The History of the Specialized Stumpjumper

The first production mountain bike

Mountain biking was still in its infancy in 1981 when Mike Sinyard, the founder of Specialized Bicycle Components, began to produce and market the Stumpjumper, the world’s first production mountain bike. Only a few custom builders were…
Read More...

SHOOTOUT: 26″ VS. 27.5″ VS. 29″

This story first appeared in our March 2012 issue, when only a few companies were offering bikes with 27.5-inch (650b) wheels. At that time, the dilemma for most riders was to choose between bikes with 26 and 29-inch wheels. Take a look back at what we said about the three wheel-size choices, back in the day when the 26-inchers still ruled the market

What's the best wheel size for you and your bike
Read More...

CARBON OR ALUMINUM—WHICH IS BETTER?

Bike parts are lighter and offer better performance than ever. The gains are largely due to improvements in material technology, such as switching from metal to carbon fiber parts. These lighter and “better” parts come with a…
Read More...

VIDEO: Danny MacAskill in “Danny Daycare”

Danny MacAskill takes a little girl in a bike trailer along with him on one of his craziest mountain bike rides

In this classic video, Danny MacAskill takes on child care the only way he knows how— by taking the kid for a wee bike ride around Scotland! Sit back and enjoy the ride
Read More...

Throwback Thursday: 27.5 Plus vs. 27.5

The pros and cons of wider tires (from May 2016)

Back in 2016, we compared regular 27.5-inch wheels with 27.5+ wheels, which back then ranged from around 2.75 to 3 inches in width. Nowadays, the differences are not as great as they were before, since the regular 27.5-inch wheels now often…
Read More...