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....

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 ...

We are stoked to announce that we will once again be bringing the latest film from The Collective to Salt Lake City and Park City! This year's film, SEASONS, looks into the lives of seven top athletes from the perspective of the most renowned cinematographers and photographers of the sport. You won't want to miss this on the big screen! I watch their previous releases, ROAM and The Collective, over and over in the comfort of my own home and on my laptop. These films are by far the best outdoor sports films period... better than TGR, better than MSP, better than NWD. So, come and enjoy the best mountain biking film of the season in Park City and Salt Lake City. The following showtimes are available. Salt Lake City Premiere Date: Thursday May 22, 2008 Venue: Brewvies - ...

Ryan Leech has been a friend of FeedTheHabit.com for a long time. The man is likely the most talented trials rider ever and he's a class act to boot. I chatted with him at Interbike last October as I swung a leg over the new Norco Fluid LT1 prototype and he was as happy and friendly as ever. Ryan is truly a one-of-a-kind individual and athlete who takes time to chat with fans and truly cares about the image he portrays of himself and of his sponsors. I also had a good chat with Norco's Peter Stace-Smith about Ryan and he had so many good things to say about Ryan that it just confirmed to me once more that we are all stoked to count Ryan as a friend and an industry icon....

Though I don't typically salivate over cross-country mountain bike wheelsets, the all-new Crank Brothers Cobalt XC wheelset is about the sexiest looking set of mountain bike wheels I think I've ever seen! 24 twin-pairs of spokes are laced to the anodized blue rims via twelve integrated eyelets. The hubs are built in typical Crank Brothers fashion--functional and great looking. I'm a big fan of Crank Brothers and have used their pedals exclusively for the past several years. One thing that stands out to me with Crank Brothers... they are always leading the industry in the aesthetics of their designs. Everything is built with Apple-like finishes from the packaging to the product's look and feel. They truly do stand out to me as being the leader in smart and good-looking bike component design--those looks aren't just skin-deep. The all-new Crank ...