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].
New Transition TR11 alloy DH/freeride bike
The all new Transition TR11 is the brand’s biggest, baddest bike with 200mm of travel front and rear. The alloy frame is designed around a 29er front, and 27.5 rear mullet setup with cable routing through the straight, 56mm diameter headtube. Despite all that travel and an alloy frame, Transition says a size medium weighs just a hair over 37lb.
- Price: $5,299 complete, $2,299 frameset.
- Buy from transitionbikes.com.
All Mountain Style claims world’s lightest grips
At 18g per pair, the All Mountain Style Extralight grips are claimed to be the lightest available for mountain biking. It’s not clear if that weight includes the bar plugs, and to make weight the foam grips do away with conveniences like lock-on clamps but still offer an anti-slip texture. For such a simple grip, these aren’t cheap but then again, lightweight gear rarely is.
- Price: $37
- Buy from
aeroe Spider FAT rack makes cargo quick and easy
New Zealand brand aeroe has a new rack for fat bike explorers. The Spider Fat Rack mounts up to carry dry bags ,tents, sleeping bags or any other gear you might need on a long, cold trek. The rack comes with a cradle and built-in straps and users can add additional cradles. The rack mounts to the seat stays with a quick release and it can be installed or uninstalled quickly, says Aeroe.
- Price: $149
- Buy from Wiggle.
Starling Cycles drops V3 frame updates
Starling is rolling out updates to their FS Murmur, Twist, and Swoop steel bikes including an adjustable shock mount that can be used to swap suspension from ‘trail’ to ‘enduro.’ Seat angles are a bit steeper, and bottom bracket heights are a little higher too. There are new colors to choose from, and Starling has added an aluminum insert to the seat post to prevent stuck posts that can occur with steel frames.
- Price: £1990 for frames.
- Buy from starlingcycles.com.
Ombraz side visors
We’re not sure how they did it, given that Ombraz sunglasses don’t have arms. Somehow the brand found a way to add side visors that we’re told stay in place just fine. We didn’t think the armless design would work but it does, so we’ll trust Ombraz on this one.
- Price: $50
- Buy starting in January from Ombraz.
