It's been exciting times in the mountain bike world recently. We've been treated to new bikes aplenty from Specialized with its new ultra-light Epic and a brand-new Enduro bike that's been a long time coming.
Santa Cruz has just launched a new Tallboy, with accompanying Juliana Joplin, which is a 120mm travel trail bike that's gained a significant amount of rowdiness while Trek's treated us to a brand new Fuel EX trail-ragging rig.
Giant has also launched a new Reign enduro bike and Reign electric mountain bike. Not only that, Intense has been busy working on a brand new Primer. It's a 140mm travel trail bike that is available in 650b, mullet (29-inch front and 650b rear wheel) and full 29er setups with the top of the range model costing £6,499 / $6,999.
There's also a new Radon Slide Trail that has 140mm of travel and starts at only €2,499!
If you're looking for a new bike to buy and have some cash to spend, you're spoilt for choice at the moment!
In the roadie world, things have been a bit quieter but we've reviewed the latest and lightest Canyon Ultimate CF Evo Disc 10.0 LTD and checked out the latest Trek Domane SLR 9.9 Project One.
Both are insanely expensive and both are top performers.
Devinci has launched a new iteration of its Hatchet gravel bike that has bigger tyres, an optional dropper and updated geometry.
Elsewhere, we've checked out Giant's TCR Advanced Pro 2, awarding it 4.5 out of 5, and given our first ride impressions of a Lapierre eZesty electric mountain bike.
Structure Cycleworks SCW1 mountain bike
This quite frankly insane-looking linkage bike takes the latest trend of doing away with telescopic forks to a new level. Based in the Rockies, Canada, Structure claims that the mountains on its doorstep lead the way in which its bikes are designed.
The brand's founder and CEO, Loni Hull, reckons that a linkage fork is the holy grail of front suspension and its Without Telescoping Fork (WTF) design is the leap forwards in technology we all need to be able to ride faster, better and with more control.
Our suspension-guru, Seb Stott is currently putting some miles on the bike so we should have an in-depth review soon. Until then, feast your eyes on the craziness!
- Price: $10,795
- Buy now direct from Structure Cycleworks
SP Connect Roadbike Bundle phone holder
You'd be a fool to dismiss this phone holder as a bit of gimmick, but until you've seen one in the flesh, we won't judge you. A lot of phone-related gadgets can be easily accused of being rather cheap and tacky and have a flash-in-the-pan lifespan.
Luckily for SP Connect, this couldn't be further from the truth and its Roadbike Bundle feels well made, like it'll successfully keep your precious phone mounted to your handlebars without breaking a sweat.
Included in the package is a Garmin-esque bar-mount that keeps your phone central and ahead of your handlebars, which means cables don't interfere or are pushed around by the phone or mount.
There's a handy case that fits neatly over the back of your phone which has a nifty twist-lock mounting interface built-in.
There's also a see-through but touchscreen-friendly weather cover to help keep rain, mud and road grime off your phone. Although it's not entirely waterproof, it does have a fairly good seal but shouldn't be relied on if your phone doesn't have a waterproof rating.
The mount is perfect if you use your phone to navigate, track rides or just don't want to miss an important call or message. It's maybe not ideal for mountain biking but city-based cyclists should love it.
- Price: £49.99
Giro Tyrant helmet
With the tagline "style over speed" it's pretty clear that the new Tyrant lid isn't aimed at the discerning trail, enduro or downhill racer. Instead, it's aimed squarely at the jib-riding, jump-popping and stunt-focused new-skool slayer that we see pumping out shredits aplenty.
The new lid looks like a convertible helmet in shape — it has the low, dropped down ear coverage and rear head protection. It also features the Roc Loc DH fit system that uses a Boa-like dial to dial in the lid's size.
You get adjustable cheek pads and a dual-density foam along with MIPS Spherical to protect your noggin.
- Price: £150 / $150 / €149
Öhlins RFX36 m.2 fork
Using filtered-down technology from the DH38 race fork, the enduro-focused RFX36 now gets the race-proven TTX 18 cartridge.
The damper features 15 clicks of low-speed compression and rebound adjustment along with three clicks of high-speed compression adjustment and a climb mode.
The RFX36 is compatible with 29- and 27.5-inch wheels, has 36mm stanchions and is available in both 51mm or 44mm offsets. It also has between 150 and 180mm of travel.
We hope to get a set of these bolted to a bike very soon and should have a review soon after.
- Price: £1,245
