Mountain Bike Action Magazine

29/07/2024

There once was a time when bikes created so much clatter as they bounced their way down the trail that subtle creaks, groans, and squeaks were hardly noticeable. Nowadays, the modern mountain bike is an incredibly silent machine with features specifically designed to provide a quiet ride. However, even the best bikes out there can and will make noise. Head on over to the home page for our tips and tricks on the best ways to track down and fix that annoying creak 🔧

23/07/2024

With the 2024 Paris Olympic XC races on the horizon, we’re looking back at the very first time mountain bikes were raced at the Olympics in 1996. and took the gold medals in that inaugural year 🥇 Who do you think will take the top-step next week in Paris? 🇫🇷🥖

22/07/2024

In our recent brand story, we took a deep dive into their origins and how they got their beginnings with Marzocchi USA and the team that Bryson Martin Sr. took with him. Over the last 10-plus years, they have persisted through the trials and tribulations that come with starting and growing any business and are developing mountain bike suspension that is on par with some of the biggest names in the game. Check out the home page for our long term review of the Onyx 38 D1 fork, which is their first 38mm offering and is the culmination of countless hours of R&D, on-trail testing, and hard work from the development team at DVO 👊

20/07/2024

The USA Cycling XC Championships are happening today.

19/07/2024

Head on over to the home page for our long-term review of the Hillbilly Grid Trail tires 🛞 With an aggressive cut and spike-style tread, the Hillbilly is designed for steep, loose, and wet conditions, yet we were surprised with its performance in the dry and fairly low rolling-resistance. Have you tried the Hillbilly Grid Trail tires from Specialized? Let us know in the comments!

18/07/2024

THROW🔙 THURSDAY to the October 1988 issue of MBA, featuring an interview of by .espinoza 👊 Check out the home page for a deeper-dive into the world of Johnny T when he was undoubtedly at the 🔝 of his cycling career.

16/07/2024

ALL-NEW IBIS RIPMO V3 👀 The well-loved all-mountain machine from has received a slew of updates to place it squarely between the HD6 and Ripley platforms, which include 👇

• An added Medium/Large frame size
• Revamped size-specific geometry
• Mixed-wheel compatibility
• STOW downtube storage
• 150mm of DW-Link-driven rear travel

We’ve got a short-term review up on the home page - head on over to see our initial impressions on the revamped platform 🤘

13/07/2024

Tom Pidcock, the reigning Olympic mountain bike champion and 2023 Elite Men's XCO Mountain Bike World Champion, has dropped out of the Tour de France due to Covid symptoms. This post was shared on Instagram and was also reported in news coverage of the event. The men's Olympic mountain bike race is scheduled for Monday, July 29th. It will be interesting to see if he's recovered enough by then to be a contender for what could be his second gold medal in Olympic mountain biking. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

12/07/2024

FLASHBACK FRIDAY to 1989 🔙

“Our July 1989 issue of Mountain Bike Action showed our never-ending fascination with the latest bikes and technology. That part of the sport has never changed over the last 35 years. In those days, the biggest concern for most mountain bikers was that their bikes had to be both light and strong.“

#1989

11/07/2024

TREK GEN 4 TOP FUEL ⛽️ A refinement rather than a redesign, the new Top Fuel from is claimed have a lighter frame and subtle improvements sprinkled throughout to make the platform more capable and versatile than before 👀

Highlights include 👇
• Lighter frame (~220g)
• Improved internal frame storage
• 4-Position Mino Link
• Size-specific chainstay lengths
• Compatible with MX wheels and shocks with up to a 55mm stroke

Head on over to the home page for a First Look at Trek’s latest 120mm trail ripper ⛰️

03/07/2024

Click the link to see how much money one of these MBA test riders was making 30 years ago.

  Here's the cover of Mountain Bike Action from June of 1994. We don't remember who most of the riders are in the cover photo, but that's Toby 30 years ago in Mountain Bike Action

28/06/2024

Check out the 2024 U.S. Olympic team cycling jerseys.

This year, the team will come together with the same kit design across all disciplines, uniting American cycling on the world's largest stage.

25/06/2024

TOMAC TUESDAY❗️ This ad appeared in a late 1980s edition of MBA, showcasing signature style and skill on virtually any type of bike.

20/06/2024

Throwback Thursday to the Sea Otter Classic in 2010, where two legends of the sport battled it out at the iconic venue ⚔️🦦 would end up getting the best of in this match-up, while took home the overall title after getting the best of 🥇

19/06/2024

Process X platform gained a wide following as a hard-hitting and durable long-travel platform, but there was still a die-hard group who wanted an alloy version with the same capabilities. So, Kona delivered, introducing an enduro-focused version of the Process X with a burly 6061 aluminum frame that is designed to withstand abuse. Kona also introduced a dual-crown version for the true park rat. It’s built around 162mm of coil-driven rear travel and can run either dual 29-inch or mixed wheels, depending on the intentions and riding style of the rider. Check out the home page for our full-length review of the PNW brand’s hard-hitting alloy platform 🔨

17/06/2024

We hardly need to introduce Giant, as they are the biggest bike manufacturer in the world. Nor do we have to retell the legacy of the Glory, which was in Giant’s lineup for 12 years, from 2006–2018. Well, after a five-year hiatus, the Glory is back with all the flair a modern World Cup-ready downhill bike deserves and is equipped with the adjustability needed to turn it into just about any style of gravity-fueled beast you can imagine. Things like a reach-adjusting headset, a three-position flip chip in the rear linkage, and 27.5- or 29-inch wheel compatibility help bring this bike into the modern age. Check out our full-length review of the bike park-ready dual-crown machine.

Things like a reach-adjusting headset, a three-position flip chip in the rear linkage, and 27.5- or 29-inch wheel compatibility help bring this bike into the modern age.

11/06/2024

Meet your 2024 USA Olympic Mountain Bike Team 🇺🇸 and .batten will be returning for their 2nd Olympic Games, while and will be representing the United States for the first time next month in Paris 🥇 Who do you think has the best shot of bringing home a gold medal?

06/06/2024

https://mbaction.com/u-s-olympic-mountain-bike-team-will-be-announced-on-tuesday-june-11/

The event will be hosted by USA Cycling CEO Brendan Quirk and feature a video compilation of the team members.

06/06/2024

Throwback Thursday to Colin Bailey ( ), the father of the Minion mountain bike tire.
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“When I signed with Team Maxxis in the year 2000, the tires at that time were not that great. I approached Maxxis at that time to see if they would be interested in looking at a few designs I had done for a new tire design, and they said yes! I submitted the drawing to Maxxis, and they were blown away by the technical design and decided to move forward with it. It went through a few different small iterations and eventually ended up as what you see today.”
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The Minion line of tires is arguably one of the most successful and widely-used tires on the market, and that’s all thanks to Colin and his persistence almost 25 years ago 🏆

03/06/2024

Mark Weir is considered by many to be a living mountain biking legend. We first met Mark at Downieville back in the early 2000s when he was the man to beat. In addition to being a top-level downhill racer, Mark was also a pro-cross-country racer with top-10 national finishes to his record. Back then he liked to do things like climb a million feet in a year and even logged 8000 feet the day of his wedding. Mark has mellowed out a little since then, but when you get him on the bike, it’s the same all-out and aggressive Weir as before. The biggest difference is that he now does most of his riding on e-bikes. Check out our bike check of Weir's custom-built Cannondale Moterra LT, tuned and assembled by Corwin Motorsports in Novato, California.

The bike is very stable in all conditions and loves to do nose wheelies around tight switchbacks.

30/05/2024

Check out our interview with Cadel Evans, the Australian XC racer who became the top mountain biker in the world, then quit mountain biking and won the Tour de France.

"I am sure it will only be a matter of time before we see another mountain biker winning the Tour de France."

30/05/2024

Throwback Thursday 🔙 to racing in the snow in the early 90s ❄️

“Yeah, that’s me. That was the crazy Downhill Mania Weekend. Two weeks before we raced in Big Bear and it was 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Two weeks later we had this unexpected blizzard. Nobody was prepared (clothes wise).”

25/05/2024

Opening weekend for Snow Valley has arrived 🐻 We’re stoked for a summer filled with bike park laps and good times with the crew - where are you riding this summer season? 🏔️

23/05/2024

Throwback Thursday to the April 1987 issue of MBA, with once again gracing the cover page ⚡️ These were the days when 26” wheels were the norm, and some riders even experimented with 24” wheels, though these never caught on. Nowadays, the mountain bike and cycling world are dominated by 29” and mixed-wheel bikes, for better or for worse 🚲

20/05/2024

As we approach the 2024 Olympic mountain bike races in Paris this summer, we have to wonder who will come away with the medals this time. There are so many top competitors that it’s practically impossible to predict which riders will win the gold medals 🥇 this July. One thing we do know is that France’s 🇫🇷 (shown here) set the bar incredibly high for anyone who wants to try to break his Olympic record. Absalon is the only male mountain biker to win two Olympic gold medals, doing so in 2004 and 2008. MBA’s John Ker shot this photo in 2010, at Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada, during that year’s UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, where ended up taking the win 🥇

17/05/2024

An Interview with the (Warranty) Vampire 🧛🏼‍♂️

Depending on your experience and perspective, the word “warranty” can often carry a negative connotation when it comes to most things, but particularly with bicycles and components. When something fails, it’s never a good thing, but when it happens to something that’s your passion and supplies endless joy like a mountain bike, it’s a particularly unfortunate event.

Check out the home page for a deep-dive interview with the Warranty Vampire and learn the ins and outs of the darker side of bike brands

08/05/2024

It’d take a very detailed eye to tell the difference between new SB160 and the SB150 it’s replacing 👀 Admittedly, more of a refinement than a complete redesign of the previous long-travel 29er in their lineup, there’s still plenty of improvements to talk about with the latest rendition. As the name suggests, the new SB160 features 160mm of rear-wheel travel that’s paired with a 170mm-travel fork to plop it right smack dab into the enduro category. Check out our full-length review up on the home page to see how we got along with Yeti’s purpose-built long travel race bike 🏁

02/05/2024

The shroud is off, and the new TUES MK4 is here! 🔨 The German brand’s new downhill sled is now mixed-wheel compatible via a simple Flip Link, along with a host of other adjustments that allow the bike to adapt to just about any rider and any track 💥 We’ve got a first-ride impression up on the home page, with a long-term review in the works as we put the new TUES through its paces throughout the bike park and downhill race season!

01/05/2024

With three Olympic medals already under his belt, will be gunning for his fourth this summer in Paris 🥇 We’re throwing it back to 2012 when Nino was racing his 27.5” Scott Scale hardtail, though he would make the switch to 29” wheels later that season.

29/04/2024

The HD6 is a dedicated mixed-wheel carbon enduro machine that had us hooked from the very first test ride 🪝 With 165mm of rear travel and a 180mm fork, the HD6 is comfortable between the race tape, at the bike park, or on your next freeride mission. We’ve got a long-term review up on the homepage that dives into all the nitty-gritty details of the Santa Cruz-based brand’s latest enduro sled 💯