A wreck over the weekend has stirred up some intense debate over removing obstacles in the trail in the name of safety. This past weekend, a friend of ours fractured his C7 vertebrae after having a head on collision with a diagonal tree that overhangs the trail on a non-technical trail in north Georgia. This specific tree has been known for collarbone breaks and numerous life flights out of the area, so after this last serious encounter, it was removed. [...]
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First Look: Diamondback Mission 4 AM Mountain Bike
Next up on the chopping block at Bike198 is the Mission 4 from Diamondback. This 150mm rear wheel travel all mountain styled mountain bike comes kitted out with some of the best the industry has to offer with the Truvativ Hammerschmidt AM mated to a 9 speed X.0 drivetrain with top of the line Fox Racing Shox components to handle the suspension work. The Mission 4 is the top of the line in the Mission lineup with several more options all the [...]
Poll: Do You Run Tubes Or Go Tubeless In Your Tires?
Gone are the days of 1.8 tires filled up with 50 psi just hoping that you do not pinch flat your tubes and have to tear the tight tires off the v-brake rims. With wider and lighter tires, wider and lighter rims and a wide variety of different options for mountain bikers, you can enjoy the benefits of more rubber in more ways than ever. Running a set of tubeless tires used to mean heavy rims and heavy tires, but [...]
Review: Specialized Vice AM Style Mountain Bike Helmet
There is a growing trend in the mountain biking industry for helmets that provide more protection while trail riding. Mountain bikers looking for increased protection that are not as weight sensitive now have a wide range of lids to choose from that going away from the typical racer look that mtb helmets have typically had in the past. It all seemed to start with the Fox Flux and now we are seeing helmets like this Specialized Vice on review and [...]
First Look: WTB TCS Customized Integrated Wheel System
For 2010, WTB is releasing new lineup of wheels implementing their TCS (tubeless compatible system) to provide a lightweight wheelset option to compliment their lightweight TCS lineup of tires. The idea is to bring high volume, lightweight, tubeless tires to a lightweight wheel setup to bring down overall rotational weight while still getting the benefits of running tubeless. The 23mm wide AM version is going right in line with the trend of wider rims at a lower weight that was [...]
Pimp My Ride – A Look Inside Spectrum Powder Works
Bike 198 has become a great place to look at the latest and greatest the cycling world has to offer, share ideas, and socialize with like minded wheel junkies. While it is cool to check out what is “next” in the cycling world, sometimes it is fun to get the most out of what we already have. Whether you are trying to squeeze a few more good years out of a trusty frame in a tough economy, refurbish a classic [...]
Review: Specialized Enduro SL Pro Carbon – Sub 30 lbs 160mm
For the past 7 months, the Bike198 crew has been ripping up the Specialized Enduro SL Pro Carbon 160mm travel mountain bike around the southeast on trails ranging from cross country to light free ride. This sub 30 pound AM killer from Specialized was redesigned for the 2010 model year and brought many of the previous requests of Enduro owners to the trail. Let’s take a look at the changes and how the Enduro SL Pro Carbon performed when rubber [...]
How To Protect Your Frame From Scratches and Cable Rub
Let me start this by saying that I am pretty sure I have used EVERY bike specific tape product to protect frames on the market. I have way overpaid for private branded, logo’ed up clear tape that ends up failing by getting dirt and moisture underneath or leaves a nasty glue residue on the frame. It’s frustrating and expensive when all I really want to do is protect my frames from scratches and cable rub. We spend a lot of [...]
Review: Shimano SLX Mountain Bike Component Group
When Shimano set out to design a new budget group for mountain bikers, they ditched the LX (moved to commuter) and Hone (discontinued) packages for mountain bikes to create the Shimano SLX mountain bike component group. This groupo promised to mix the durability of Hone with the proven reliability of LX to give entry level to intermediate mountain bikes a quality component group that might not be the lightest on the market, but performs to expectations on the trail. Sitting directly below the Shimano [...]
Specialized S-Works Epic Carbon 29er Mountain Bike Revealed
The Specialized Epic Carbon 29er marks a new entry point for Specialized Mountain Bikes…a race worthy 29er that is going to see podium spots. Up until this point, Specialized only had the Stumpjumper HT available in carbon for those that loved the big wheeled platform. If you wanted full suspension carbon, you had to settle for the 26″ version of the Epic. Now, with the introduction of the 2011 Specialized Epic Carbon 29er, we are going to see a full [...]
Poll Results: Who’s Mountain Bike Suspension Are You Running?
Last week, I hit you guys up with a question: “Who’s mountain bike suspension are you running?” The idea was to get a polling of what you guys are running as your front and rear shocks in terms of brand. With multiple options available on the market, we get to see a spread of usage across all platforms with the simplicity of this poll setup. So…how did everything shake out? Front Suspension: Brand Breakdown from Poll Results Rear Suspension: Brand [...]
Review: Specialized MTB Shorts – Shindig and Para
Specialized is well known throughout the mountain biking industry for providing a complete lineup of high-quality mountain bike apparel and accessories for riders. As part of their extensive lineup, Specialized offers some apparel for the all mountain, free ride and downhill segments to meet the needs of more agressive riding. The Specialized Shindig and Para mountain bike shorts are part of that lineup and the subjects for today’s review. These two heavy duty MTB shorts are designed to protect your [...]
Who’s MTB Suspension Are You Running?
Outside of bike brands, the largest competition in the market has to be suspension manufactures. With 99% of the bikes on the market getting some form of suspension treatment from the factory or in the aftermarket, mountain bike suspension component manufacturers are all competing for a spot on your mountain bike. The long time favorites have been Fox Racing Shox and RockShox in recent memory but veterans like Manitou and new comers like Fusion are starting to mix up the [...]
Review: Hive Fifteen.G XC/AM Mountain Bike Crankset
The Hive (recently merged with e*thirteen) has come to the mountain bike component marketplace with some impressive new gear. This Fifteen.G crankset marks the first of crank in their line and promises high performance, low weight and a lower price than you are normally used to from a weight weenie setup. The beautiful black ano blends with just about any mountain bike perfectly, so let’s take a spin and see how these impressive cranks performed on the trail. the Hive [...]
Video: 2011 Cannondale Jekyll – Adjustable 150mm Trail Bike
Cannondale is completely revamping their mountain bike lineup for 2011. This new lineup from Cannondale bikes is the first complete redesign since the Doral buyout, so all eyes are on Cannondale to see if they can keep the “boutique” feel going with big box backing. As part of the new mountain bike lineup announcement, the big C brought back the Jekyll. To bring back an old mountain bike legend like the Jekyll, Cannondale knew they couldn’t bring just another run [...]
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