Bicycling
fromBikeMag
3 hours agoDon't Buy Your Next MTB Wheelset Until You Read This Comparison
Carbon MTB wheels are generally worth the investment due to their stiffness and reliability, but high-end alloy wheels remain a strong alternative.
Race Face's Turbine stem has been a popular choice for years, with several lengths and a range of anodized colors to choose from. The new 'standard' Turbine follows in the SL's aesthetic footsteps, with a similar, squared-off, and more angular design.
Batch aims to repeat the process, now in the gravel corner of the industry. Now, surely, these new gravel offerings won't completely knock your socks off, but that isn't Batch's intention. However, will they get new riders out on two wheels without the incredible cost barrier? Absolutely.
The product is Pedra's DRS (Drag Reduce System) and, according to the post, is currently a prototype. An electronic noise, similar to that of SRAM mechanical shifting, is heard, leading one to assume someone is hitting a button to activate the system.
The Era SL is Race Face's lighter, more XC-oriented version of the standard Era crankset, available for eMTB and gravity use, but it's heavier. To create the Era SL, Race Face has shaved weight through an integrated spindle design and stripped-down hardware. The result is a claimed 422 grams with a 32T chainring installed. That's a 78-gram reduction over the already-respectable standard Era.
With this Carbon Road, we're trying to blur the lines between 'entry level' and real performance. Phil joked that he thinks Tadej could win the Tour on this frame, and that's exactly the point. This bike wouldn't be out of place, built with SRAM Rival as a killer 'starter' carbon road bike, and then you look up, and you've got our sponsored guys building the same frameset with SRAM Red or Shimano Dura-Ace and going out there setting records.
There's something unapologetically fast about raw carbon. No paint fades, metallic flake, or wild graphics. Just carbon fiber layup on display, nowhere to hide, just clear-coated and ready to race. That's exactly what Colnago is delivering with its new limited-edition V5Rs and Y1Rs Dark Series kits - a stripped-back livery that lets the frame's construction do the talking.
Race Face uses the same rim for its Era eMTB wheelset as it does for its standard Era wheels. These rims have a distinct profile, front and rear, which delivers the blend of compliance and strength they are looking for. On the standard Era wheels, the front rim is 18.6mm deep, while the rear rim is 22.6mm. Both rims share a 30mm internal width, paired with a 37.2mm external width.
With a laundry list of accolades and praise from across the industry, the Madrone Jab is one of the best cases against wireless shifting. With compatibility for all the major drivetrains found on drop bar and flat bar 1x bikes, the Jab is an elegant and robust solution to shifting problems for many riders, and it's now available in even more eye-catching color options.
The results are in, and although the sample size for this poll isn't as deep as we would have liked, it still shows that many riders still prefer mechanical MTB drivetrains over wireless and electronic ones. In October, we published an article in defense of the mechanical derailleur in the lead-up to the review of the industry-leading Madrone Cycles Jab. As it turns out, most riders are still dedicated to the familiarity and reliability of mechanical shifting, with over 80% of votes in favor of mechanical derailleurs. Results that we can fully understand.
Italian component brand Deda is leaning hard into versatility, but for a single wheel. It seems that 2026 is already the year of the "do-it-all-road-wheel," and with that, Deda launches an all-new Allroad Carbon wheelset. The wheelset is a modernly wide, tubeless-ready carbon option designed to hop the sidewalk between road and gravel riding. Rather than splitting its carbon lineup into narrowly focused categories, Deda positions the Allroad Carbon as a catch-all wheelset.
After launching several new products in 2025, Silca's first new product to hit the market in 2026 is Hold Fast Carbon Paste. The self-proclaimed " leader in marginal gains," Silca is already well-known for its high-quality bike pumps, multi-tools, immersion waxes, drip lubes, and much more. The brand continues to expand its ever-growing portfolio of products, typically with the goal of improving upon existing options on the market. That also seems to be the intention with its new Hold Fast Carbon Paste.
Drop bars on mountain bikes aren't exactly new. People have been experimenting with curly bars on mountain bikes since the 1980s, but in 2025, they saw a major resurgence in popularity. With high-profile racers like Keegan Swenson - among many others - modifying XC race bikes with drop bars for events like Leadville, the drop-bar MTB became a much-hyped and frequently discussed topic for the first time in many years.
BOYD Cycling just pulled the covers off its newest all-around carbon road wheelset, and it's one of the lightest it's produced. Meet the all-new Podium 36 Road Disc SL. On paper, the new wheelset hits a sweet spot for many riders, not just the weight-weenie crowd. At 1130g for the pair, BOYD is pitching the Podium 36 SL as a true "N+1 killer". We're seeing many other companies offering similar options: a wheel that can handle most rides
Rimpact's Chain Damper was launched in 2024, and since then, interest in drivetrain feedback mitigation seems to be gaining momentum. The fact that current World Cup DH ruler Jackson Goldstone uses a similar device on his bike has likely caused quite a spike in interest. On their part, Rimpact supported 15 World Cup DH Teams through last season, and they're expecting that number to grow this year.
For its partnership with Tune, Reserve chose its high-performing SL Tubulent Aero rims. However, they didn't limit the options to one size; they included all three aero profiles in their lineup: 34/37 SL TA, 42/49 SL TA, and 57/64 SL TA. Reserve designed its Turbulent Aero rims to withstand real-world racing conditions rather than the controlled airflow found in some testing environments. And the SL (Super Light) rims shave 60g off a wheelset while delivering the same performance.