First Look

I was a big fan of the original TRS tires for where I ride in North Vancouver and Squamish. The grip the original tires provided in the wet was better than anything else I've tried. The grip on this updated version is the same, but I can run a few lower PSI due the the improved casing. I run the TRSr in the front and TRS+ in the back for longer wear and slightly better rolling resistance. Awesome product.

If you’ve been riding bikes for over a two decades or ask your seasoned shop guy (you know, the only mechanic who can setup cantilever brakes within a reasonable amount of time) which fork changed suspension as we know it, one product will come to mind: Z1. Well before the year 2000 and the frantic Y2K computer-crash scare, mountain bike forks consisted of slim tubes containing rubber-like chunks of plastic known as elastomers. Riding with dampers at the time was like playing a spontaneous game of Russian Roulette, but replace the bullet with a shower of fork fluid. Anything offering over 2.5...

"What the hell do I pack for XC camp?" I wondered to myself the night before my flight to Santa Cruz, California, to check out the all-new Blur. "It's all perhaps a little shorter travel than the typical Vital faire," hinted Santa Cruz's Don Palermini in an email leading up to the event, "but I still I think are some angles of interest to your readers." It's no secret that the focus is on the aggressive end of the mountain bike spectrum here at Vital, and the last time I threw a leg over a proper cross-country whip was several years ago. "XC" flats? Haha. Check. Knee pads? Why not. I never...

It's a great time to be a mountain biker. The variety of bikes and the technology available for all genres of riding is phenomenal. At Vital, we're always looking for bikes to take bigger hits and hit higher speeds downhill while seldom worrying about weight penalty or uphill ability, so when Intense invited us to check out their new Sniper XC bike, we were a little reluctant. 100mm of travel, FOX 32 Stepcast fork, light-weight tires; the bike didn't really feel like our cup of tea. Then they told us the geometry and cockpit figures. The Sniper wasn't stuck in 1997 so we perked up a bit and...

How do you make a great tire even better? It has to actually be available, for starters. In 2016 e*thirteen released their first tire. Those who tried it, including Vital, were by and large impressed. We were very pleased with cornering traction, noting that the tires held quite a bit longer than most when it came to laying it over and pushing hard. We also found ourselves braking later and later into corners due to the tire’s excellent braking traction and overall control. The even, slow wear of the tires was another standout characteristic we enjoyed. Word spread and demand increased. As...

Many young whipper snappers won’t remember the days where you either had a bike that could climb or a bike that could descend. Those of us who can remember truly appreciate how much technology and design have improved, in addition to the blurred line between the either/or of yesteryear. Canyon is blurring the line even further with the introduction of their updated Torque. This long-travel machine is said to be capable of a weekend of shuttles, all-day epics, and the odd enduro race thrown in for good measure. Canyon’s latest ground-up redesign features a front end similar to their Sender and...

The 140mm trail bike market is a crowded one. Depending on where one looks it could be XC, trail, all-mountain, enduro… you name it. Canyon’s new Spectral doesn’t really seek to check any box in particular – instead, Canyon designed their new trail machine to fulfill the needs of the go anywhere, ride everything mountain biker. No labels, no niche, just get out and have a laugh with your friends and ride whatever comes around. Part long-legged XC bike and part enduro weapon, the new Spectral has an interesting combination of frame design and component choices that will likely appeal to a wide...

For just over one month we have been utilizing the Halo Sport headphones in tandem with regular mountain bike riding and training in order to assess whether or not we are achieving more significant improvements than previous years. The headphones are a neuropriming device which activates the motor cortex and puts the brain into a state of hyper-learning, which, in theory, should "help achieve accelerated improvements in strength, skill, speed, and endurance" on and off the bike. Remi Gauvin and Miranda Miller are both using Halo Sport as a part of their elite Enduro World Series and UCI...

Carbon wheels are a polarizing component in the mountain bike world. On one hand they offer promises of performance increases, weight reduction, and that unmistakable "wow" factor. Conversely, some have commented their durability, overly stiff nature, and price point leave a lot to be desired. Santa Cruz set out to build the best wheelset on the planet some three years ago, and finally released their Reserve Carbon creation this spring. Most notably, the wheels feature a true lifetime warranty – the first in the business to do so. Not a company that simply regurgitates what is already out...

Big wheels keep on turning, or at least that’s how the saying goes. Wagon-wheeled bikes have come into the limelight this year, and for good reason. When paired with capable suspension and well-thought-out geometry, they offer rock crushing roll-over and traction smaller-wheeled bikes simply can’t provide. We’ve spent the better part of three months on the new Santa Cruz Hightower LT sussing out the finer details of the bike. Who is it for? How did it hold up? Where did it perform best? We set out to answer all of these questions and more. From downhill bike worthy gravity laps to high alpine...

Here at Vital MTB, our product reviews and testimonials are almost exclusively bikes or bike components. The bonus of being a part of the review posse is that all of the product testing compliments my ‘real’ job as owner and coach of Blueprint Athlete Development. I get the fortunate opportunity to test the differences between designs, brands, and products for the sake of finding opportunities to improve athletic performance and the fun factor. The main facet of my coaching role is to improve the rider themselves, which is something that hasn’t crossed paths with Vital MTB, until now. As a...