Gear Watch Wednesday is a weekly update on the latest mountain bike gear releases and products that Singletracks has received for test. Have gear news to share, or products you’d like us to check out? Email [email protected].
Liv launches the Lurra hardtail
The new Liv Lurra hardtail features an ALUXX SL-Grade alloy frame and the bike is built with performance in mind. The hardtail comes with 27.5-inch wheels for sizes XS. Size S riders can choose between 27.5 or 29-inch wheels, and sizes M and L are 29er.
The bike seems to be an all-around trail hardtail with a 66° head tube angle, a 76-76.5° seat tube angle depending on the size, and 438mm chainstays, which should give the fairly short bike a healthy serving of stability. Reach on a size medium is short at 425mm.
- Price: $1,500-1,800
- Buy from Liv dealers.
Ibis DV9 race hardtail gets an update
The Ibis DV9 carbon hardtail is back, marketed as a bike for everything from messing around on the pump track to lining up for a race. The latest iteration features 120mm of travel up front stock matched with a 66.5° head angle and rolling on 29er wheels. Ibis says the DV9 will work with anywhere between 100mm to 140mm of travel.
- Price: Builds start at $3,499
- Buy from JensonUSA.
Wolf Tooth Echo Lock-on grips in a color explosion
Wolf Tooth is rolling out the spring colors with eight new shades of their popular Echo lock-on grips. Previously the grips were only offered in black, but buyers could choose the collar color. Now they’ve flipped the script, and the collars are black.
- Price: $29.95 / pair
- Buy from Wolf Tooth.
Ritchey WCS Gravel Grip
For those who want a squishy, MTB-like foam grip the new Ritchey WCS Gravel Grips seem to fit the bill. The elongated neoprene grips fit over the drops, forming a seamless transition to bar tape at the hoods.
- Price: $14.95
- Buy from Ritchey retailers.
Hydrapak releases new water filters
Most people know Hydrapak as the reservoir brand that come in many hydration packs. They’ve got a few new water filter options out now that will work in different reservoirs or bottles, including a 42mm Filter Cap for bottles and running flasks, a 28mm Filter Cap for other bottles and some reservoirs. Hydrapak also has a redesigned Flux Series that looks like a hard bottle but compresses like a soft flask and the Seeker Series which is a 3L reservoir with the 42mm Filter Cap.
- Price: From $35 for a filtration cap.
- Buy from Hydrapak.
Rapha Brain Dead collection is a departure from the norm
Rapha’s new Brain Dead collection is a departure from their usual refined, button-down appearance. The bike brand collaborated with Brain Dead, an LA-based “creative collective” with “cues from post punk, underground comics, skateboarding, and the spirit of subculture as a whole.”
The collection includes a Trail Lightweight jacket and Windblock jersey, a technical trail pant and T-shirt, a hip pack, water bottle, socks, and a few more items.
It’s an unusual collaboration and a unique style for a mountain bike line that leans more into streetwear styles and out of the typical racey, casual, down-to-earth fashion vibes of mountain biking.
- Price: Varies
- Buy from rapha.cc.
