Down The Trail
Looking back 20 years
Browsing category
Looking back 20 years
What happened in 1998
1998’s Fasetest Downhill Bikes
BIKE TESTS •Scott Spark RC 900 World Cup – Nino’s legs aren’t included •Ibis Ripley LS – New geometry, more tire clearance, “hella NorCal” •Specialized Chisel Comp – Affordable and fast—carve the trails •Norco Fluid FS 7.2 – Born in B.C. with blue-collar parents FEATURES •Best Bikes of 2017 – We pick the 10 best •Best Innovations of 2017 – […]
BIKE TESTS •Santa Cruz Nomad Carbon CC The bike that was born to ramble •Rocky Mountain Carbon Altitude 70 Rising to the occasion •Pivot Mach 5.5 Carbon Pro If you could only have one bike •Airborne Plague 27.5 Infectiously affordable bike delivered to your door FEATURES •PressCamp 2017 The Newest Gear You’ll Be Riding […]
BIKE TESTS • Trek Fuel EX 9.8 27.5+ Do it all and do it well • Giant XTC Advanced Plus Fat wheels, lightweight XC frame • Canyon Lux CF 9.9 Pro Race Team The Germans are here • Jamis Trail X Expert It’s seriously affordable FEATURES • What to Expect When Buying Your Next Bike Understanding what’s built into […]
Don’t Get Burned!
TECHNICAL Inside the Pros’ Bikes Bruce Klein’s pimped-out KHS SKILLS AND FITNESS 15 Tips to Climb Faster You might get a KOM PRODUCT FIELD TESTS Trek RE:aktiv Shock Something special for the XC nerds Crankbrothers Iodine 27.5 Wheels Stiff, light, fast and surprisingly affordable Northwave Outcross Plus Shoes Big performance without the big price tag 6D ATB-1T Helmet The […]
A Blast from the Past
TECHNICAL Inside the Pros’ Bikes Connor Fearon’s Kona Operator Garage Files How to install OneUp’s Shark Cage SKILLS AND FITNESS How to Ride Steep Descents It takes more than guts BIKE TESTS Trek Slash 9.8 29er Making 29ers great again Norco Range C9.2 29er Canadians making 29ers great again too Devinci Marshall 27.5+ Plus-sized bike […]
BIKE TESTS Giant Anthem Advanced 0 XC racing to trail shredding Turner Flux Carbon Don’t stop, Dave Mondraker Foxy Carbon XR The bike that started a geometry revolution Kona Hei Hei Trail DL Make mountain biking fun again FEATURES Ten Things Your Bike Hates About You Take better care of your machine Hans Rey and […]
Rad from the 90’s is still Rad
3-Decades Young and Growing!
BIKE TESTS 38 Ellsworth Epiphany 27.5+ Big tires meet California engineering 56 Orbea Occam AM M10 A seriously aggressive bike from Spain 80 Kona Hei Hei DL Race Fastest ever version of a Kona classic 108 Devinci Django The “D” is silent for this short-travel, big-attitude 29er PRODUCT FIELD TESTS 44 Fox 32 Factory Step-Cast […]
BIKE TESTS Pivot Mach 6 Carbon 2.0 Yes, it’s actually better than the original Six-Trailbike Shootout Have $3000 to spend on a new trailbike? We tell you which one’s the best KHS SixFifty 5500 Awesome value in a 27.5-inch package Giant Trance 2 Tried-and-true suspension with dialed components Cannondale Habit 5 Feed your trailbike habit […]
Do You Get The Latest Issue Of MBA? Don’t Let That Flat Tire Stop You-Race-In And Pick One Up At Your Local Store Or Bike Shop
BIKE TESTS Pivot Mach 429 Trail Trail-worthy version of a 29er favorite BMC Teamelite 01 The bike that survived Leadville Liv Lust 2 A little somethin’ for the ladies Specialized S-Works Demo 8 Carbon Is this really the fastest bike on earth? PRODUCT FIELD TESTS Bell Event XC Helmet More bang for the buck on […]
BIKE TESTS Cannondale Habit Carbon Big-travel confidence in a small-travel package Rocky Mountain Instinct 990 MSL BC Edition A beastly trailbike that survived BC Bike Race Trek Fuel EX 9.9 Trailbike that’s full of surprises YT Industries Capra CF The young hucker’s choice for an enduro bike Kona Honzo More bang for less buck PRODUCT […]
BIKE TESTS Santa Cruz Nomad Carbon Miami Vice style meets enduro performance Cross-Country Race Bike Shootout Scott Scale and Cannondale F-Si square off Intense M16 Like napalm for the trail—the evolution of M-series bikes Specialized S-Works Camber 650b Hot-rodded trailbike for the cross-country rider PRODUCT TESTS Schwalbe ProCore System Has Schwalbe solved flat tires forever? […]
BIKE TESTS Trek Slash 9.8 Carbon Carbon copy of an enduro favorite Niner ROS 9 Steel is real, baby! GT Sanction Our custom-built project bike hits the racecourse Salsa Horsethief 29er Testing a spicy cross-country trailbike Scott Voltage FR 710 Bringing the electricity to the bike park PRODUCT FIELD TESTS SKS Mini-Pump Shootout How much […]
BIKE TESTS Giant Glory Advanced 27.5 0 Carbon maestro gravity fiend Cannondale F29 Carbon 4 29er hardtail—locked and loaded for racing Foes Mutz Full-suspension fat bike from the fabrication masters Intense Spider 275 Expert A spider that can fly Transition BLT Enjoying the jumps, pumps and whoops FEATURES Fifteen Life Hacks for the Mountain Biker […]
BIKE TESTS Ghost Riot LC Speedy German-import trailbike Giant Stance 27.5 0 Seriously affordable suspension Litespeed Pinhoti American-made titanium 29er speed freak BMC SpeedFox SF02 Swiss bike that can wear many helmets Felt Burner Klunker history with a fresh twist FEATURES Riding the Palm Canyon Epic with Shimano Will XTR electronic shifting survive this desert […]
BIKE TESTS Scott Genius LT 710 Outsmarting the trail Rocky Mountain Thunderbolt 770MSL B.C. born-and-bred trail slayer Foes FXR275 Brent will build a long-travel machine for you Chumba Rastro Steel-framed hardtail for hardcore riders Orbea Oiz M10 Accelerates like a rocket and devours rocks FEATURES Twelve Bikes That Changed History From humble beginnings to ground-breaking […]
BIKE TESTS KTM Scarp Prestige An Austrian speed machine Domahidy Titanium Master craftsmanship at its finest Specialized S-Works Enduro 27.5-Inch X-Wing fighter for enduro racing Surly Krampus Big wheels and tires for big adventures GT Helion Carbon Pro Making cross-country riding fun again FEATURES Hidden Trails Friend or foe? Ibis’ New Long-Travel Machine The HD3 […]
BIKE TESTS Kona Process 111 vs. Process 167 Shootout Same concept, different experience Intense 951 EVO DVO Special Edition Custom-built downhill rocket you can buy Marin Attack Trail C-XT9 Marin County attacks enduro Specialized Crave Expert 29er Affordable way to satisfy your craving PRODUCT FIELD TESTS Magura MT7 Brakes Supermoto stopping power for your bike […]
BIKE TESTS Pivot Mach 4 Carbon A race-inspired trailbike KHS 4 Season 3000 vs. KHS SixFifty 2500 Should you be skinny or fat on the trail? Cannondale Trigger Carbon 2 Pull the Trigger already Giant XtC 2 27.5-Inch Hardtail ecstasy PRODUCT FIELD TESTS Mavic Crossmax XL Wheel and Tire System Wheels that can handle “French […]
BIKE TESTS Felt Compulsion 10 Fresh design on a Felt favorite Lapierre Spicy 527 Rise of the machine Trek Stache 7 Moustache sold separately Yeti SB5c Flip the switch to infinity Specialized Rumor 29er Rumor has it… FEATURES Inside the World’s Biggest Toy box 2014 Eurobike coverage Idaho’s Mountain on the Lake Crown jewel of […]
BIKE TESTS Trek Fuel EX 9.8 Mario Andretti’s dream bike Ellsworth Epiphany 275 Enduro SST.2e The joy of riding enduro Breezer Repack Team Is the MLink the missing link to trail bike suspension excellence? Specialized Fatboy Big tires mean big fun on the trail Roca Roja Legendary Single-Speed Simple, elegant and fast TECHNICAL Garage Files […]
SHOOTOUT Droppin’ It Like It’s Hot The dropper seatpost shootout you’ve been asking for. BIKE TESTS The Airborne Toxin Five-star-resort riding at Motel 6 pricing. The Fezzari Timp Peak Utah’s special-delivery performance goes 27.5. The Fuji SLM 29 1.1 Ready to race, whether or not you are. The Ibis Ripley Believe it or not, the […]
CAR RACK BUYER’S GUIDE Keeping Track Of What’s On The Rack Taking total command of your hauling capacity Ways To Haul Your Bike To The Trailhead Safely And then all bets are off. COMPARISON Manitou Dorado and Mattoc Pro Forks Enduro technology trickles from downhill. BIKE TESTS The Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Expert Carbon Evo 650b […]