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cross country bikes

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Ari Introduces the All-New Signal Peak 3.0 Next-Gen Cross Country Bike

A third-generation Signal Peak cross-country bike that’s a whopping 305 grams lighter than the previous version

Mar 11, 2025

It comes with an all-new suspension design and a long list of other improvements to keep it competitive in the quickly evolving cross-country category.
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We Take Walmart’s Surprisingly Good Ozark Trail Hardtail to the Next Level

We made some key updates to the Ozark Trail Ridge mountain bike that really bring it to the next level without breaking the bank.

Feb 24, 2025

What we ended up with is a fun-to-ride hardtail that lets us take it on the trail with more speed, confidence, control and comfort.
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Orbea Releases the All-New 2025 Alma Hardtail

Orbea’s new hardtail offers a purer connection between rider and trail, packed with technology to let you take it further and faster

Jan 30, 2025

Careful control of tube profiles and materials, matched to Orbea's X-Fader technology, helps absorb the trail chatter which adds to fatigue on long rides.
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YETI CYCLES ASR LONG TERM REVIEW – CALL IT A CROSS-COUNTRY COMEBACK

Yeti's ASR cross-country bike goes back to its flex-stay, gram-counting heritage and pushes the brand back into the forefront of modern XC racing

Jan 22, 2025

Once again, the ASR is pushing geometry and weight boundaries that match up perfectly with the trajectory of modern cross-country racecourses.
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AMERICA’S KATE COURTNEY JOINS ALLIED CYCLE WORKS

The 2018 World Champion unveils her new race bike for 2025

Jan 21, 2025

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALLIED CYCLE WORKS Kate Courtney will be racing an Allied Cycle Works bike this year. ALLIED Cycle Works proudly welcomes Kate Courtney—the 2018 UCI Mountain Bike Elite Women's XCO World Champion, 2019 World Cup…
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BIKE CHECK: CARTER WOODS’ GIANT ANTHEM ADVANCED CROSS-COUNTRY RACER

Canada's rising star on the XC race scene rides a really fast and cool looking Giant Anthem mountain bike

Jan 20, 2025

Carter Woods is looking like he could well be Canada’s best bet to become a cross-country star on the international circuit.
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SPENCER RATHKAMP’S DARING ATTEMPT TO RACE XC, SLALOM, ENDURO AND DH ON ONE BIKE

Spencer Rathkamp shows just how versatile a modern mountain bike like the Specialized Epic 8 EVO really is

Jan 8, 2025

What made us raise an eyebrow upon hearing of his plans was the bike he intended to race on: Specialized’s new Epic 8 EVO.
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THE 2024 MOUNTAIN BIKE ACTION EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARDS

The best of the best in mountain bikes and gear of the year

Dec 24, 2024

Just when you might think that the sport of mountain biking’s evolutionary curve is flattening, manufacturers find new ways to raise the bar and make the riding experience even better.
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LONG TERM REVIEW: TRANSITION SPUR – MINIMIZED EFFORT FOR MAXIMUM TRAIL EXPERIENCE

The mountain bike that blurs the lines between trail and cross country categories more than most

Dec 18, 2024

Transition’s lightness, both in feel and on the scales, makes for a bike that can be pedaled farther and pointed down gnarly lines with fresh legs, thanks to the overall efficiency.
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THROWBACK THURSDAY: 20 YEARS AGO

Check out our cover from December 2004

Dec 11, 2024

Our cover from December of 2004 featured one of the latest bikes from Marin, the Mount Vision Pro. In the lower left photo you can see Mike King leading eventual series champion Eric Carter in the mountaincross race at the 2004 NORBA…
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LONG TERM REVIEW: SPECIALIZED S-WORKS EPIC 8 – THE EVOLUTION CONTINUES

Arguably the best-known cross country race mountain bike of all time sees a major redesign

Dec 12, 2024

The result is a single-frame design that, depending on the components added, can be either a competitive XC racing rig or a confident trail bike that is ready for anything thrown its way.
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TOM PIDCOCK TELLS US WHAT MOUNTAIN BIKES HE’LL BE RIDING IN 2025 AND BEYOND

The Olympic gold medalist breaks the news

Dec 9, 2024

"The only occasions he will not compete on a Pinarello will be during road events."
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ASK MBA: WHAT’S THE BEST ALL-AROUND CROSS-COUNTRY BIKE FOR THE BC BIKE RACE?

These cross-country bikes are capable of going the distance

Dec 9, 2024

At the end of the day, these are all going to be capable all-around bikes that we know you’ll be happy with on those eight-hour rides you mentioned.
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VALUE HARDTAIL SHOOTOUT – FIVE RACY BUDGET PRICED MOUNTAIN BIKES GO HEAD TO HEAD

We test five value focsed hardtails perfect for NICA or high school racing league athletes looking for performance on a budget

Nov 7, 2024

In this shootout, we’ve ridden and rated five different sub-$2200 hardtails from KHS, Jibe, Marin, Specialized and Giant that fit this mold and see how they stack up against one another. In this article we answer the question what are the…
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ROCKY MOUNTAIN LAUNCHES THE ALL-NEW ELEMENT

A lightweight and precise cross-country machine

Oct 16, 2024

Geometry and suspension that challenge the boundaries of modern cross-country riding translate to total confidence on technical terrain and high-speed singletrack.
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LAUF ELJA XC FIRST RIDE REVIEW

Big tires, lightweight, and two bottom brackets for the new Lauf Elja XC mountain bike.

Sep 25, 2024

Big tires, lightweight, and two bottom brackets for the new Lauf Elja XC mountain bike.
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LAUF CYCLES LAUNCHES A MOUNTAIN BIKE

The Lauf Elja XC and Elja Trail rolls on big tires while remaining lightweight.

Sep 25, 2024

The Lauf Elja XC and Elja Trail rolls on big tires while remaining lightweight.
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LONG TERM REVIEW: YETI SB120 – BLURING THE LINES OF CROSS COUNTRY AND TRAIL MOUNTAIN BIKES

The prefect mix of fun and fast?

Sep 3, 2024

Efficiency was built into this bike’s DNA, which was apparent as soon as we swung our leg over the top tube.
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A WICKED FAST HARDTAIL – TREK’S PROCALIBER GEN 3 CARBON

For the rider who wants light weight and quick handling

Aug 28, 2024

Designed to meet the needs of XC racers, NICA/IMBA athletes, and rugged gravel riders, it's a bike that prioritizes a lightweight platform, quick handling, and high-value performance.
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REVIEW: OZARK TRAIL RIDGE – WALMART’S CHEAP MOUNTAIN BIKE THAT CAN

Surprising performance from Walmart's incredibly inexpensive hardtail

Aug 22, 2024

This might come as a surprise to many, but the test riders were all smiles when it came to the climbs on this bike.
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LONG TERM REVIEW: CERVÉLO ZFS-5 CROSS COUNTRY RACE MOUNTAIN BIKE REVIEW

A speedy XC race bike that's designed to win

Aug 14, 2024

LONG TERM REVIEW: CERVÉLO ZFS-5 CROSS COUNTRY RACE MOUNTAIN BIKE REVIEW In the past, if you wanted to throw your leg over a Cervélo, you’d have to go to the road bike section of the bike shop and ponder some bikes with curly bars. Now,…
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BIKE CHECK: ERIC PORTER’S DIAMONDBACK YOWIE

A shred ready cross country bike that's built for fun

Aug 9, 2024

I worked with the Diamondback product team to develop this bike so we’d have something fast and efficient that you could still shred anything on
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FRIDAY FLASHBACK: 35 YEARS AGO—NED OVEREND AND THE 1989 SPECIALIZED STUMPJUMPER

Check out what the Stumpjumper looked like in the old days

Aug 2, 2024

This ad came out the year before the first UCI Mountain Bike World Championship, in 1990. Today, Ned is still working for Specialized, and he is also well known for having won the first UCI Elite Men's XC World Championship, 34 years…
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THE TEN BEST CROSS COUNTRY RACE MOUNTAIN BIKES OF 2024

From the Olympics to high school league racing, these XC bikes are all about blazing-fast speed and efficiency

Aug 8, 2024

These are sharply focused tools designed to harness every watt of a rider’s power output to create forward motion.
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THE PROS AND CONS OF BUYING MOUNTAIN BIKES AT WALMART AND COSTCO INSTEAD OF BIKE SHOPS

Is it worth the money savings to buy bikes at stores like Walmart and Costco?

Jul 29, 2024

The first thought from most riders when they hear “box store” is a cheap, brittle bike that would barely survive jumping off of a curb, but that is no longer necessarily the case. Some of the bikes offered by the likes of Walmart are…
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INSIDE THE PROS’ BIKES WITH MATHIEU VAN DER POEL

(From Mountain Bike Action, September 2020)

Jul 19, 2024

Check out our interview with Mathieu van der Poel from 2020, along with updates about his performance in this year's Tour de France
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THROWBACK THURSDAY: MOUNTAIN BIKE ACTION, JULY 1989

Aluminum bikes were the latest craze

Jul 11, 2024

Our July 1989 issue of Mountain Bike Action showed our never-ending fascination with the latest bikes and technology. That part of the sport has never changed over the last 35 years. In those days, the biggest concern for most mountain…
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REVIEW: TREK SUPERCALIBER SLR CROSS COUNTRY RACE BIKE

A second-generation gold medal winner

Jul 7, 2024

Not one to rest on its laurels, Trek has introduced a second generation of the Supercaliber with a completely new frame with more travel and evolved features to take on the highest levels of racing.
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AMERICA’S XC NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE COMING UP SOON

Bear Creek Mountain Resort in Macungie, Pennsylvania, will host the event on July 17-21, 2024

Jun 28, 2024

America's XC National Championships are scheduled to take place just over a week before the Olympic mountain bike events take place in Paris, where the women's Olympic mountain bike race is scheduled for Sunday, July 28th, and the men are…
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BMC FOURSTROKE CROSS COUNTRY RACE BIKE REVIEW

XC speed and automation generously redefined

Jun 26, 2024

Its sole purpose is to go fast and feel the spray of champagne at the end of the day as its rider celebrates another victory.
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