. Looking over Giro’s MTB helmet lineup, the Xen instantly caught my eye. Not just because of it’s solid looks, but also because of its smart design....
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Trail tools are an important piece of equipment. There’s nothing like being out on a ride when you have a mechanical breakdown only to find that you don’t have the right size allen wrench, don’t have a chain tool or don’t even have a patch kit to repair a punctured tube. Walking your bike down perfect singletrack sucks. Carrying a multi-tool is a good first step. I’ve carried a Topeak Alien II in my hydration pack for years, but have found it to be a bit clunky to use at times. On top of that, it’s HUGE… like an old cell phone brick. When I saw the Crank Brothers Multi 19 tool, I knew I had to try it...
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Yeah, I’m truly a mountain biker at heart. But, I do enjoy a nice early-morning road ride up the canyon while the air is crisp and the morning light makes everything seem postcard-perfect. There’s something about being able to start a ride from my garage that is particularly nice. If I want to put on the miles and vert, I turn to my roadie. With several excellent road rides in my backyard, I mix up my mountain biking with a day or two per week on the skinny tires. I’m not a road “purist”, you might say because I don’t shave my legs and I use my mountain shoes and Crank Brothers Smarty pedals, but I climb faster than many and...
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I’ve got so many water bottles under the sink it makes my head spin. Actually, my wife hates that I have so many under there and threatens to recycle them nearly every day. The problem is that mixed in the pile of water bottles are the one or two that actually work well.  They are the bottles that don’t leak and that squirt a perfect stream every time. Sharing shelf space with the good bottles are the leakers and “squeeze so hard you’ll get carpal tunnel” bottles. When I inadvertently slap one of the hated bottles in my bottle cage for the daily ride, I’m kicking myself for not grabbing a good one. At this point, I’m willing to toss the...
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Over the years, I’ve been through lots of sunglasses. Sometimes they get lost somewhere, other times they become the victim of an utimely “death by squashing”, while other times the kids get ahold of them and scratch them to bits.  Luckily, some of the better sunglasses make it through the daily grind relatively unscathed. The bottom line with sunglasses is you want a nice pair that’s functional for all your intended activities (cycling, hiking, driving a car, boating, etc.), looks good and doesn’t cost too much (see above).  Ryders Eyewear out of Vancouver, B.C., is built on that philosophy. Their sunglasses are built to function well, look good and not break the bank.  I’ve had a chance to flog the...
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Athletic tee shirt designs have come a long way from the old cotton shirts we all used to wear. Wet and soggy is now replaced by dry and comfortable.  Thanks to advances in both synthetic and natural fibers, there are no longer excuses for wearing that old tee shirt while mountain biking, trail running, backpacking or hiking. Arc’Teryx is one of the premiere manufacturers of outdoor apparel and equipment.  They have a wide variety of base layers, mid layers and outerwear for just about any active outdoor pursuit. Committed to the core outdoor enthusiast, Arc’Teryx knows how to make a great product. I got my hands on the new Arc’Teryx Velox Comp Crew shirt a few months back and...
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As suspension fork designs have evolved over the years, the sweet spot over the past 2-3 seasons has been in the “all-mountain” category. While dual-crown forks have been mostly relegated to DH-only duty, the long-travel single-crown fork has become the staple for freeriders and all-mountain riders alike. Initially, Manitou thought it had found the ticket when the 1.5-inch steerer tube was introduced. Single-crown forks were finally supposed to be burly and light enough to withstand roof-droping punishment without deforming your head tube.  While the 1.5-inch head tube has provided some great benefits, the misleading marketing hype was that 1 1/8-inch head tubes weren’t burly enough to handle a long-travel single-crown fork. That argument has since been proven a farce. I’ve been riding...
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I still remember the very first Rocky Mountain bike I ever saw. It was the URT Pipeline at a local bike shop back in 1999. At that time, the purple-colored Pipeline was the lightest and burliest all-mountain/freeride bike on the market–I wanted one! So, in 2000, I began my love affair with Rocky Mountain as I bought my first full-suspension bike–a Rocky Mountain Element Race. After getting my feet wet, I then upgraded to the first-generation Rocky Mountain Slayer in 2001. That bike got me hooked on more travel and was the beginning of my big bike movement in 2002-2004 before I began settling in on the current crop of lightweight all-mountain bikes that have since come on...
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One of the unsung heroes of mountain biking, tire options are as plentiful as flavors of ice cream. Whether you like skinny and slick or wide and knobby, there are enough choices to fill your every need. Over the years, I’ve gone from riding 2.1’s up to 2.7’s, and have now settled in on the current crop of 2.35-ish all-mountain tires. My favorites have been the High Roller and Minion tires from Maxxis and the Kenda Nevegal–all in 2.35 widths.  But, I have yet to ride many bikes equipped with WTB tires, until the Rocky Mountain Slayer SXC 70 that I’ve currently got for testing. How does the WTB Prowler XT 2.3 compare to those venerable treads?...
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