Confessions of a Newbie Mountain Bike Racer
I stood alone under the big tent as rain poured down outside, butterflies in my stomach. My heart was pounding and I hadn’t even started riding yet. Everyone else was talking to each other, friends and acquaintances, or maybe just braver and less socially-awkward than I was. Some of the ladies I’d met the night …
Protect Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself: New Body Armor Choices at Interbike
Mountain biking protection continues to improve, both in comfort and safety. Knee and elbow pads have evolved from bulky, hard pieces of plastic to ergonomic accessories that look and feel very much like arm or leg warmers—with material that hardens upon impact. Helmet-makers continue to develop new technologies to increase their effectiveness. Full-body armor is becoming …
2017 Cannondale Habit Carbon SE 27.5 Test Ride Review
The 2017 Cannondale Habit Carbon SE is definitely a good-looking bike, especially if you like purple. It’s categorized as a do-it-all trail bike that is “playful, agile, and ultra-capable.” Sounds pretty great, right? After standing in line for way too long at Outdoor Demo, I finally got to swing a leg over the Habit and …
First Glimpse at Offerings From Startup Tire Company, Terrene
There are now more wheel and tire sizes than ever, and it’s hard for anyone to keep up, including tire manufacturers. Maybe you wouldn’t think that this would be an ideal time for a startup operation to enter the business, but perhaps the opposite is the truth. Because there is so much variety in what riders are …
Get the 1x Gear Range of Eagle for $125 with Wolf Tooth’s 49T Cog
Wolf Tooth Components is always coming up with an eclectic blend of interesting products, designed around making the experience of riding a bike better and more fun, and focusing on reliability, functionality, and performance. The company focuses on chainrings, additional and replacement cassette cogs, and small parts to solve problems or improve upon existing products. Here …
Introducing the Baja Divide, and a Women’s Scholarship to Ride it Next Year
The Baja Divide is a newly-published off-road bikepacking route that spans the 1700-mile-length of the Baja Peninsula from San Diego, CA to San Jose del Cabo, Mexico. The route was researched and created by Nicholas Carman and Lael Wilcox, both of whom are highly-experienced in the bikepacking world, and have spent the better part of …
Ergon Isn’t Just Grips: New Products for 2017
When I used to think of Ergon, my mind would automatically jump to grips. But more recently, they’ve jumped into the saddle game, and they’ve also started making hydration packs, gloves, and insoles, all with “ergonomic” fit at the forefront of design (imagine that!). I stopped by the Ergon booth at Interbike and spoke with several …
KHS SixFifty 680 Plus Test Ride Review
To be completely honest, I wasn’t really familiar with KHS bikes until I checked them out at the Outdoor Demo at Interbike. Part of my plan for the event was to ride some bikes from brands I either hadn’t heard of or just hadn’t ridden in the past, and KHS fell into that category. When …
Devinci Marshall 27.5+ Test Ride Review
When I first grabbed the Devinci Marshall to take it for a test ride, there was a little bit of confusion amongst the Singletracks staff about whether or not we’d reviewed this bike last year, only under the name Hendrix. The answer, I discovered, was “yes and no.” Yes, the Hendrix from last year has …
Revamped Surly Krampus 29+ Test Ride Review
A couple months ago at Saddle Drive, I got the opportunity to check out some of Surly’s recent redesigns for some of their classic bikes, including the Karate Monkey, which I really enjoyed. Here at Interbike, I followed up with the company and tried out the newly-modified Krampus. The Surly Krampus has been around for …
Advocate Cycles Hayduke 27.5+ Test Ride Review
I’ve been watching the Hayduke from afar for the better part of this year, as a couple of my good friends and riding buddies have jumped on the Advocate Cycles train and purchased their 27.5+ hardtail. They’ve had great things to say, and I briefly pedaled around on my friend Jake’s Hayduke for a few minutes …