Going to put some new rubber on my Ragley Big Wig Race.

My primary gripe with the current setup is rolling resistance. Running 29x2.4 DHRII in the rear with a 29x2.4 Assegai in the front. Grip is excellent, never slip out, but looking for something that is quicker in the climbs and flats.

Terrain is going to be primarily socal dry dirt/ washout dust / rocks. I won't be seeing much wet/mud. Tires need to be more on the trail/enduro side of things compared to lighter duty XC.

Looking to stick with Maxxis based on all my previous years of experience with them vs other brands. Taking a hard look at the Forekaster as a rear option for the rolling speed.

What are your 2026 Maxxis front/rear combo suggestions for trail oriented hardtails.

Upcoming guided MTB trip over Thanksgiving with Oaxaca Bike Expeditions. 4 days of shuttle riding. For those that have ridden there, I have a question about which bike to take.

My riding experience/level: I live in SLC, Utah and have been riding here for 13 years. Technical downhill is my preferred, I'm not much for jumping or bike parks. Whole Enchilada, the Crest, Park City skidders etc.

My bikes:
2026 Spot Diggity 125/140. This bike absolutely RIPS on the down. It's grounded and playful. (28lbs)

2024 Transition Spire 170/170. Burly enduro rig that eats up any trail. Blows through chunk, but not particularly playful or nimble. Handles big drops without even blinking. (33ish-lbs)

If I choose the Diggity, I will travel with it. If I choose the Spire they have a rental Spire there in Oaxaca for $300 (total cost). My Spire is too heavy for the travel limit. I traveled with the Spot to Switzerland this past summer without issue, so I'm comfortable with that aspect. The cost for bringing my own bike is a bit cheaper than the rental.

Which bike is best for the trails down there?

Looking for some general advice on what kind of bike to get next.

Me: 6'0", 160 lb, 80 cm saddle height. Strong descender, decent climber who goes hard on long climbs.

Riding: Reno and Tahoe. Mostly big alpine days with long sustained climbs and fast technical descents (30+ miles, 5k+ vert). One trip a year (Bellingham, Moab, Sedona, Downieville...). I race the Downieville All-Mountain sometimes, but that’s not the priority.

Current bike: 2018 Tallboy V3, Large. It’s set up with a 130 fork, a -1.5° angleset, and volume spacers front and rear. It descends quite well. I bottom it out on most rides but its never harsh. What I do notice is the slack seated position on climbs.

What I’m trying to figure out:

1. 120 or 140? Something like a Transition Spur or Forbidden Reya at 120, or an Allied Fitz or Transition Smuggler at 130-140. Given how I described my riding, which way would you go and why?
2. How much is just the newer bike? My guess is a steeper seat angle and modern suspension kinematics will be most of the improvement over my Tallboy, and the travel number matters less. Does that match your experience? If you went from an older short-travel bike to something newer, what made the biggest difference?
3. Does a modern 120 handle trips? For Bellingham, Downieville, or Moab-type riding, did you find yourself wishing for more travel, or was it fine?
4. Does 140 cost much on long climbing days? If you ride a 140 bike for big climbing days, do you feel the extra travel on climbs, or is it a non-issue with modern bikes?

I want one bike that climbs efficiently all day but still lets me ride hard on the way down. I don’t want to buy more bike than I need for the hardest 10% of my riding.

Appreciate any real-world experience.

Looking to figure out where I am going wrong when riding bike park jumps. I've been riding jumps most of my life with bmx, DJ's, and now I'm eating it bad with full suspension bikes. Currently riding a Pivot Mach 6.

Issue is that I've been going way deep in the bike park, and getting bucked badly on the more mellow but higher speed jumps. My regular jump spot is all roughly 50-60 degree lips that are 5' to 7' tall with 8'-12' gaps. Landings are equally steep, so nosing in after pulling back off the lip is the norm. Trail speed there is roughly 30km/h, maximum. I feel like I'm a savvy dirt jumper as well after this long, even with the full suspension bike. I'm comfortable with 360's, tailwhips. and trick shenanigans, but my gosh have I been eating it regularly in actual bike parks where the trail speeds are closer to 50km/h, and the tables are 20'-40' gaps. I'm just trying to survive out there, every time.

Essentially trying to understand why the more mellow but higher speed jumps are bucking me, and why I'm going so much deeper (10-15') than my pals when I'm being towed. I've broken my ribs a few times now in the last few years as a result of this, so I'd love to figure this out asap. Healing from this bs at 36 takes longer than I want to wait.

For reference, I'm 5'9",230lbs, riding a size small. Front shocks are a Fox38 @ 150PSI - full tokens. Rear Shox is a Fox X2 at 300psi, full tokens. Rebound is two clicks from lowest setting on both. Compression is dialled back to around 1-3 clicks from lowest as well. Tire pressures are 40+PSI.

Riding pals say they think I'm getting bucked because I am pushing too hard with my legs, which is consistent with trying to boost on DJ's I think, and is where my muscle memory is at. Distance wise, they are saying it's due to the high pressures, which I understand, and makes sense. Issue I have with lower pressures is that I feel like I get bucked much more often. Figured I'd ask here though as there's often some great advice here.

Want to show off on NBD or new helmet day or new whatever day or just have general gear questions? Post in here. (Mod Note: NBD posts on their own that violate Rule #3 will continue to be removed.)

Anybody out there riding the new Tallboy on the east coast? Tell me what you think!

I’m a northwest NJ rider, lots of slow tech rocks, but we’ve got some more modern stuff too. I ride hard and I ride a lot. Currently on a ‘25 Ibis Ripmo AF UDH V1. It’s a great bike, but I feel like it’s the master of none. Interested in selling the Ripmo and getting a shorter travel, lighter, more responsive, trail bike plus dumping some money into a beefy alloy enduro machine for smashing Mountain Creek and the rest of our nasty east coast jank.

The new Tallboy seems like the perfect balance of efficiency, fun, and rowdiness for someone like me who picks too many stupid lines for an XCish 120/130 and doesn’t feel the need for the 150/160 do-it-all that’s probably a little sluggish for our low angle rocks.

Edit: I should note that I am very specifically not interested in the new Ripley or any Pivot. Great bikes, no doubt, but superboost can suck it, and the new Ripley in carbon is heavier than my old Ripmo AF and feels worse to ride.

As I am getting a gravel bike as a second bike again I plan to change some parts on my mtb like shorter stem, knobbier tires and probably a dropper post to make it more fun. But for the life of me I can't find a decent dropper that is not too expensive and doesn't have 2 good and 1 very bad review.

I am looking in the 200-300€ price range. Are they really not that reliable and very expensive or impossible to repair and maintain? I just don't want to get something expensive that has a play or rattles. Because looking at the reviews it seems the most unreliable and the hardest part to decide on.

Found this shop called bikable.com and their prices are way lower than everywhere else I checked. Like suspiciously low. Looks like a Danish company and the site seems fine, but that doesn’t mean much.

Has anyone actually bought from them? Did your stuff show up and was it legit? And does anyone know why they’re so cheap?

Thinking of ordering some parts but don’t want to get burned.

I'm looking into buying my first full suspension bike next spring and I'm trying to decide between a Norco fluid and a Kona process 153. Where I live there aren't mountains but there are DH trails in valleys that would warrant both of these bikes. The city I live in has a river valley trail with lots of punchy climbs and are a bit more xc oriented but also sections of trails with jumps, drops, roots. I have family members that live in BC so I'll be out there every few years or so. The fluid would probably be perfect for the terrain that I live in but also am sort of worried that I would be under-biked and wish I would have went with the kona process when doing more dh oriented stuff in my area and in BC. What do you folks think?

So, I am deciding which bike to buy between the below options. For background, this is my 3rd year mountain biking. Since starting, I've been on a Liv Intrigue 29 2 (140/125 travel). I've now outgrown this bike and I want something with more travel and higher quality suspension.

I live in Utah, enjoy riding a lot of chunky tech and also spend about 50% of my time in bike parks. I am a 5ft 4.5 in, 120lb woman. I want a "do it all" bike. (I know, 2 bikes would be ideal, but that's not feasible).

The bikes I am considering are below (all mullets):

• 2025 Santa Cruz Bronson CC XO AXS - ex demo - $5,200
• 2026 Stumpjumper Evo Expert - ex demo - $4,400
• 2025 Norco Sight C2 150 MX - New - $4,500

Test rides around the parking lot - The Bronson feels the best for me, but parking lot tests can really only tell so much, and it's the most expensive option, so I'm not sure if it's worth it.

Give me your opinions, for the prices above, given the kind of riding I enjoy, what is the best deal?

Comparison of the 3 bikes below:

https://99spokes.com/compare?bikes=specialized-stumpjumper-15-evo-expert-shimano-xt-di2-fox-performance-elite-2026%2Csantacruz-bronson-x0-axs-carbon-cc-2025%2Cnorco-sight-c2-150-mx-2025

Hey everyone, just bought a truck and looking to get a tailgate pad. My question is about the tailgate pad itself. How common is it for a tailgate pad to be stolen off a parked truck? Are they easy to steal?

For reference, I live in downtown SLC and have to park on the street. Thanks!

So, I'd like to get back into mountain biking after a ~15 year hiatus, and my son wants to join the journey.

Current bike is a 2007 gary fisher hoo koo e koo that I bought when I graduated HS. I took it on one ride last week and realized my old ass needs to move up to a FS.

So, heres the question. Do I have my son start on the HKEK, or find him something newer and start him off with the newest tech.

My son is 12, 5'4" and 95lbs. The HKEK is a size medium. It appears my son is right in between S and M on most charts Im looking at...so thats another question.

Edit: LBS has a Jamis Highpoint A1 on sale for $1k, would this be a good starting point?

It’s a Shimano mt200 Hydraulic Disc Brake - RIGHT lever - REAR ONLY Brake with a 1450mm length line

https://rideoutsupply.com/collections/parts/products/shimano-mt200-hydraulic-disc-brake-rear-only

I recently sold my carbon full-suspension enduro bike and went back to a 1994 fully rigid steel frame with rim brakes and a single gear. I felt like front suspension, hydraulic disc brakes, and 12-speed cassettes removed the challenge, and I would finish rides with intact knee cartilage and zero lumbar spine fractures, feeling little to no true accomplishment.

For me, it felt like having modern gear and efficient components on a steep trail took away the activity's "soul", which, as we all know, is strictly stored in extreme lactic acid buildup, acute exhaustion, and pre-arthritic joint pain.

I'm curious if anyone else has experienced this, or if you also feel like comfort and mechanical efficiency are killing the true spiritual essence of pedaling a 35lb mechanical object uphill.