Storied Italian steel frame builder Officina Battaglin has a new “Cromovelato For You” program designed to dramatically cut the waiting time – and prices – on their uniquely finished handmade modern steel road and gravel bikes. Now you can get their signature immaculately shiny Cromovelato finish – on either the new lugged steel Palladio road bike or new laser-welded steel Pavé gravel bike framesets in stock geometry – and in your choice of 12 tinted chrome colors. And Battaglin will ship your custom-finished bike in less than 4 weeks. Plus, if you still need to go full custom, they’re happy ..read more

A few years ago, Boyd Johnson (of Boyd Wheels) and I were sharing a beer and he mentioned someday wanting to make braided carbon fiber rims. Fast forward to today, and it’s now a reality. He and a few others have acquired Munich Composites in Germany, which has been making braided carbon fiber rims for several German brands. As part of the acquisition, they’re moving half of their production line to Landrum, SC, to produce for the North American market. Now, they offer US-based alloy rim construction via Olive Manufacturing Group, and carbon via Munich Composites. This lets EU customers keep ..read more

Five years ago we were psyched with Muc-Off’s bike-specific pressure washer – yet with one important fixed limitation – but now that’s history with the new self-contained, battery-powered Muc-Off Mobile Pressure Washer. Ride anywhere. Clean you bike anywhere. No longer stuck looking for an electrical outlet to plug into. No longer limited to where you can connect a hose to a faucet. The new Mobile Bike Pressure Washer is completely self-sufficient, with 40v rechargeable battery power and enough water in its reservoir to clean a few bikes! Muc-Off Mobile Bike Pressure Washer cleans bikes anywh ..read more

FiftyOne Bikes founder Aiden Duff says they’ve built enough custom road bikes for different riders that they average 10 unique bike designs every month, more than many brands do in a few years. Now, he’s distilled all of that data into the new FiftyOne Sika, a top-level road bike designed for real riders, not professional racers. It’s still high performance, but with clearance for 40mm tires, confident handling, and a less extreme riding position. But, Duff says that doesn’t make it an “endurance” bike, that it’s very much a performance road bike. It gets aero touches, high bottom bracket st ..read more

Is it gravel? Adventure or ATB? Old school XC? The internet is full of opinions on the fast-growing segment many simply refer to as Gravel. For those interested in “surviving an eternal existence of limbo between gravel and mountain,” Kona is introducing the all-new Ouroboros. The Ouroboros is an all-new platform of gravel bikes from the unbound minds at Kona. Whether you’re a gravel-loving mountain biker or a mountain-bike-loving gravel biker, the Ouroboros is the lure to catch the attention of both. Pack it expertly for the long haul, nimbly explore the edges of singletrack, or complete mu ..read more

Pas Normal has paired up with Fizik, to create a flashy new set of premium shiny silver carbon-soled road bike shoes. I have a hard time figuring out if I should call them dancing shoes or silver disco slippers. Style aside, one thing is for sure. They don’t skimp on performance or finishing. These are on par with the stiffest pro-race-ready shoes that Fizik makes. And the little details drive home that luxurious feel. Fizik x Pas Normal Studios Mechanism carbon road shoes (Photos/Cory Benson) Even though Pas Normal Studios has shown us in recent years that they can develop some of the most a ..read more

RockShox’s all-new Psylo and revamped Domain mountain bike forks find inspiration in the proven Pike, Lyrik & Zeb platforms to bring top-level suspension performance to a wider audience at more reasonable prices. Not every mountain biker can afford Ultimate-level forks, so RockShox reworked some of their most popular tech into the more affordable 35mm Psylo and 38mm Domain platforms. (Photos/RockShox)All-new RockShox Psylo 130-160mm all-mountain trail fork Every mountain biker can benefit from the development and refinement that has made the Pike and Lyrik forks so popular out on the tra ..read more

The new model year 2025 RockShox Rudy Ultimate XPLR gravel fork gets boosted off-road control in its lighter gen 2 upgrade with a new Charger Race Day 2 damper. Debuted just 2.5 years back, the short-travel Rudy gravel fork has become a go-to pick for ultra-distance racers and adventurous gravel riders alike. Now, packed with RockShox’s “lightest performance-driven damper ever“, this next-gen Rudy is ready for more big off-road rides. 2025 RockShox Rudy Ultimate XPLR v2 gravel suspension fork (Ride photos by Rupert Fowler/RockShox) RockShox says the Rudy brings more of the off-road fun of mou ..read more

The original Fox Transfer dropper post was good, but they wanted to make it more robust, smoother, tunable, and serviceable than before. So they basically redesigned everything about it. Now, it’s better than ever, with more options and a lower price. New seals, easier travel adjust, user-friendly servicing, more adjustability, and a much, much smoother initiation round out the updates, making this a much better dropper and putting them back on top of the game. Here are the details… The prior design had a preset air pressure that wasn’t user adjustable. New dynamic air shaft seals work bette ..read more

Based on the same energy-absorbing honeycomb structure of the rest of their HEX protection line-up, this new iXS Hex Pull-Over provides gravity-ready chest and back protection in a more user-friendly form. Pull it over your jersey for secure impact protection. Then, pull it back off when you need to cool down. Of course, I understand the safety needs for a back protector in the bikepark. But I’ve generally steered away from chest protectors because I overheat so quickly. But this iXS Hex Pull-Over has changed my outlook. So much so, that I’ve started wearing it (and accidentally impact-testin ..read more