The Radavist

Yep. Even more affordable than GX. To give you an idea, the 11-42t cassette is only $79 and the rear derailleur is $74! See the story of NX at SRAM and see pricing and specs at the NX landing page.

I love the direct mount chainring interface and I love SRAM’s cranks, so when Wolf Tooth offers up a tasty 38t option, with a 40t and 42t on the way, It’s hard to say no. I raced all last cross season on a 40t Wolf Tooth ring but would gladly take a direct mount for this season… Check out more at Wolf Tooth.

I’ve been using SRAM’s own direct mount ring for a few weeks now and love it. While I’m all for the slick black aesthetic of their native design, it’s hard to deny the appeal of stainless. Wolf Tooth Components just launched a super durable, SRAM-compatible, made in the USA direct mount chainring for your 1x system. Head over to Wolf Tooth Components for more information and availability.

Unfortunately, in the time this post was scheduled, all that remains are the 24t rings, so if you’re looking for that size, you’re in luck. If not, you’ll have to wait for a restock…

If you’ve ever wanted more versatility in your cross bike, touring bike or all-road bike on a 1x platform, SRAM’s latest product venture might pique your interest. XX1’s original success has since trickled down on the mountain side to the ever affordable GX plaform and now, both Force and Rival offer 1x drivetrains to accompany CX1.

You can now run up to a 42t cassette on SRAM’s 1x road levers, provided your wheels are 135mm spaced with XD driver compatibility. Or, opt for the standard 11-speed 11-36 cassette. With a range of X-Sync chainrings, you can achieve a wide range on your road bike as well.

Personally, I’m pretty stoked to see this versatility now offered from SRAM and can’t wait to see what else is to come from 1x road offerings. For some reason, I can’t help but gravitate towards the idea of a 48t Chainring with a 11-42t setup…

Check out a few more photos below and see more at SRAM.

SRAM’s X-SYNC™ rings just got more versatile, with the announcement of the new Direct Mount option. With options from 26t all the way to 40t, these 1x rings will fit on any MTB bike in your stable.

Check out the full press-release below and more information at SRAM.

Have a set of Chris King ISO or ISO DH hubs that you want to run on your XX1 system? I know I do and up until today, there hasn’t been an option. This morning Chris King announced their new ISO XD hub for SRAM’s XX1. The best part is, there’s also a conversion kit available for existing ISO hubs…

Check out more at Chris King and see the press-release below!

Photo by Margus Riga

New found confidence? Or just summoning the Necronomicog? Finally, some photos of me riding gear in a review!

I think this goes without saying, but I’d like to thank everyone involved with last weekend’s trip, including Margus and Adrian for shooting such rad photos of the riding. One of the reasons why we were there was to test out the new Guide Brakes from SRAM.

I’ll be pretty honest here, I have never really liked Avid brakes. My bikes all have Shimano systems on them, from SLX to XTR. In the past, I’ve said that I’d never ride anything else. Coming off a weekend like this, it’d be easy to say that SRAM put us in this rad location, threw new products at us and expected some positive feedback but that wasn’t the case at all. They really were interested in what we thought and were open to critique.

Unfortunately, the only feedback I had to offer up was: “I didn’t even have to think about the brakes”. Period. Riding new terrain, on a new bike, the last thing you want to do is worry about if your brakes are going to feel good and perform up to par. They felt so amazing, even compared to XTR.

We all know I’m not a king of technical garble, but I think it’s safe to say that these exceeded mine and everyone else’s expectations. I didn’t hear a single squeal from the rotor, or person the whole trip.

These new Guide Brakes from SRAM are like night and day compared to Avid…

Check out more below.

In Tailfin‘s most interesting bike check video to date, you can take a closer look at Tailfin R&D Division rider Quinda Verheul’s prototype Sour Bicycles full suspension mountain bike and kit setup for taking on the 2024 Atlas Mountain Race…

The Switchblade has been one of the best-selling bikes in Arizona-based Pivot Cycles‘ lineup since the first version dropped nearly eight years ago. Utilizing a DW-Link platform, it was one of the first full-suspension bikes to incorporate Super Boost rear spacing with either 27.5+ or 29″ wheels. Its last major overhaul was back in 2020 – which saw the bike grow bigger, longer, and lighter – and today Pivot introduces the next iteration of the Switchblade with geometry and kinematic advancements they claim “sets a new bar for how a 140-150 mm travel Trail/Enduro bike should ride.” This launch also celebrates the 35th anniversary of the first bike built by Pivot’s founder/CEO Chris Cocalis back in 1989: the Sun Eagle Talon.

Josh Weinberg, who lives just up the road from Pivot HQ in Phoenix, AZ, recently spent a couple of days getting to know the new Switchblade on some of his favorite trails and, below, shares a first look at the new model and some initial ride impressions…

The bike industry sure thinks electronic components are cool right now. But Travis doesn’t care if the TranzX EDP01 is cool. He cares if it actually works.

Haro’s newest hardtail piqued our collective interests when we saw the press release. The Saguaro 1 ($3,999.99 for Transmission GX or $1,899.99 for cable-actuated Saguaro 3) is a 6061 aluminum 29er hardtail with a 140mm travel fork, a 64.5º head angle, TRP 4-piston brakes, and GX Transmission. If the color didn’t grab your attention first, the build spec and geometry will.

You might not expect the co-owner of Crust Bikes to have oftentimes preferred a moto for solo touring over a bicycle but it’s true. Matt from Crust Bikes is a longtime lover of mini motos and often found himself on them when he was touring around the world. One bike in particular always met his fancy; the Postie bike. Although, he preferred the bike not only for its whopping 7 horsepower but its step-through design, which inspired the new Evasion Trail 140. Matt gave us a sneak peek at this new all steel chassis tourer, so let’s check out the forthcoming Evasion Trail 140 below…

Sometimes it takes really pushing a bike to unlock its potential. This was the case for Andy White of FYXO on a recent bush bash down in Australia aboard his trusty Karate Monkey. Read on for a full review of this tried-and true-touring platform…

Esker Cycles has updated the colors of their flagship steel hardtails, the Hayduke and Japhy, for 2024. The geometry and quad-butted steel frame remains the same as last year. All frames come with updated UDH Portage dropouts. Esker has expanded their offerings to include frame only, frame and fork, complete builds, and singlespeed complete builds.

Read on for more details…

Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…