The Radavist

Named after the Pinhoti Trail, which extends between Snake Creek Gap and Dug Gap within the Chattahoochee Forest into north Georgia, Litspeed’s newest iteration of their hardtail, the Pinhoti III, received some modern updates. Now optimized for a 130mm suspension fork, the Pinhoti III also fits a 29×2.6″ or a 27.5×3″ tire, thanks to an asymmetric dropped chainstay and a new CNC-machined titanium chainstay yoke.

The Geometry has been tweaked as well, with a slacker head angle, longer reach, and a few other tweaks. Litespeed offers various builds (XTR shown here at a retail of $6,699) and finishing kits, and with all these new updates, the size medium frame comes in at just 1,649 grams (size medium)—a savings of 95 grams over our previous version of the Pinhoti. As with all Litespeed bikes, these are made in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

See more at Litespeed.

Engin Cycles knows a thing or two about MTB design and fabrication. Their hardtails have been progressive before that was a thing. The latest product from their Philly shop is a 35mm clamp stem, available in four colors and 32mm, 40mm, and 50mm lengths. They retail for $150.

These 6061 aluminum stems can be upgraded to in-house milled titanium hardware for a $30 upcharge.

Specs:
32 mm 135 g (w/ Steel Bolts) 127 g (w/ Ti Bolts)
40 mm 147 g (w/ Steel Bolts) 139 g (w/ Ti Bolts)
50 mm 181 g (w/ Steel Bolts) 172 g (w/ Ti Bolts)
Stack Height 40 mm
Clamp Width 50 mm
Height Offset 5 mm
Steer Clamp 28.6 mm
Bolt Torque 5 nm MAX

See more at Engine Cycles.

The Salsa Timberjack has been a staple option for those looking for a capable hardtail. This morning, Salsa announced the new 2021 model with a few key updates including top tube mounts for bags, the downtube received Three-Pack mounts, an upgrade to Alternator 2.0 dropouts, improved cable routing, and integrated chainstay protection.

The biggest change is the switch from a 130mm to a 150mm fork and an updated geometry, which you can see above. You can still run a 29er or 27.5+ wheelset on the Timberjack as well. Build kits range from a Ti Timberjack frame for $2,699, GX Eagle 29er for $2,499, SLX complete for $1,799, and the frameset runs $599. Check out more information at Salsa.

There’s this website that offers up weight comparisons. For instance, you can put in 270g and it will tell you what weighs about that or by what multitude. For instance, 270g is about three times the weight of a deck of cards. Or, my personal favorite, 270g is about the weight of an adult hamster.

Having light-weight gear is a game we all like to play and having a light helmet might just make you want to wear it even more, which is a good measure when it comes to something that can save your life. The new POC Ventral Light helmet shaves the unnecessary grams without compromising your safety.

It’s the weight of a hamster on your head, with a retail of $275. See more at POC.

The Chisel is an XC hardtail and perhaps it’s this frame’s simplicity that inspired the designers at Specialized to develop a special edition pack, inspired by Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. The pack is dubbed “Disrupt the Decay”.

Key Features:
-Frames come in as light at 1,400g
-D’Aluisio Smartweld technology from M5 alloy hydroformed tubes, which allows for fine-tuning of the ride qualities
-Progressive XC Geometry
-Internal cable routing
-BSA BB
-12x148mm spacing
-30.9mm Dropper post compatible

Available in June 2021. See more at Specialized.

On Jonah’s Kokopelli post yesterday, a few people emailed us asking what we thought about the cargo mounts on his fork lowers. Jonah has had them loaded up with bottles and cargo bags without issue. While there have been a number of similar products on the market, including the made in Durango USB from KingCage, these Topeak mounts have proven to be a robust option as well and they won’t scratch your lowers as metal bands can. They install on tubes with ø20 – ø60mm diameters and are sold in pairs. Your local dealer can order these, so ask them if you’re interested.

See more at Topeak.

If you’ve been looking for a rigid MTB fork for your hardtail or perhaps to replace your existing fork with something that utilizes more cargo capacity, then check out Pipedream Cycles’ new ALC43 A.L.I.C.E. and SRS48 Sirius (suspension corrected) steel forks. These forks range from £99.00 – £129.00 and are in stock now at Pipedream Cycles. See the full specs below and head to Pipedream for ordering.

With all the touring and gravel talk over here, you might think that road bikes might be dead. Well, that’s not the case. Or at least that’s not what Moots is saying with their latest release. With the Womble breaking the mold of what a hardtail “XC” bike can be, Moots set their sights on doing the same with their Vamoots RCS (RCS= Routt County Special) high-volume, disc road bike.

The Vamoots RCS features:
-RSL tubeset
-next generation 3D printed dropouts
-2x road drive train compatible
-NEW fastback seat stays
-NEW model-specific fork
-NEW camo anodizing finish: “Hunter”

See more photos below and all the info at Moots.

If 2020 brought anything, it was an unexpected amount of time spent locally and at home. It feels like ages ago that we were spending seven months of the year on the road, traveling to events, races, and bike rides throughout the American West living out of our truck, grinding our morning coffee and cooking dinner under the stars. While it was and is a huge downer to be stuck at home with the Nation’s strictest Covid-19 restrictions, I cannot deny how much fun we had sticking to a radius close to our new home in the Land of Enchantment. While we didn’t do any month-long road trips, quick weekend jaunts provided plenty of inspiration as we familiarized ourselves with this beautiful state we now call home.

This year, a handful of products made my life easier in one way or another. Check out a quick list of some of my personal favorite products I used this year.

The Hayduke is one of the best steel hardtails on the market and it just got better. Until now, Hayduke completes have been equipped with a 120mm 29er fork built with 27.5+ wheels, which allowed riders to swap between the 27.5+ and 29er wheel sizes. While that same swapping ability still exists for Hayduke framesets, complete builds will now feature a dedicated 27.5” fork with 140mm of travel, allowing Esker to develop a dedicated 29er model down the road. This increased travel with a dedicated 27.5″ wheel means the A-T-C length is the same as a 120mm and 29er wheel, so riders can always buy a frameset and build their Hayduke up that way as well thanks to the Portage dropout system, which allows users to adjust their chainstay length.

Hayduke framesets come standard with Portage dropouts, an axle, seat collar, and a Wolf Tooth Components headset for $750. Complete builds are available in limited quantities at 3 levels starting with H1 at $2000, H2 at $2950, and H3 at $3250. Framesets and completes are available through eskercycles.com.

See more at Esker Cycles.