Aaron Gulley Archives - 国产吃瓜黑料 Online /byline/aaron-gulley/ Live Bravely Tue, 23 May 2023 18:38:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://cdn.outsideonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/favicon-194x194-1.png Aaron Gulley Archives - 国产吃瓜黑料 Online /byline/aaron-gulley/ 32 32 Hunting Is Having a Moment. Will It Last? /outdoor-adventure/exploration-survival/hunting-pandemic-boom-sitka-eric-jackson-snowboarder-elk/ Tue, 23 May 2023 17:36:47 +0000 /?p=2631102 Hunting Is Having a Moment. Will It Last?

国产吃瓜黑料 athletes like pro snowboarder Eric Jackson have begun to dabble in the pursuit, helping create a bridge between two previously distinct outdoor communities.

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Hunting Is Having a Moment. Will It Last?

It鈥檚 late September in Utah鈥檚 northeastern Wasatch range, and Eric Jackson is crouched on a sage-tangled hillside, bow at his feet, listening to the shrill whistle of bugling bull elk. Though Jackson is a pro snowboarder known for and backcountry descents, he鈥檚 come to the mountains this time in hopes of shooting an elk to fill his freezer with meat. He places a pocket-size reed in his mouth and lets loose a guttural call indistinguishable from the real thing, to help him home in on elk. Within seconds, a bull replies from a few hundred yards downhill.

Normally, a hunter would spring into a stalk. But Jackson sits back on his heels and swallows a belly laugh. It鈥檚 his first time calling elk during the rut, when animals are breeding and at their most receptive, and he鈥檚 bemused to get a response. 鈥淪o funny! So cool!鈥 he beams. 鈥淗onestly, I don鈥檛 care if I get an animal on this trip. I鈥檓 here to learn.鈥 After a few back-and-forth calls, the bull moves off and downslope, likely chasing cows. Jackson听continues following bugles and picking his way through crackling brush oak till dusk.

Jackson was just one of a record number of neophyte American hunters in the woods in 2022. After a in participation since the early 1980s, hunting license sales nationwide increased five percent between 2019 and 2020, according to a recent by Southwick Associates, a market research firm specializing in hunting and the outdoors. That included a 25 percent increase in new hunter applications. In the seasons since, those numbers have held steady above pre-pandemic levels.

New hunters have boosted business, with sales during the pandemic booming at the premium hunting apparel brand Sitka. 鈥淥ur forecasts were already up, and we made some purchasing decisions early that allowed us to meet demand when other companies were struggling with supply chains and inventory,鈥 says John Barklow, senior product manager at Sitka, who is in Utah hunting with Jackson. 鈥淚t was big.鈥

The growth has been industry-wide. That includes MeatEater Inc., the umbrella company that operates the eponymous Netflix series that has brought hunting as a lifestyle into the American living room, as well as the apparel brand First Lite. 鈥淧lenty of public information shows the spike in 2020. And that was a reality for us,鈥 says Bridget Noonan, VP of Global Marketing at MeatEater, describing pandemic-time expansion across the company鈥檚 brands. 鈥淲e were already on a growth track, but we definitely saw a surge, both audience and customers, who were looking to get outside, connect with the outdoors, and put meat on their table.鈥

Pandemic reverberations鈥攕pare time, concerns over food security, extra cash from government stimulus鈥攄rove more people, like Jackson, to try and harvest their own meat. 鈥淭he pandemic was a reminder to a lot of people that the outdoors give us so much solace, whether that鈥檚 hiking, skiing, hunting, or whatever. That led to the growth,鈥 says Land Tawney, president of the conservation and advocacy group Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BHA). 鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a spike of interest, driven by 鈥榓dult-onset鈥 hunters and other first-timers.鈥

Jackson, the pro snowboarder, highlights the trend. For years, he has craved a lifestyle built around self sufficiency and the outdoors. 鈥淎ll I鈥檝e wanted for a while is a little land with my own water source where I can grow food and have chickens,鈥 he says. 鈥淎nd hunt. That desire to be outside and get away and be self sufficient, which was really underlined during the pandemic, is what led me to hunting.鈥

Jackson鈥檚 visibility as a professional snowboarder helped him land an ambassador deal with Sitka, despite his limited big game hunting experience. He was brought on in part to help promote Sitka鈥檚 expanding lifestyle wear. But the partnership is also what has presented him the opportunity for this fall 2022 hunt at Deseret Ranch in the Wasatch, one of the most prestigious elk properties in the U.S.


Perhaps the first lesson of bow hunting: it鈥檚 not easy. Jackson is a preternaturally talented outdoorsman who has spent his whole life exploring far-out wilderness, including extensive fly fishing expeditions in Canada and Alaska and plenty of duck hunting with his retrievers, Whisky and Rye. For this hunt, he has prepared meticulously, building his own arrows, and then shooting daily for a year to become听confident out to 60 yards鈥攖hough he鈥檚 resolved to shoot no more than half that distance here in Utah to make sure he gets a clean, deadly shot. Having guided hunts before, I can attest to the high quality of his elk calls. He even killed an elk on his first-ever hunt, in 2021, when Montana native Johnny Burford, a well-known hunter he met through connections with friends at , guided him to public-land success with his bow.

And yet here at Deseret, where the elk feel as profuse as ticks in the Pennsylvania woods, it doesn鈥檛 come easy.

Snowboarder Eric Jackson bowhunting elk
Eric Jackson, often referred to as EJack, bridges the gap between adventure athletes and hunters. (Photo: Jay Beyer)

Night one closes with no opportunities for a shot. Days two and three play out the same: elk bugling all around, flashes of brown fur through the flicker of dying aspen leaves, but nothing close enough to merit drawing back an arrow. Jackson bumbles around a corner one morning and startles a huge bull lounging in a mud wallow 20 yards away. The next day, he calls a pair of animals to a watering hole, one after the other, but neither will come inside 80 yards. 鈥淚鈥檓 loving this. But I won鈥檛 lie. It鈥檚 so hard,鈥 Jackson confesses.

On evening four, it seems the stars have aligned. Jackson and crew lure a giant, old bull and a small harem of cows upslope from a dark drainage toward their setup听in a filtered stand of pines. One calf passes so close鈥攖hree yards!鈥攖hat Jackson could tackle it. The bull stops broadside at 20 yards, but there鈥檚 a branch in the way. No shot, and the animal eventually loses interest and returns the way he came.

For those who have never hunted, it鈥檚 tempting to think that modern weaponry and technology make it as easy as backcountry grocery shopping. The truth is, hunting, especially with a bow, requires so many elements to line up鈥攖he wind, the shooting lanes, the animal behavior鈥攖hat it鈥檚 much more common to go home empty handed than to harvest. Fewer than of hunters who draw elk tags bring home meat.

鈥淚 know I鈥檓 a beginner, and I need to check my expectations,鈥 Jackson says the evening after the very close call. 鈥淏ut the longer a hunt goes on, the more difficult it is to stay positive, focused. It鈥檚 so mental.鈥

The challenge is part of the appeal, but it鈥檚 also a big barrier to entry. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to see so many new faces,鈥 says Sitka鈥檚 Barklow. 鈥淏ut how long will that last after a season or two walking around without seeing an elk?鈥 A recent by the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports, a not-for-profit aimed at recruiting and retaining hunters, found that though hunting license sales remained above pre-pandemic levels in 2021, they decreased 1.9 percent from the high-water听mark in 2020.

Simply obtaining a hunting license is difficult.听In Colorado, which has the largest elk herd in the world (280,000 head) and is widely considered to offer the for hunters in the U.S. to get a permit for elk, less than of applicants in 2022 received a license. Many western states offer far lower odds. Colorado also sells over-the-counter elk licenses, allowing any hunter the chance to pursue the animals in limited areas, though the quantities and availability of these tags have also been dramatically reduced in recent years due to increased demand and the effect it has had on .

These hurdles have spurred a conversation in the hunting industry about how to retain those who discovered hunting amid the pandemic.听鈥淭he pandemic brought a lot of people through the door. Now it鈥檚 our job to get them to stay,鈥 says Barklow. Organizations including Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation have upped their outreach aimed at participation. Hunter education programs, such as , , and , are cropping up to help newcomers build skills and community, which BHA鈥檚 Tawney considers vital to ensuring newcomers stick around. Another approach is to try and convert enthusiasm for elk, which are sought-after but hard to pull tags for and even harder to shoot, into excitement about easier-to-draw and higher success species such as small game and waterfowl.

Sitka sees ambassadors such as Eric Jackson and , a retired professional surfer and Patagonia designer who also recently joined the company, as part of its outreach. Not only do these guys have crossover to outdoor markets that the hunting world has a difficult time reaching,听such as skiers, surfers, climbers, and paddlers, their appeal as new hunters is also aspirational. In bringing on Jackson, Sitka partnered with Black Diamond, another of Jackson鈥檚 primary sponsors, to create a that features its Optifade camo pattern outside the hunting industry for the first time ever. They also produced a short film, , about Jackson鈥檚 initiation into hunting elk, which looks tailor-made for the Telluride Mountainfilm Festival. The organic food-eating, Rivian-driving, REI-shopping crowd will likely be more receptive to hunting (which has a bad reputation in some circles), if it comes from laid-back, familiar athletes who share their passions鈥攐r so the thinking seems to go.

This crossover has been a long time coming. In 2005, Sitka鈥檚 founders Jonathan Hart and Jason Hairston started the company after suffering through an Idaho elk hunt while wearing cheap cotton apparel that was then the staple of the industry.听The original product development team included designers from Mountain Hardwear and Arc鈥檛eryx. Then in 2010, W.L.Gore & Associates鈥攖he company behind Gore-Tex鈥攁cquired Sitka, bringing the brand more tech and marketing firepower. Sitka sells almost as hard as its own gear, which is a win-win-win: good for business, the sport of hunting, and the planet.

One looming question is whether hunting, as a pursuit with built-in scarcity, should be chasing growth at all. Part of the push is because hunting has been waning for decades, and hunters don鈥檛 want to see the knowledge and opportunity disappear forever. Part of it is also a question of driving industry growth and profits, which is simply the capitalist American way.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to see more people at the trailheads, you鈥檙e going to have to go farther and hunt smarter to be successful,鈥 says Noonan. 鈥淏ut the tradeoff, and we see it as a valuable one worth making, is that we are bringing more people into a community that cares for the land and is vested in conservation.鈥


Back in Utah, the only scarcity Jackson is worried about is his dearth of opportunities. After five days, the six other hunters in his party have shot elk, but he has come up empty. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to be the only one who hasn鈥檛 tagged out,鈥 he says. But he鈥檚 circumspect. 鈥淭he two most important things are being in the mountains and being a good steward for this community.鈥

It鈥檚 Friday night, and Jackson鈥檚 hunt officially ends at 10 A.M. Saturday morning. Though he was scheduled to leave in the morning, he changes his flight home and goes back out at dawn. The morning passes like the rest of the hunt: close encounters, but no elk within shooting distance. Around 9, he and his crew begin trudging out of the canyon with empty packs. On the 800-vertical-foot climb out, a bull bugles a few hundred yards away in the trees. Jackson and team set up and begin calling, and, almost like magic, the bull beelines for them. At 20 yards, Jackson unleashes an arrow. Minutes later, the elk collapses and it鈥檚 over.

鈥淪urreal. I thought I was going home empty-handed. So I was so grateful to walk away from that hunt having filled my freezer,鈥 he recalls later.

Jackson left with 200 pounds of meat and picked up another 3,500 followers in the weeks following his post about the hunt. When Black Diamond about Jackson鈥檚 hunt and the Sitka collab, the response was as enthusiastic. Wrote one user, 鈥淵es! Hunting and adventure athletes can coexist.鈥

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The Best Winter Cycling Gear of 2020 /outdoor-gear/bikes-and-biking/best-winter-cycling-gear-2020/ Thu, 10 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /uncategorized/best-winter-cycling-gear-2020/ The Best Winter Cycling Gear of 2020

You want to ride your bike. You know you do. So get out there.

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The Best Winter Cycling Gear of 2020

Northwave Himalaya Shoes ($280)

(Courtesy Northwave)

Surprisingly toasty despite the trim silhouette, the Himalaya has a lining of 400-gram Thinsulate combined with a thermal insole that blocks the cold and reflects body heat. We loved the speed-lace slider, which allowed for one-handed tightening and loosening, even in bulky mittens. The lugged, Michelin-rubber sole provided excellent grip on slick ground and flat pedals (though there鈥檚 a recessed cleat mount if that鈥檚 how you roll).


Gore M Wind颅stopper Insulated Beanie and Gloves ($50 and $100)

(Courtesy Gore)

The PrimaLoft Gold insulation in Gore鈥檚 windproof, water-颅repellent beanie and gloves is low-profile yet warm enough for riding even in Arctic conditions. On milder winter days, we keep them tucked in a frame bag for rest breaks and emergency stops.


Bontrager Velocis Soft Shell and Bibs ($149 and $169)

(Courtesy Trek)

The chest, shoulders, and arms on the shell are wind- and water-resistant, taking the sting out of nasty weather, while lighter back and underarm panels add stretch and breathability. The matching bibs have the same weather resistance in the front and high-output material in the rear, with thin straps to reduce bulk and a squishy pad for comfort.


Enve M685 Wheels ($2,550)

(Courtesy Enve)

Not only are the M685s the sexiest fat hoops you can buy, but the 85-颅millimeter internal rim width helps spread tires for a grippy footprint. The V-shaped profile sloughs snow better than any other wheel we鈥檝e tried.


Terrene Cake Eater Light Tires ($120)

(Courtesy Terrene)

We paired the Enves with these 4.6-inch tires. Their low-profile, siped center knobs and meaty external lugs provide as much grip and float as any cyclist can reasonably hope for.


Knog PWR Mountain Kit and Bigger Cobber Light ($230 and $90)

(Courtesy Knog)

Twist-front operation and 2,000 lumens make the Mountain Kit (with included extension and helmet mounts) one of the most covetable lights we鈥檝e used. The Bigger Cobber provides a floodlight of red out back.


Revelate Designs Ranger Frame Bag ($150)

(Courtesy Revelate)

This bag is a cut above, with connection points on all three sides for easy installation and a ballistic-nylon shell that鈥檚 virtually impenetrable.

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The Best Fat Bikes of 2020 /outdoor-gear/bikes-and-biking/best-fat-bikes-2020/ Thu, 10 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /uncategorized/best-fat-bikes-2020/ The Best Fat Bikes of 2020

Astride any of these stout steeds, you needn鈥檛 limit yourself to snow

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The Best Fat Bikes of 2020

Why Cycles Big Iron ($7,489 as tested)

(Courtesy Why Cycles)

Think all fat bikes are ponderous and slow? Think again. Why Cycles鈥 Big Iron makes it clear that oversize tires aren鈥檛 just for snow anymore. Taking cues from more aggressive geometries in the trail-bike realm, the Big Iron gets a slack-for-the-category head tube (68.7 degrees), a slightly lower bottom bracket, and a long top tube paired to a short 35-millimeter stem. Add in a dropper post, a rarity on snow machines because of their tendency to lock out in the cold, and you鈥檝e got the shreddiest fat bike you鈥檝e ever piloted. Our Big Iron was spendy, owing to a lightweight SRAM X0 drivetrain and Enve M685 wheels, but we wouldn鈥檛 trade those hoops for anything; the combination of wide carbon rims and titanium frame and bars made for a silky ride. However, you can get a lower-tier model for under $4,000, fulfilling Why鈥檚 goal of making titanium accessible to more riders. Livery notwithstanding, this bike was so deft and versatile鈥攖earing up everything from foot-deep freshies to rubbled desert singletrack鈥攖hat we were plenty excited to keep riding it even after the spring thaw.


Fatback Rhino FLT ($2,999 as tested)

(Courtesy Fatback)

The Fatback Rhino FLT proves you don鈥檛 have to spend a fortune for a great winter ride. Because the frame is aluminum, it won鈥檛 break the budget. Still, the geom颅etry feels tight and responsive, and the spec (SRAM GX Eagle, carbon bars, and Fatback鈥檚 surprisingly light and sturdy Big Su wheels) is high value. With the 100-颅millimeter Manitou Mastodon suspension fork, it even holds its own on dry trails.


Salsa Mukluk Carbon NX Eagle ($3,149 as tested)

(Courtesy Salsa)

Already boasting stable handling, with clearance for some of the widest tires on the market, the Salsa Mukluk Carbon NX Eagle gets sweet new 4.6-inch 45Nrth Dillinger Five tires, a 1×12 drivetrain with 11-50-tooth cassette, and sick graphics. Our only niggle: the NX Eagle gears and SRAM Guide T brakes felt a little cheap.

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Excellent E-Bikes for Racing, Commuting, and Hauling /outdoor-gear/bikes-and-biking/best-2019-ebikes/ Thu, 04 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /uncategorized/best-2019-ebikes/ Excellent E-Bikes for Racing, Commuting, and Hauling

Why drive a car when you can saddle up on one of these?

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Excellent E-Bikes for Racing, Commuting, and Hauling

Though a vocal segment of cyclists still decry e-bikes as lazy, demand continues to swell. That鈥檚 partly because the technologies are improving so rapidly: motor systems are becoming seamlessly smooth, lithium-ion batteries continue to shrink in size while providing more range, and designs are so refined that it鈥檚 sometimes impossible to tell an electric model from an analog one. 鈥淭hey are game changers in so many ways, making cycling more accessible and practical,鈥 says Larry Pizzi, who chairs the e-bike committee for the Bicycle Products Suppliers Association. 鈥淭hey have become a genuine car alternative, enabling bike commuting over distances and terrain that might otherwise be impractical.鈥

Yuba Spicy Curry Bosch ($4,500)

(Courtesy Yuba)

The 听is the veritable minivan of e-bikes. The ten-speed, 250-watt Bosch motor isn鈥檛 the biggest around, but it still provides plenty of torque for hauling. And the 400-watt-hour battery yields up to 40 miles of range. With a 26-inch front wheel and a 20-inch rear, the Spicy Curry looks a little odd, but that squat back end keeps the center of gravity low for easy handling. Yuba also offers a wide range of accessories, including bamboo decking and sideboards for cargo, bags for grocery runs, and seating options for kids. The frame can handle it all, too, with a capacity of 300 pounds. In other words, it leaves you almost no excuse for driving.


Emery One听($5,500)

(Courtesy Emery)

The first 3-D-printed e-颅commuter, has an aerospace-grade carbon-fiber frame mated to a Bosch motor and a fully integrated 500-watt-hour battery. The flat bars and outsize 47-颅millimeter tires on 650b rims provide lots of comfort for city riding.

This item is currently out of stock.听


Pinarello Dyodo ($8,000)

(Courtesy Pinarello)

With a SRAM Force drivetrain, Mavic wheels, and Pinarello鈥檚 lithe carbon fiber, could pass for a race bike. The 250-watt ebikemotion motor hidden in the hub and the 250-watt-hour battery concealed in the down tube ensure you鈥檒l never get dropped on group rides or in traffic.

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What We Learned From Our 2019 Bike Test /outdoor-gear/bikes-and-biking/outside-magazine-2019-bike-test-findings/ Tue, 25 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /uncategorized/outside-magazine-2019-bike-test-findings/ What We Learned From Our 2019 Bike Test

After riding 50 of the newest models, we have some thoughts.

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What We Learned From Our 2019 Bike Test

Every year around 国产吃瓜黑料鈥檚 annual bike test, people ask me the same question: 鈥淲hat new bike should I buy?鈥 That鈥檚 an almost impossible query to answer. A听bike purchase must take into account riding style, local terrain, and personal preferences. Instead, I often try to respond with more holistic insights about the state of the industry and overarching trends. I鈥檝e been test-riding bikes and writing about them for long over a decade, which means I鈥檝e seen a lot of fads, problems, and developments. In the midst of testing this year, I began jotting down notes about changes in design and the broader market. Here are a few impressions.

Bikes, on the Whole, Are Better Than Ever

(Will Egensteiner)

I鈥檝e had to find new ways to phrase this almost every year since 2005, but it鈥檚 true. In those early years of testing, there were good bikes and bad ones as companies experimented with geometries, frame materials, early suspensions, components鈥攅verything. It was easy to throw handfuls of bikes out of contention for coverage back then because they didn鈥檛 measure up. These days, it鈥檚 difficult to find a bad bike. Sure, there are models we prefer and models we don鈥檛, but a lot of that is about nuance. Terrain and riding style depending, I can鈥檛 think of a single bike in the test that I wouldn鈥檛 be happy on. Manufacturers are constantly trying to improve their products, and for the most part, it鈥檚 working.

Advances Come at a Cost

The least expensive bike we tested this year was the ($1,700),听the most expensive was the 听($12,000), and the average price was $6,600. Though there are less expensive builds and specs for most of the models we ride, we tend toward the higher end of the market because 1) that鈥檚 generally where development takes place, and 2) that鈥檚 the simplest way to ensure parity, since it鈥檚 less likely for a bike to be excluded because of inferior parts or a heavy build. Still, it doesn鈥檛 escape me that a decade ago I would tell people to expect to spend around $2,500 to get a good mountain bike, whereas today it鈥檚 more like $5,000. Of course, inflation is a factor, and today鈥檚 bikes, built with space-age materials and super-refined suspensions and electronics, are a far cry from the simple steel bikes of a decade ago. Still, it鈥檚 hard to escape the feeling that prices are outpacing what the average person wants (or can afford) to pay.

Still, Fun on a Bike Doesn鈥檛 Have to Be Determined by How Much You Spend

(Will Egensteiner)

One of the hands-down favorites in the test was the , a $2,000 drop-bar steel monster cross machine that earned the adoring moniker听鈥淐hunky.鈥 At 28.6 pounds and with 2.4-inch tires, this bike should have been easy for testers to malign. And yet, time and again, I saw people go out for laps skeptical and return beaming. All City nailed this ride with stability, comfortable geometry, solid spec, and a clear sense of how to deliver fun. The lesson: you don鈥檛 always have to spend a lot to get a great bike鈥攁nd certainly not to enjoy riding. The ($2,300), ($2,650), ($3,500), ($3,000), and ($2,100) are other great examples of bikes that deliver a lot for less.

Frame Material Is Now Less Important

I love carbon fiber, but riding styles are morphing, suspensions are improving, and companies are continuing to refine aluminum, steel, and titanium shapes. Don鈥檛 get me wrong: 90 percent of bikes in the test were built from carbon. And yet,听several of my top picks were metal: the aforementioned Gorilla Monsoon, the , the , and a forthcoming drop-bar design from Moots. In particular, the gravel market is driving the resurgence of metal, because titanium and steel can help mitigate rough roads and don鈥檛 necessarily weigh more than carbon fiber. Take the , a titanium gravel and adventure touring machine that tipped the scales at 17.5 pounds (less than many of the carbon wonder bikes) and was a crowd favorite for its buttery smooth ride.

Gravel Bikes Continue to Mature

(Will Egensteiner)

We had as many all-road rides this year as straight pavement rigs, and most testers seemed more eager for the dirt road day than asphalt. Meanwhile, the gravel segment seems to be splitting into two branches: the race- and speed-oriented models with aggressive fits, quicker geometries, and narrower tires (35c and under), such as the and ,听and the more adventure-ready models that can fit two wheel sizes and fatter tires听and are made to get rowdy, like the and the . I think the growth of gravel is partly a response to the dangers of riding on the highways, but also because lifetime roadies are discovering that their pastime can take them to new places. If biking is supposed to be fun, gravel has a corner on the market.

This Is the Year of the E-bike

We tested three extremely refined road machines with the Ebikemotion motor and battery system鈥攖he Orbea Gain, , and 鈥攁nd testers loved them all. The fact that these look and feel just like regular road bikes while adding some motor assist promises to open cycling to a broader audience than ever, which is exciting stuff. We also had five new eMTBs, which, like the roadies, are lighter and听more refined听and have longer-lasting batteries than ever. If you hate e-bikes, please do yourself a favor and try one. I鈥檝e yet to see a person climb on a pedal-assist model and not come away as happy as a kid.

Rim Brakes Are Dead

(Will Egensteiner)

For the first time ever, there wasn鈥檛 a single rim brake in the test鈥攐n mountain, gravel, or road bikes. And I say good riddance. Every tester praised the development, even ex-pro road racers. That鈥檚 because the weight of discs has dropped to level with their counterparts, while the performance is incontrovertibly better. On the big mountain day in Colorado National Monument, I heard numerous testers exclaim how much more confident they felt on these disc bikes than on their personal rim-brake-equipped models.

Electronic Shifting Is Superior to Mechanical

But it鈥檚 not so superior that it has predominated鈥攁t least not yet. Electronic shifting听certainly has become more popular on the road side: almost half of the drop-bar bikes we tested this year were equipped with e-shifting, for the most part , which hits the sweet spot between performance and price. Meanwhile, not a single mountain bike had Di2. Maybe skepticism means it will just take time to catch on, as disc brakes did on the road.

The Debate Over 29 Versus 27.5 Has Subsided

At least in our test group, big wheels are the big winners. I probably heard someone grouse over the way 27.5ers hung up on rocks and didn鈥檛 roll as quickly as often as I changed pedals for a new test bike. Part of that is down to the terrain we were riding: the trails around Grand Junction, Colorado, are technical, with big ledges, lots of bedded rock, and largely open country, all of which favors 29ers. Manufacturers seem to be onboard with bigger wheels, too, as long-travel 29ers were the single biggest growth category this year. Bikes like the , the , and the all have more than 150 millimeters of travel. Look, I鈥檓 not trying to say that 29 is better than 27.5; in fact, the most impressive and techiest riding I witnessed was by a male tester aboard the women鈥檚 27.5 . Riding style and personal preference still outweighs everything, and, going back to the top, bikes are just all-around great.

Tire Technology Keeps Improving

(Will Egensteiner)

We were riding in a seriously unforgiving place again, with lots of sharp rocks and vegetation, and we still had only six flat tires in two weeks of testing. On the mountain side, where Maxxis pretty much rules, there鈥檚 a tread pattern and rubber durometer for everyone, casings are tougher than ever, and tire weights are coming down. Gravel bikes are following suit, with tubeless now the standard and lots of great semi-slick options that are fast rolling but still secure (try the ). And it鈥檚 nice to see tubeless finally catching on for road. Trail bikes have settled around 2.5听and 2.6 inches as the new standard, 40c for all-road, and 28c on the pavement except for the raciest aero bikes. This new wider sensibility is good since that extra rubber equals a comfier ride.

Companies Are Trying Unique and Wacky Ideas

And I鈥檓 happy to see it. No fewer than three road bikes sported rear suspension, including the unlikely and . And the leaf-spring fork on the gravel bike might look a bit unwieldy, but it delivered the softest ride in the test. We also saw the arrival of the Fox Live Valve, which could be the first electronic suspension system to gain widespread appeal. The wildest design came on the in the form of its CP07 cockpit, which completely rethinks drop handlebar design to add more hand positions and vibration damping. And though it didn鈥檛 come stock on any bike, we managed to get ahold of the new linkage mountain bike fork. The jury is still out on whether this is the future of suspension or just gimmickry, but it鈥檚 certainly groundbreaking.

Boost Hub Spacing Is Catching On

(Will Egensteiner)

Every mountain bike in the test used it, which made switching wheels and components a snap鈥攁 rare thing in the cycling world. The way听SRAM has dominated the mountain bike drivetrain market also helps. Of 25 bikes, 21 were equipped with the company鈥檚 1x system, though Shimano鈥檚 new 12-speed XTR might finally help the Japanese manufacturer catch up鈥攚e rode it on one bike, the and it was flat-out excellent. Meanwhile, thru-axles have finally supplanted quick release on road and gravel bikes once and for all, with only one or two exceptions. Hub standards might sound esoteric, but it is refreshing for the industry to finally agree on something.

Proprietary Setups and Designs Are Still Incredibly Frustrating

We encountered multiple sizes and configurations on stems, handlebars, seat posts, saddle rails, chains, bottom brackets, derailleur hangers, brake mounts, and even handlebar grips. And don鈥檛 get us started about proprietary aero stem and seat post shapes. All of these varied configurations and setups meant that, more than once, when something broke on one bike, we couldn鈥檛 find a single part from any of the 49 others to fix it. More than just a frustration for us, this speaks to how the industry is making it difficult for consumers to figure out what they need听and for bike shops to keep those parts in stock. We鈥檙e all for true technological advancements, but exclusive designs that simply complicate are annoying and silly.

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Our Favorite Mountain Bikes Come with Big Wheels /outdoor-gear/bikes-and-biking/big-wheel-bikes/ Mon, 10 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /uncategorized/big-wheel-bikes/ Our Favorite Mountain Bikes Come with Big Wheels

From cross-country to enduro, 29ers are dominating the trail.

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Our Favorite Mountain Bikes Come with Big Wheels

Long considered too big and cumbersome by the enduro and downhill markets, 29ers conquered the fast and steep this year in our testing.

Intense Sniper Trail Pro Build ($5,899)

(Courtesy Intense)

Best For: Long rides

It used to be that if you wanted a bike fast and light enough to race, you had to sacrifice trail ability and handling. But with 120 millimeters of front and rear travel epitomizes a new breed of 鈥渄own-country鈥 models that blend the snappiness of a cross-country rig with the confidence of a downhiller. The bottom bracket is lower and the head angle slacker (a surprising 66.5 degrees), yielding the planted feel of a bike with much longer travel. The addition of 780-颅millimeter riser handlebars, a dropper seatpost, and meaty but still quick 2.35-inch Maxxis Forekaster tires add to the go-anywhere feel, yet the Sniper Trail tips the scale at a feathery 24.6 pounds. (And the 100-millimeter version is almost two pounds lighter.) Time and again, testers expected the harsh, unmanageable ride of a race whip and came back impressed with how easily the bike rolled over big, nasty terrain.

GT Sensor Carbon Pro听($5,000)

(Courtesy GT)

Best For: Daily driving

After years of building full-suspension bikes around solid but convoluted shock designs, GT revamped its proven four-bar linkage to deliver , one of the finest machines the company has ever crafted. It feels more assertive and adventurous, thanks in part to the slack front end and the combination of a stubby stem and 800-millimeter bars. Though its travel is hardly long by today鈥檚 standards, we were surprised by how hard we could push the bike around corners and through rock gardens. Our only niggle was with the spec, a mixed bag of smart picks (1×12 SRAM X01 Eagle drivetrain, 29-inch Stan鈥檚 NoTubes Flow rims for a wide contact patch, and the reliable KS Lev Ci dropper) and slight misses (underpowered Level TL brakes and paper-thin Nobby Nic tires). Still, it鈥檚 great to see GT back with such a sturdy and nuanced trail bike.

YT Capra 29 CF Pro Race听($5,499)

(Courtesy YT)

Best For: Bike parks and downhill runs

Bikes like , which has a whopping 170 millimeters of travel mated with big hoops, played a large part in the 29er renaissance. This bike leveled the gnarliest trails we threw it down, with the large wheels skipping over obstacles and the fat, sticky E Thirteen LG1 tires clinging like flypaper. And YT鈥檚 direct-to-consumer model brings the cost of the top-shelf version鈥攊ncluding Shimano XTR drivetrain, SRAM Code brakes, and carbon wheels, bars, and crank鈥攖o the level of most companies鈥 midgrade offerings. At 29.7 pounds, the Capra is hardly light and not exactly built for techy pedaling (the grippy tires gave the feel of plowing through molasses when pointed uphill), but it holds its own in the category. And when gravity kicked in, no other bike could keep pace.

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Why We Put Enve Wheels and Maxxis Tires on Every Bike /outdoor-gear/bikes-and-biking/enve-wheels-maxxis-tires-bikes/ Thu, 06 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /uncategorized/enve-wheels-maxxis-tires-bikes/ Why We Put Enve Wheels and Maxxis Tires on Every Bike

In pursuit of the most accurate results, we equipped all 50 bikes in our 2019 test with Enve hoops and Maxxis rubber. Here's what we learned.

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Why We Put Enve Wheels and Maxxis Tires on Every Bike

I鈥檝e said it for years, but the single best upgrade you can make to a bicycle is to get better wheels and tires. A pound of weight in the wheels, especially in the rims, makes a far bigger impact on inertia and how a bike feels than the same amount of weight in the frame. Pleasantly stiff wheels can improve steering, tracking, and cornering, while noodly ones make a bike feel listless and unmanageable. And rim widths and shapes, along with well-honed materials, can go a long way to smoothing out the ride. Similarly, quality tires with supple casings also blunt road noise and add traction and confidence. There are a lot of complicated factors and interplay between them, some of which I鈥檝e written about. But suffice it to say that good wheels and tires are probably the easiest way to palpably boost your bike鈥檚 performance.

This truism has implications for our annual test鈥攈eld in Grand Junction, Colorado, in 2018鈥攄uring which we rode more than 50 of the latest bicycles one after the other to suss out their strengths and weaknesses and determine our favorites. If wheels and tires make such a big difference, then the best way to level the playing field and really compare bikes would be to ride all of them with the same hoops and rubber. We鈥檝e known this for a long time (bikes have been eliminated from the test in the past simply because they felt terrible due to cheap and fragile stock setups), but the explosion of hub, brake, and wheel standards always made it impossible to change like setups between bikes. This year, though, thanks to consolidation in the market that has seen disc brakes become the norm on road bikes听and Boost spacing with single-chainring听drivetrains saturating听the mountain market, we were finally able to test every bike in the lineup with the same wheels, tires, and pressures. We still rode the bikes as they came, of course, but I had my own set of wheels to sub in and out in order to hopefully isolate the benefits and drawbacks of frame design and suspension.

This was no easy undertaking, given the variety of drivetrains, wheel sizes, and bike styles we test. I settled on Enve as the wheel supplier. The Utah-based company makes some of the highest-quality hoops on the market, and, ergo, they鈥檙e expensive. But the strength to weight is superior to most, the workmanship impeccable, the ride quality and durability听consistent across every model, and its customer service (including warranty and crash-replacement programs) is听excellent. I also appreciate that Enve听wheels are made in Ogden. Most importantly, the company offered a wide enough breadth of models to meet our needs.

It turned out to be quite an order: for road,听 (700c) and (650b) for gravel,听29-inch for cross-country,听 in 29 and 27.5 inches for trail and enduro, and in 29 and 27.5 inches for plus bikes. Since I needed doubles of pretty much everything in order to accommodate SRAM and Shimano specs (the two predominant drivetrains), that brought the final tally to 11 wheel sets, which we returned to Enve after the test.

(Jen Judge)

For tires, Maxxis was the natural choice, partly because over years of testing, I鈥檝e found its rubber to be the most durable across the board for our harsh Southwest-desert environment. But also, it has one of the most diverse offerings of tires, as well as the fullest size range in each style. Road was easy: semi-slick 28c . For gravel I went with the high-volume, low-tread . All of the mountain wheels got one of my favorite aggressive tire setups, a muscly, large-block / combo. The cross-country听hoops got low-profile, faster-rolling tires鈥斕齣n the front and 听in the rear鈥攕ince the bigger setup would have been too much. All tires were set up tubeless with , and I ran uniform tire pressures.

Thanks to Maxxis and Enve for supplying the big parts for this trial. Both Shimano and SRAM were also crucial, providing a range of cassettes and rotors to keep switch times minimal.

Before I get to comparative reflections, it鈥檚 worth dwelling on these products听for a minute. There are many great wheels out there, but Enve鈥檚 provide an incredibly refined ride consistently across the product line. The 3.4鈥檚 feel blazing fast, smooth, and solid; the G Series provides a very forgiving ride on rough terrain; and the M Series is exceptionally light and strong, with wide internals for large tire-contact patches. I was just as impressed with the Maxxis range, most notably the Re-Fuse gravel offering, which provided excellent traction and cut resistance, despite the low-volume tread, as well as a soft, supple feel. And the Minion DHF/DHRII combo provides some of the best grab and hook-up on rocky, loose terrain of anything I鈥檝e ever ridden. The ultimate testament: in nearly three months of riding these setups last year, I never got a single flat tire.

The best illustration of why comparison testing like this is important came on day one. As an experiment, I rode two gravel bikes鈥攖he Fuji Jari Carbon 1.1 and the 鈥攐n two laps each, first in their stock configurations, then with my custom wheels. With the stock WTB i23 wheels wrapped in 43c Panaracer GravelKing tires, the Fuji felt quick but a little slippery on the loose stuff听and a touch harsh overall. It wasn鈥檛 my favorite. The Donnelly, on the other hand, came with house-brand Ushuiaia wheels and 40c X鈥橮lor MSO tires. And though the bike had nice compliance, the ride was a little muted, soggy even. I probably would have said I preferred the Fuji over the Donnelly. After putting on the Enves mounted with Re-Fuse tires, though, my impressions changed. The Fuji still felt sharp, though not as much, while the Donnelly remained supercomfortable but was far sprightlier. Basically, by eliminating the wheel and tire variance, I realized that I preferred the Donnelly for its suppler ride.

Another example happened听a week or so later, when I was riding the Specialized Stumpjumper. I did a lap on Mack Ridge, at Loma, aboard the stock Roval wheels and Specialized鈥檚 Butcher/Purgatory tire combo. It鈥檚 a rocky, techy, fast descent, and though I loved it, I definitely felt the tires skating in hard corners. The next lap was aboard the same bike with Enve 635鈥檚 and the 2.6-inch听Maxxis DHF/2.5-inch听DHR II combo, and not only did I feel locked in and far more confident, I was more than 20 seconds faster on the five-minute downhill. The wheel and tire choice made me like the bike more than I would have otherwise.

From the outside, this might seem like a lot of process for little return, but I was pretty amazed by what we found. For one thing, it鈥檚 heartening that, after so many years of varied standards, it鈥檚 possible to so quickly and easily change wheels between bikes. Of the more than 50 bikes we tested, only a few (think: belt drive, Pinion gearbox, etc.) wouldn鈥檛 accept the wheels. And I feel like my impressions of this year鈥檚 bikes are more accurate than they have ever been. Of course, we took into account stock builds for our end reviews, as that鈥檚 the way many people will purchase bikes. But being able to isolate impressions on the frames and suspension systems really allowed us to hone into the nuanced differences between bikes. Perhaps most importantly for the end consumer, switching between average stock wheels and tires and superior ones underscored their importance. If you are after the best ride you can get, put your money into quality wheels and tires above all else.

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Witness the Revival of the Softail Road Bike /outdoor-gear/bikes-and-biking/revival-softail-road-bike/ Wed, 15 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /uncategorized/revival-softail-road-bike/ Witness the Revival of the Softail Road Bike

In recent years, softails have become something of an anachronism. Until now, that is.

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Witness the Revival of the Softail Road Bike

Softail road bikes鈥攚hich have a centimeter or two of suspension in the rear鈥攚ere popular a decade or two ago with mountain bikers. But they largely fell out of favor in recent years as full-suspension rigs became longer, lighter, and more refined. That鈥檚 not to say they have completely disappeared: Moots has been building lust-worthy models forever. But mostly, softails have become something of an anachronism.

Until now, that is. As road riding has trended more and more toward mixed surfaces, an increasing number of companies are returning to the concept of building active rear compliance into pavement and gravel bikes. It makes sense in these applications, too, because that little bit of suspension isn鈥檛 trying to minimize big hits but simply remove听the high-frequency vibration and chatter. Trek has led the charge in recent years with its IsoSpeed coupler, which it now uses on everything from road and gravel bikes to cross-country whips. 国产吃瓜黑料鈥檚 test in Grand Junction, Colorado, this year also saw three new road and gravel models revisiting the softail, mostly with great success and welcome听bump-taming results.

Wilier Cento 10 NDR (from $5,600; $8,000 as tested; shown above)

The is an endurance road bike, not a gravel machine. Ours came with 25c听Vittoria Zaffiro Pro tires, which might have been the biggest complaint we had. It was still as smooth as a Cadillac, but a bike like this deserves no less than 28c rubber (we upgraded immediately and appreciated the extra traction). And truthfully, we wish there were space for 32c or more. Tire size aside, the rear magic comes from Wilier鈥檚 Actiflex, which is a pivot point at the junction of the seat tube and seatstays that provides six millimeters of travel courtesy of a shock-absorbing polymer insert. Mostly, this bike just feels like a very smooth roadie, with a tall but not giant headtube for middle-of-the-road positioning (177 millimeters on a size large) and quick handling and bracing acceleration despite the rear suspension. And all the features are dialed just right, from the Ultegra Di2 group set (still our favorite) to听the shallow-drop carbon bars (even if the aero-spacer stem setup is a bit fiddly) to听the gorgeous fit and finish. At 18.5 pounds, this Wilier is no lightweight race bike. But for a fast, all-day cruise, it鈥檚 hard to beat.


Pinarello Gan GR-S ($5,500 as tested)

(Courtesy Pinarello)

A bit of a Frankenbike on the surface鈥攖he willowy frame with aero shaping suggest a roadie, but the knobby tires and rear shock say otherwise鈥攖he surprised us with its comfy feel and stable manners. You get a pretty aggressive position (the headtube on ours was just 150 millimeters), but the long wheelbase and extended chainstays lend confidence when carving dirt. And the combo of the rear shock and severely flattened stays create some give out back. The shock, though, feels simplistic and somewhat harsh, and we only managed to get through about half of the one centimeter of travel. Similarly, the wheel and tire specs left us wanting: Fulcrum Racing 5 DB with 33c Vittoria Terrano Mix tires made the bike feel heavy and more cyclocross than gravel. We squeezed 40c Maxxis Re-Fuse tires on Enve 骋23鈥檚, and that did more for bike feel and suspension than anything the rear shock would ever manage. With that tire setup, though, the Gan really came to life. We also rode it on pavement with some Enve 3.4鈥檚 and 28c Maxxis Rouler tires, and it held its own in a group of fast riders. As such, this bike would make a solid crossover for roadies who like the Pinarello aesthetic and spend only a little time on dirt.


Moots Routt YBB ($10,200 as tested)

(Courtesy Moots)

It should come as no surprise that the , a pivotless softail that has seen multiple iterations since its introduction in 1991, has the most refined feel of anything in its class. Providing 20 millimeters of travel, this design feels like having high-density foam between you and the road听without any energy-sapping sogginess. Combined with the titanium frame, which itself tames a ton of road buzz, as well as the carbon fork, this bike is simply the most comfortable that money can buy. Though it had a more forgiving position than the Pinarello (even with a 120-millimeter stem), the steering here was quicker and the handling more nimble. We loved the huge tire clearance鈥攐urs came with 45c WTB Riddlers on 700c, and there was still plenty of space. As noted above, we love the Ultegra Di2 drivetrain, especially for gravel, because it simplifies shifting and makes for quicker action when you need it. If we had one complaint, it was with the Fizik bars, which have too deep a drop and would be better with some flare. (Moots鈥檚 spongy bar tape, though, is killer.) The other new development from Moots is the company鈥檚 flashy听etched and anodized , which add even more heft to the price tag, but the age-old titanium gray looks classier than ever. Not many people are going to be able to afford the Routt YBB. But if we could own just one gravel bike鈥攁nd even use it as a crossover roadie鈥攖his would be the one.

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The Best Road Bikes of 2019 /outdoor-gear/bikes-and-biking/best-road-bikes-2019/ Wed, 15 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /uncategorized/best-road-bikes-2019/ The Best Road Bikes of 2019

This year鈥檚 class is changing how we see roadies

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The Best Road Bikes of 2019

Orbea Gain M20i Ltd ($6,800)

(Courtesy Orbea)

In 2018, gravel bikes were the fastest-growing segment of the bike industry. This year, drop-bar models continue their steady roll away from pavement toward variable surfaces and quieter escapes. Even on blacktop-only bikes, disc brakes are now standard, tire clearance is increasing, and geometries favor stability and comfort over whip-crack race handling.

The Gain M20i Ltd has all of the above, with a twist: a pedal-assist motor. Yeah, yeah, we can already hear the objections, but this is the most forward-looking road bike we鈥檝e seen in years. While it鈥檚 all but visually indistinguishable from most performance roadies鈥攍ithe carbon frame, precise Shimano Ultegra Di2 shifting and disc brakes, springy Mavic Cosmic Pro carbon wheels鈥攊t hides a 250-watt Ebikemotion motor in the rear hub and a 250-watt-hour battery in the down tube. When you pedal, and only when you pedal, the system delivers assistance in three increments that feel akin to riding with varying degrees of tailwind. Controlled by a button on the top tube, the power can be completely turned off; at 25.6 pounds, the Gain is still totally manageable. And while several brands released models that incorporate the Ebikemotion system this year, the Orbea stands out for its 40c tire clearance.

You can think of it as a bridge between bikes with other skill sets or as a rehab tool, but the appeal is obvious to anyone who wants greater range and a faster ride. On a day when they鈥檇 already put in three 25-mile laps, the Gain allowed testers a fourth trip over the mountain that they otherwise wouldn鈥檛 have taken. More riding, more speed, more fun鈥攚hat鈥檚 not to like?


Fuji Supreme 1.1 ($7,500)

(Courtesy Fuji)

Best Women鈥檚 Race Bike

With the new Supreme, Fuji has done something that no brand before it ever did: it built its flagship road-racing bike for women only. It鈥檚 a nod to the company鈥檚 most prominent team, Tibco-SVB, the longest-running and most successful women鈥檚 cycling squad in North America. The Supreme is a torpedo, with wind-slicing Kammtail tubes and Oval Concepts 50-millimeter-deep rims for even more aero capability. Despite that extra carbon, our test bike came in at just 16 pounds, approaching the weight of many climbing machines. Fuji says the bike is faster than its full-aero ride, the Transonic, and testers concurred. The Supreme was so fleet, it almost felt like riding an e-bike. This is the only model we tested this year that came with SRAM Red eTap, and it鈥檚 still the most intuitive shifting setup we鈥檝e used. All that had male testers feeling a bit envious.


Viathon R.1 Dura-Ace ($5,850)

(Courtesy Viathon)

Best Men鈥檚 Race Bike

With an online-only sales model that forgoes retail markup and overhead, this new Arkansas-based brand has managed to build arguably the fastest bike you can buy for the money. The strapping, disc-equipped frame tips the scales at just 1.9 pounds, which puts it among the lightest on the market, and once built, it yielded a sub-16-pound bike. With deep-section Knight Composite carbon wheels and a Shimano Dura-Ace drivetrain, there are really no improvements to be made here. Handling is brisk, and road feel is surprisingly muted for such a sharp bike, thanks in part to the slender drop seat stays. Given the low cost鈥攏early half that of the competition鈥攖he R.1 is like getting a Tesla Model S for the price of a Mazda Miata. (And the base-level, 105-equipped spec, built on an identical frame, is the deal of the year at $2,300.)


Moots Routt YBB ($10,200)

(Courtesy Moots)

Best 国产吃瓜黑料 Bike

The growing all-road trend has spurred a resurgence in tita颅nium, which is lightweight and forgiving but has been overshadowed by carbon. There鈥檚 no finer use of the material than in the Routt YBB. Moots has been building the finest titanium bikes at its shop in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, since 1981. Hence the Routt鈥檚 stunning craftsmanship and dialed feel, with slack, stable geometry, a tall stack height to get weight off your hands, and stock 45c tires. But what sets the Routt apart is the YBB pivotless softail, which provides 20 milli颅meters of rear suspension to dampen harsh washboard and rocky fire roads. Our test model came with internally routed Shi颅mano Ultegra Di2 shifting, a clutch-style derailleur that stops chain slap, and wide-profile Mavic Allroad Pro wheels, which stretched the WTB Riddler tires for stable traction.


Salsa Warbird Carbon Ultegra Di2 700 ($5,399)

(Courtesy Salsa)

Best Gravel Racer

Built with long-haul endurance races in mind, the Warbird is the antithesis of a road machine, with a head angle milder than some XC mountain bikes, compact Ultegra Di2 cranks and a wide 11-32 cassette, and a tuned carbon layup that provided one of the most forgiving rides we鈥檝e experienced. It鈥檚 so smooth, in fact, that even after racing the Warbird on the Dirty Kanza鈥檚 notoriously rugged 200 miles of gravel, we were amazed at how fresh we felt. Everything about this bike is off-road optimized, including the massive front triangle (for extra hauling space), flared Woodchipper bars (for control), 40c Maxxis Rambler tires (no flats in six months), and braze-ons for racks, cargo cages, feed bags, and anything else you鈥檇 want to carry. Salsa even left room for 2.1-inch tires on 650b wheels, expanding the range.

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The Best Mountain Bikes of 2019 /outdoor-gear/bikes-and-biking/best-mountain-bikes-2019/ Wed, 15 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000 /uncategorized/best-mountain-bikes-2019/ The Best Mountain Bikes of 2019

Dirt whips that take you everywhere the fun is

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The Best Mountain Bikes of 2019

Ibis Ripmo ($8,200)

(Courtesy Ibis)

This is the year of the long-travel 29er. While big wheels have long dominated the XC and trail categories (the 29er was the top-selling bike last year), they鈥檝e had a harder time catching on with downhillers, because of the added weight and the challenge of building a frame that doesn鈥檛 feel bulky. Brands nailed the equation this year with tighter geometries and lighter components. In our test, it was mostly long-travel 29ers that took the honors.

Case in point: the Ibis Ripmo, a carbon all-mountain 29er with 145 millimeters of rear travel and a stout 160-millimeter Fox 36 fork. Despite its aggressive stance and slack front end, this is a dumbfoundingly quick and agile ride. It鈥檚 also reasonably light at 28.6 pounds. The super-steep seat angle made techy uphills a cinch, as did the soft tune on the DW-Link suspen颅sion. On downhills the grip got even better, courtesy of Ibis鈥檚 wide 942 carbon rims and the meaty Maxxis tire combi颅nation鈥攁 2.5-inch Minion DHF and a 2.5-inch Aggressor. The low-slung seat tube allows for the longest-possible dropper post, letting us bring our center of gravity down for better man颅euverability. We threw ourselves at the steepest rock- and ledge-littered trails and were amazed at how nonchalant the Ripmo felt. 鈥淟ike pedaling a cloud,鈥 one tester commented. It鈥檚 tempting to label the Ripmo a trail ride and an enduro sled wrapped in one, but to us it鈥檚 simply the all-around mountain bike we always wanted.


Juliana Furtado ($8,999)

(Courtesy Juliana)

Best for Women

The sister bike to the Santa Cruz 5010, the Furtado is a carbon trail steed with milder suspension and contact points tweaked for women (think shaped saddle and narrower 760-millimeter bars). Time and again, testers said the bike felt supple and easy to maneuver. The Furtado has an easygoing 66.5-degree head angle, 130 millimeters of travel front and rear, and 27.5-inch hoops. (Smaller wheels still seem to be the norm on women鈥檚 models, though half our riders said they鈥檇 prefer this bike with 29s.) The Juliana felt especially springy. Reserve carbon wheels add stiffness for steering confidence and help spread the 2.3-inch Maxxis Minion tires for grab. It鈥檚 a well-mannered bike that, at 27.6 pounds, is light enough to ride all day. We weren鈥檛 crazy about the color, though.


Scott Ransom 900 Tuned ($7,600)

(Courtesy Scott)

Best Enduro

Smaller wheels (27.5 and even 26 inches) have long ruled among enduro racers, who run timed segments down breakneck descents. But the carbon Scott Ransom 900 and bikes like it are changing that. It鈥檚 as light as a trail machine, at 29.2 pounds, but nearly as slack (64.5 degrees) and long (170 millimeters) as a full-on downhiller. Thanks to Scott鈥檚 TwinLoc, which has one lever to set front and rear shock volume and sag (choose from three modes: Lockout, Traction Control, and Descend), the bike climbs astonishingly well for such an aggressive machine. Still, when you point this rig down, the easygoing angles and beefy 2.6-inch Maxxis Minion tires gobble up drops and jumps. And yes, the 29-inch Ransom was verifiably faster and easier to handle than similarly appointed 27.5s in the test.


Lenz Behemoth 29+ ($8,300)

(Courtesy Lenz)

Best All Mountain

This Colorado-based brand has accomplished what no company before it was able to do: pack 29-plus wheels into a lightweight (28.2 pounds), quick-handling, full-suspension package. The trick is the geometry, with road-bike-short 424-millimeter chainstays, a moderate 68-degree head angle, and a short reach for XC-whip-level handling. The Behemoth鈥檚 light weight is even more impressive given that the frame is alloy. Yet the combination of big hoops and mid-travel suspension (140-millimeter fork, 125-millimeter frame) makes for incredible rollover on loose rock and second-to-none climbing on step-ups. The whole package made for a squishy, forgiving all-mountain crusher. But unlike many 29-plus models, which plow over obstacles, the Behemoth glances over them like a rock skipping on water.


Specialized Stumpjumper ST Expert 29 ($5,000)

(Courtesy Specialized)

Best Trail Bike

In its standard configuration, the Stumpjumper is an all-mountain ride that keeps up with the Ibis Ripmo. But it鈥檚 the short-travel (ST) model that won our hearts, with its nimbler handling and lighter weight (26 pounds). A progressive shock tune ramps up at the end of the travel, and there鈥檚 a stout RockShox Pike fork鈥攂oth help the bike feels more capable than its midsize measurements suggest (130 millimeters up front, 120 in the rear). For most riding in most places, this size is the op颅timal blend of proficiency on technical terrain and pedaling ease. Specialized equipped it perfectly, with a full-length (160 millimeters) house-brand Command Post that makes it trivial to find the right height, wide 780-millimeter bars for control, and broad Roval Traverse carbon rims to spread the 2.3-inch tires.

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