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We headed to the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival to check out what bikes people are riding! Here are 37 bike checks from the festival, which one is your favorite? Also did you know we had a YouTube channel? Be sure to subscribe to not miss out on any Awesome MTB content: https://www.youtube.com/@moandhannahtravel Check out the Sedona MTB Festival Here: https://sedonamtbfestival.com

They say if you need a hero to get things done, you have a problem. Well, the bike industry has a problem and it’s looking like we are going to need a hero to get ourselves out of this one. A massive surplus of inventory combined with a slowdown in sales to near sloth-like speeds have led us to a point where companies are realizing this fire is not starting with the current kindling we are using. It’s obvious we need something much more drastic to get these flames to catch. I remember when I was a kid camping, sometimes the fire would get low or not catch, and I would take charcoal lighter liquid and pour it in. The flames would erupt and oftentimes would be just what was needed to get the real fire going. The bike industry currently needs charcoal lighter fluid and I truly think that lighter fluid is Evil Bicycles. I remember working in bike shops throughout college and admittedly, most of my time during the day was spent watching mountain bike edits while no one was looking (sorry Mark from Pro Bike Supply if you are reading this). I was surrounded by bicycles from every boutique brand, but there was one brand that would eventually make me genuinely jealous, and that was Evil Bicycles. At the time 29ers were still not considered playful or poppy. Niner had just released the WFO 29 following their RIP9 RDO, and this was the standard for 29er’s. Ibis had a Ripley at the time that had more flex than a Yoga studio in Newport, but admittedly was on the playful side. The industry itself was struggling to see if 29 would stick, or if they should move on to 27.5 and at one point even 27.5+ (I'm to blame here, I bought into this one). Then you had Evil. Evil Bicycles released one of the most game changing 29ers of the sport, the Evil Following. This bike started off as folklore in bike shops. We had all heard about this 29er that was supposed to make you ride 10 levels above where you currently stood skill wise. It was supposed to be beefy enough to handle whatever you could throw at it, but light enough to feel like you were on cheater mode on the way up. Then one of our friends got one and would have the most magical experience ripping our local trails. This would lead to another friend getting one and then eventually our shop becoming a dealer. Things got taken up another notch when Evil released the Wreckoning, a long travel 29er. On paper there was no way a long travel 29er was going to appeal to any of us at the time. 29ers were not meant to be playful, they were meant for rollover and that was it. That is when I saw the edit of Luke Strobel riding his Evil Wreckoning and absolutely destroying corners. It was an edit so simple that when I rewatched it today I realized, this is it. This is the hero we need. You see, there were no fancy red cameras in this edit or weird cinematic voice overs by movie stars. Luke also didn’t look like a power ranger or nascar driver covered in logos and branding. The edit by Vital was so simple, Luke shredding the Wreckoning 29 so hard he rips his tire off and me watching thinking that's what I need, even though my skill level says otherwise. Then I rewatched the Luke Strobel Following 29 edit and the same thoughts I had years ago flashed back to my head. I want to ride my bike immediately! I want to get out there and pretend to ride like Luke Strobel, even though there is no planet where we are on the same skill level. And most importantly, it made me want an Evil. The stoke created by watching an edit like those on a bike that pushes boundaries, is the fuel the bike industry needs to get this fire to take off. We need more bikes like the Following and Wreckoning made in today's market. Personally I think Evil can do it. Looking at their website, the Following 29er still has insanely progressive numbers for a bike from 2020. Can you imagine if they made that bike slacker, lighter, longer and lower? What monster would be created with their Delta suspension design, a slight different version of DW-Link, which already feels so good! Can you imagine a 27lbs 120mm 29er with a 65 degree head angle, 77 degree seat angle, low bb, long reach, and RockShox new Flight Attendant plus Evils suspension design? And what about the Wreckoning? Once again, a truly updated version of that bike and re-signing Luke Strobel is exactly what the bike industry needs right now! I truly believe if there is any company that knows a thing or two about making bikes that are mind-meltingly fun to ride it is Evil Bicycles. Afterall, I'm typing this article without ever having even ridden one of their bikes. That's how good the simple marketing approach of making a ripping bike and handing it to Luke Strobel to film a well shot, simple edit worked. It fueled a fire in the bike industry that was struggling to accept 29ers. And in the year 2024, the bike industry needs Evil to come out of the darkness and save it once again. -Mo Awesome

The great Kenny Rogers once said “You've got to know when to hold 'em, Know when to fold 'em” and I just might be folding them slightly. Well kind of. Anyone who has had much of an interaction with me knows I might just be one of the most opinionated people out there. I don’t find much sensory satisfaction in small talk and most of my friends know a conversation with me will most likely turn into some form of a debate over whatever the topic at hand is, or deep probe into a normally uncomfortable topic, such as the true meaning of life. Now in this new journey of mountain bike media I have spent a considerable amount of my time testing as of late, so many of these passionate conversations are orbiting the topics of bikes. And in the case of drivetrains, I think I have made myself pretty clear in regards to 2 things. The first being that I feel like Shimano’s North America Marketing strategy is very elitist and overshadows the awesome Japanese engineering that goes into what makes Shimano so special. The second is I don’t like SRAM Transmission. Now over this past weekend we recently went to the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival. This required a pretty long drive there and back which gave me lots of time to think. Add to this a lot of conversations I had at the festival with friends, bike industry folks, and fans of the channel had me leaving the weekend pondering a lot of opinions I’ve had. I’ve said it many times before but my opinions are just that, opinions and nothing more. I reserve the right to change them whenever I feel like they need to change, and no one should take them more seriously than that. I also am open to people questioning them, and as I grow, I also know I might end up questioning them myself. "When you stop growing, you start dying". So what opinion is in question today? Well, if you are Shimano and reading this, I apologize but it's not the one about you and your North American marketing strategies. While I do have to commend you on having neutral support at festivals like Sedona, and also having the most reliable brakes and components on the market, I still stand by my opinion. Visiting Japan and getting a better understanding of what goes into making Shimano reliable, as well as the pride the country has for the brand, fueled a stoke for Shimano in me that no amount of elite marketing vibes that seems to take place in North America could. Add to this being severely behind in the wireless drivetrain battle, as well as contributing almost nothing to the excitement of mountain biking in the last few years, and I don't think my opinion will change anytime soon. But once again, I'm open to it. But in regards to SRAM I do think I owe them an apology. I'm not taking back what I said about Transmission. I do still deep down inside believe Transmission was intended to be a drivetrain for E-Bikes, but with the market shift post Covid, their hands were forced to go all in marketing wise. It's heavier than AXS, shifts slower than AXS, and a major benefit is shifting under load which benefits ebikes tremendously. You don't have the ability to remove your derailleur while traveling and setting it up also is not as straightforward if you would like to swap from bike to bike quickly. You are probably asking yourself, Mo where is the apology, this is a weird way to say you are sorry? Well here it is. At least SRAM is trying, pretty hard I might add, to bring some excitement to the mountain bike world. They just released the new Flight Attendant, which even though I personally think it comes off as very Black Mirror-esque, with slogans such as “it knows you better than you know yourself”, I have to admit it's bold. They also just released the new SRAM Maven brakes as well, not just an update to Code RCS, but an entirely new line of brakes. This is in the middle of the worst years of the bike industry. Yes they might not spend as much time making sure the product is perfect to an extreme level such as Shimano, but also where has that gotten Shimano and how has that helped the sport of mountain biking? What has Shimano contributed to the excitement in the bike world over the last few years? Once again, thank you for fixing our bikes at festivals, but the industry is on the verge of collapse, can we get a little help here? SRAM is hands down carrying the bike industry when it comes to exciting news and products. Do I love all the products they are releasing? No I don't, and I will always be fully honest when people ask me about that. But I feel like for a brand that is still trying to innovate when it feels like the pulse of the mountain bike industry is requiring it to be on life support, I have to give them credit for that. So SRAM, I’m sorry I’ve been so hard on you. If you are reading this, please bring back AXS. I still don’t like SRAM transmission. Code RSC brakes are the best brakes on the market. Remember how bad the Guide brakes were? But not as bad as the Juicy brakes right? The Rockshox Pike was one of the most game changing forks of my time, remember how bad you guys destroyed the Fox 34? Why does the Reverb AXS not go to 200? Still torn on Flight suspension, please stop saying it knows me better than I know myself. It doesn't. And thank you, for caring about the bike industry. See you on the trails! -Mo Awesome

Well it finally happened again. A first ride on a new bike that left me more confused than Charger fans every NFL season. I had been on such a good streak of straight forward first ride impressions on new bikes that I had started to forget this was a possibility. Afterall, a first ride on a new bike isn’t the deciding factor on if you will like that bike or not. It takes weeks, if not months, for me to really put together final thoughts on a bike. The first ride is merely a first impression. With that being said though, first impressions are important and the Yeti SB140 has left me pondering what the next few weeks of testing will look like. So let’s talk about the bike in question. I recently built up a Yeti SB140 LR edition in a size XL. I went with the classic Yeti Turquoise and was very excited that the build also had my favorite drivetrain on the market, SRAM AXS. Most people who know me know that I am very anti-Transmission at this point, and I'm going to continue on with the first ride notes as I do not want to rile myself up again while typing this. The bike itself is a 140mm 29er do it all enduro bike, a category that I am currently working on a buyers guide so stay tuned! In the market for an Ibis, Pivot, Yeti, Enve, or Rocky Mountain? Hit up N+1 Bikes and tell them "Mo and Hannah" sent you and they will take care of you! https://n1bikes.com For those that might be new here, every time I get a new bike in for testing, I do a first ride write up. It’s not a review by any means, but simply the thoughts I had during the first ride of a bike. Full disclosure, these thoughts often will change drastically after a few more rides as I learn more about the bike. However, for the most part, most bikes that have come in for testing have been very easy to adapt to, and most first ride impressions have been very positive. Until this Yeti SB140. The first ride for me on the SB140 was in Sedona on a hot lap I had been doing near the venue of the Sedona Mountain Bike Fest. As soon as I set out for the ride I noticed how light the bike felt. I haven’t weighed it yet, but the Yeti SB140 feels like one of the lightest 140mm 29ers that has come in for testing recently, even with alloy wheels. The pedaling efficiency and speed while heading to the trailhead confirmed this, as the bike had a very fast cadence to it that made me think this bike was going to be much quicker than I expected. This isn't a surprise though as Yeti has a very race oriented design philosophy. They make bikes for racing, or at least intended to win races. As I was pedaling to the trails I was trying to get an understanding of the geo. The bike felt long for a size XL. I felt like the chainstay was longer than the Switchblade I have been testing, and the bottom bracket also felt substantially lower as well. The front end of the bike also felt to have a lower stack height, and I felt like the bars were lower to the ground, even given the same amount of spacers underneath the bars I normally run when I first get a bike. Everything about the ride to the trail head screamed fast. I hit the singletrack and made my way up to the downhill. The trails in Sedona are pretty twisty with lots of tech in between. The bike itself felt insanely efficient when the trails were smooth and I felt like I was sitting much higher in the travel even though I had sag set to 30%. This led me to think that maybe this bike wouldn't be a very good technical climber because even with the shock open, I found myself constantly wondering if I had accidently locked it. This was very evident when I picked up the pace. However, the strange part was as soon as the climb got techy, the bike seemed to get more active suspension wise, and traction seemingly came out of nowhere. The longer chainstays also gave a degree of stability on slow tech move climb sections, where it felt like I could crawl a little slower and maintain traction on more technical moves. Everything about how the bike was climbing was throwing me off, this bike was not making much sense at all. After getting to the top of the climb I took a good look at the bike. The Yeti SB140 might just be one of the best looking bikes on the market. The lines and curves of the frame are very easy on the eyes and the classic Turquoise paint job photos very well from any angle. The thing that stood out most to me was the Yeti head tube emblem. In a day and age where it seems like most companies are painting their company's logo on the head tube to save cost, the Yeti stands out with a real badge. I couldn’t help but think of Ibis, who recently removed their emblem in exchange for a painted one. Performance wise, it changes nothing, but I can't help but feel like one of the reasons I like looking at the Yeti so much is that badge. It screams we care about quality and gives the bike some added soul. Now it was time for the downhill. This trail was very fast and flowy, with lots of tech mixed into it. I also have to say I was in a very soul ride mood, wanting to decompress a bit after the festival. This was not the bike for that soul ride. The confusion set in almost immediately. The bike itself had a very “I want to go fast'' feel to it and I found myself having trouble adjusting to what the bike wanted to do. Where I would want to slow down a bit and play with the trail, the bike itself didn’t, and it almost seemed like we were arguing like a married couple. As soon as I let off the brakes and let the bike gain speed, the bike seemingly got more comfortable and in its element. The faster I would go, the plusher and more in control the bike felt. However, in the section where I would hit the brakes and try to set myself up for some more fun and less straight style lines, I felt as if the bike was telling me no. The feeling was very odd. The bike didn't want to be played with, but rather it felt like it wanted the ride to end as soon as possible. It wanted to be the first one down the trail, something that was not the current mood I was in. Once again, every time I let off the brakes and got into attack mode, the bike carried a speed and comfort more than any other similar bike in this travel category. It almost seemed to soak up bumps on the trail and turn them into more speed generated which was a slightly terrifying feeling. The best way I could describe it was that my eyes were not ready for the speed I was going. And once again every time I brought my speed down a bit, the bike itself felt like it lost its personality, almost as if it was throwing a tantrum. The trails came to an end after a lot of confusion and I found myself pedaling to the car pondering lots of thoughts. What just happened? Is this bike too fast for my riding style? Will I adapt to a bike that wants me to be on a podium, even though I have no interest in racing? How will this bike perform on more freeride style trails that require crawling down steep sections of trail at a much slower pace? These are all very good questions and I look forward to putting this bike through the paces over the next few weeks. I feel like this is a bike that I am going to have to learn how to ride, which will be interesting. Clearly it likes going fast and wants to be ridden a certain way, which is going to be interesting figuring out its personality more. What I am looking forward to the most is taking this bike through its paces on a variety of terrain because something tells me that slow speed desert chunk might not be where this bike performs the best. Everything about this bike screams fast and I have to admit it's the best looking bike I have gotten in for testing. However, the question is, am I fast enough to ride it? Time will tell, and the Chargers will always disappoint. Sorry that was uncalled for. Check out the Yeti SB140 here: https://yeticycles.com/bikes/sb140 -Mo Awesome

The final day of the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival has come and gone and here are some of our favorite bikes from last day! See you guys next year and stay tuned for our videos on our YouTube channel! One of the OG's of mountain biking, the man himself Lance Canfield with his personal Canfield Lithium! The future looks bright with Santi on the trails on his Yeti SB 140! The other half of the brother duo Thomas with his matching Yeti SB 140! We are getting old but at least the future is here! The ARI bikes Nebo peak seemed to be one of the most popular bikes at the festival! Celia of Propain Bikes getting ready to go to a photo shoot! That paint combo with the green DVO fork looks so clean! Everyone's favorite Italian CEO Gaspare with his custom YT Capra MX with a limited edition paint job! Berd spokes. All we can say is if you have never seen them in person, you are missing out! We look forward to getting in some for testing soon! Jake of the popular YouTube channel Backyard Shredder showing off his Santa Cruz! Thanks for taking time from the pump track to let us feature it! Reeb Cycles always has some of the most interesting looking bikes anywhere they go! Single speed full suspension metal bike? Yes please! Maybe? If you are not having fun are you even doing things right? Versus tires founder Scott with an awesome YT Decoy and his signature Teal tires! Stay tuned for a full video bike check video from the Sedona MTB Festival on our YouTube channel! See you guys next year!

Day 2 of the 2024 Sedona Mountain Bike Festival is here and the bikes are awesome! Here are some of our favorites, which one is yours? Your favorite mountain bikers favorite mountain biker, Ryan Radriguez with his Propain Tyee! If it was anyone else we would mention the missing shoe but its Ryan, no questions here! Luke Wronski of Rig'd showing off his Neuhaus Metalworks hardtail proving you do not need suspension to tackle Sedona! COO of Propain showing off his Ekano 2 AL! Smiles for miles when you are in Sedona! Lot's of hardtails for day 2 including this Binary single speed hardtail with Mone bars! Who needs gears? Trek Slash coming from the Navajo Nation! We need to make a trip out there soon! Did someone say downhill? Brand new ARI bikes Superior Peak DH prototype? This one looks sweet and is making us stoked for bike park season! Revel bikes with the new Rascal 29er in an awesome gold/yellow color! Notice that this is the first bike specced with Trail One bars? Rogue Panda Design's bikepacking Niner Jet 9 bike build! Is the Specialized Enduro 29er the most popular enduro bike ever made? Neuhaus Metalworks founder with another awesome hardtail build! We have serious metal hardtail envy after today! Owner and founder of Propain Bikes showing off his carbon Ekano CF 2! Did you know Propain name came from his original idea of wanting a road bike brand and how pro's are in pain during heavy training rides! High pivot bikes, yay or nay? The bike everyone wants but Specialized never really marketed! The Status is one of the best bang for buck bikes in their lineup! Transition Spur Bike Packing Edition! San Util bike bags look awesome! Yeti Cycles not only has some of the fastest bikes but also the fastest employees! Yeti SB120 LR looks so sweet! Norco in the house! Both the bike and rider are from Canada! Smiles for miles even with scrapes to take home as a souvineer! Stay tuned for more coverage from the 2024 Sedona Mountain Bike Festival

The Sedona Mountain Bike Festival is here again and we could not be more excited! The best part about bike festivals checking out what bikes people are riding! Here are a few random bikes from day 1 of the Sedona MTB Festival 2024! Esker hardtail specializing in commuting with an insanely long chainstay (640mm if I remember correct) and custom rack mounts! Bonus points for his own personal hot sauce brand, @wigglebiscuitco The new 2024 Rocky Mountain Instinct all the way from Canada! This thing has so many adjustments including the new ride 4 adjustment system, headset reach adjustment, and a chain stay length adjustment. Knolly in the house with the brand new Chilcotin and the one and only Nic of the popular MTB YouTube channel VanCan! The new straight top tube looks very nice as does his pink paint job! Transition Spire in a a super cool purle haze paint job. Twighlight t-shirt is just bonus points! Brooke is a legend in the bike world and even though she might not be the tallest, her bikes always pack a powerful punch! The Fezzari Delano peak is a very nice build with stand out blue accents from the Forge and Bond wheels! Everyone's favorite Yeti influencer and also an amazingly good human , Brian has a very sweet Yeti SB 140 with lots of bells and whistles! Matching Stikrd decals are the icing on the cake here! Reeb cycles in the house! I flagged this guy down because this bike was way to interesting to not include! So many interesting parts, where do you even start! It's Robert from the Biker Channel! B1BIKER with a Fezzari turned ARI La Sal Peak! Don't know Robert? Listen while you are at the festival for the most energetic laugh and you will find him! Such an awesome guy and the decals look rad! Man, myth, and legend...Shaun George of Americas Favorite Bike Shop N+1 bikes with a sweet Ibis Ripmo build with the brand new DVO Onyx 38! There is something about a simple hardtail that just looks awesome! Kona Honzo in the house! Stay tuned for more Sedona Mountain Bike Festival 2024 coverage! -Mo Awesome

N+1 Bikes is one of the largest bike shops in America. Based in Kentucky, they provide southern hospitality and amazing customer service all over the nation! With brands like Ibis Cycles, Pivot, Rocky Mountain, Enve, Cannondale, and so many more, there has never been a better time or place to get your next bike! Be sure to mention “Mo and Hannah” for more savings! Ibis Exie For all N+1 Exclusive Build: https://shop.n1bikes.com/n1-exclusive-builds/ $3999 shipped Fox Suspension XT Build XT drivetrain XT Brakes 933 Ibis wheels carbon bars Bike Yoke Revive dropper Maxxis Rekon Race $5899.00 shipped Ibis Exie For All X0 T-Type Transmission w/Berd Carbon Wheels: Fox Suspension X0 T-Type AXS Transmission XT Brakes 💥BERD CARBON wheels💥 ( retail new 2100) carbon bars Fox dropper Maxxis Rekon Race (This has an $8k+ MSRP $5899 shipped) Remember, mention “Mo and Hannah” for exclusive savings! All the other promos and exclusive deals can be found here: https://shop.n1bikes.com/n1-exclusive-builds/

Rocky Mountain Bicycles recently launched their updated Instinct and it features more adjustments than a chiropractor's office on a monday morning. Am I excited for this bike? Absolutely, specifically because this might just be a bike with the most adjustments to the geometry that I have ever seen. In a day and age where it seems like most consumers have a complaint about why a company went with a certain aspect to geo, Rocky Mountain is giving you the ability to make this bike into anything you want and that is a very interesting selling point. Unless you have trouble making decisions. If that’s you, you might want to sit this one out. In the market for an Ibis, Pivot, Yeti, Enve, or Rocky Mountain? Hit up N+1 Bikes and tell them "Mo and Hannah" sent you and they will take care of you! https://n1bikes.com So what is the Rocky Mountain Instinct? It’s their 140mm travel 29er (27.5 in size XS and SM). Now normally I would follow this with the headangle the bike has, but I am unsure what to put here. That is because Rocky Mountain utilizes their new Ride-4 adjustment system, giving you 4 ways to set this bike up with adjustments from “steep” to “slack”. So I guess for head angle we'll stay somewhat neutral, in the position I think I would want to try first, and that is 64 degrees in the 3 position. The crazy part? This bike will go down to 63.5 degrees slack, making me think this bike has the ability to ride terrain more technical than most 140mm 29ers can tackle. The ride 4 system also adjusts other geo numbers with each adjustment made as you can see by their geo chart, where the seat angle goes from 76.5 to 77.3 degrees when switching from 1 to 4 position. Now most people would probably be happy with the ability to adjust the geo and ride quality through the ride4 system. But Rocky Mountain clearly doesn’t want to stop there. The chainstay length on this bike is also adjustable with 3 settings being offered giving you 10mm of adjustment via 5mm increments. I am a huge fan of this adjustment as I find ride quality to most drastically differ via different chainstay lengths. Adjustments here will take the rear center from 440mm-450mm. Once again most people will be fully satisfied with geo numbers as well as chainstay length adjustment. But once again, Rocky Mountains seems to have said “hold my maple syrup” and also given us reach adjustment via an adjustable headset, offering a plus or minus 5mm adjustment. Want to run a long chain stay, long reach, and super slack head angle? Yes. Want to run a shorter chainstay, lower bb, and shorter reach? Yes. Want to run a long chain stay, high BB, and short  reach? You’re just weird. The bike also comes with internal frame storage via their “penalty box” frame storage system. It looks like color options are plentiful as well with lots of 2 tone paint jobs being offered. Side note, this is the last 2 tone paint job I am allowing from the bike industry. We have reached max capacity. Now what do I think of this bike and why do I want one? This bike clearly is an aggressive trail bike. The fact that it can go down to 63.5 degrees slack, with a 450mm rc, and option to run the reach at well past 510mm, is insane for a 140mm 29er. The ability to then make adjustments to take the bike back up to 64.3 degrees slack, shorten the chainstay length 10mm and decrease the reach by 5mm, all without changing out the shock is absolute insanity and I love it! Whistler bike park one week and then South Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona the next? Say less, this bike will be ready for both! So if you are the type of rider looking for a capable 29er and ride a wide variety of trails, this is hands down a bike to consider. This bike is actually going to be coming in for testing and the biggest question I have is going to be how it pedals. The seat angle is very steep, which is promising. I'm curious though how the suspension design will feel, especially in the 4 different ride 4 settings. On paper, the bike looks to have a more active suspension approach, and that would make sense given their back yard trails in BC. But if this bike climbs efficiently and has the ability to transform into all those different style rides, this is going to be a very interesting bike to consider. Stay tuned for more. Check out the Rocky Mountain Instinct here: https://bikes.com/pages/instinct-overview -Mo Awesome

Fezzari recently announced a massive rebrand to ARI bikes that seems to be making quite the statement in the bike world. We reached out to people in the bike industry to see how they felt about this and what their take is on the rebrand to ARI bikes. Mo has his own opinion piece coming out on this rebrand so stay tuned for that later this week! Here is the bike industry’s response to their thoughts on ARI Bikes: Mark Larson (Marketing Manager SR Suntour): “My first thought was that April fools day isn’t for four more weeks.  I also feel like Fezzari has spent so much money on branding, athletes and brand ambassadors over the past 3 seasons so to me the timing is strange.  But I also felt like the Fezzari name and logo wasn’t that great to begin with, just ok.  Once I saw the logo on the bikes like the Nebo Peak and especially the blue Veyo it seems like a definite improvement while keeping a nod to the old Fezzari name.” Nrml Mtber (Professional  Content Creator): “In the wise words of the late Stephen Hawking “Intelligence is the ability to adapt and change.” I think rebranding is necessary for some companies to not just survive, but flourish. Some of the largest companies in history have had rebrands at some point in their past so seeing a bike brand follow suit is a reassuring feeling. I must commend them for doing it right now though. As we know the industry is steaming pile of poo currently, and seeing them make a big bold move like this at a time like this is extremely gutsy. So whoever had this idea at Ari Bikes has big balls, and I salute them.” Jordan Boostmaster (Professional Content Creator): “hey man!  ya I think it's a good name change, Fezzari was always too much like Ferrari!  I think Ari will be a good name” Thomas Seaman (Founder of Better Bolts): “Rebranding is an intimidating task for any brand, but starting with strategic simplification and maintaining similarity is a great foundation. The brand appears to be driven by direct consumer connections, process, and product rather than relying on brand image. We are eager to observe how ARI shapes the future appearance of the brand. We’ve noticed an uptick in aftermarket part requests for Fezzari bikes in the past year, showing that avid cyclists are considering this brand for complete or frame-up bike builds.” Matty Greer (Professional Bike Mechanic at Pro Bike Supply): “I think that it is an interesting change that is following current trends of most retail companies of wanting to give the appearance of more minimalism and a cleaner external perception. I’m keen to see how they follow up this rebrand with other changes in the company that hopefully reflect their desire to provide a better overall customer experience that’s driven by a campaign to live more simply. I did find it interesting how they listed one of the reasons for change was the ability to say their name in Virtually any language, but never really thought of that as a barrier to begin with them being a mostly US spec bike.” AJ van de Water @fotornr (Professional Photographer): “”FEZZ” would have been way cooler LOL” Logan VonBokel (PR and Marketing Specialist at Hot Route Media) : “They lost me with regards to the Pinkbike propaganda comments from their employees. I don’t buy brands with bad PR. For the brand-formerly-known-as-Fezzari, call me." Tommy Huynh T_Wrex_MTB (Professional Content Creator and Owner of Monarch 9 Cafe): “I honestly felt like Fezzari sounded like a Ferrari knock off, I think Ari is better but personally I think they should have gone with something stronger. Regardless they make really good bikes that have solid components.” Arturno Burns aka MTB Flow (Professional Content Creator): “Well it definitely took me by surprise. I was personally a fan of the name Fezzari but just like anything change always takes a little getting used to. It was a bold move to rebrand in my opinion but I know they’re thinking long term. Either way they make great bikes and I’m sure they’ll do just fine. Props to Ari!” Matty Active (Professional Content Creator): “I think it’s pretty cool actually, love the design and the name has a ring to it!” Out Of Collective (Ski and MTB News Media Site / Podcast): “Was “fezzari” too much of a mouthful or something? I don’t get it lol” Jason Fitzgibbon (Professional Environmentalist and Photographer): “I like it. It sounds a lot less like a private label road bike manufacturer, haha.” Dale Stone (Professional Content Creator): “We rarely see Fezzaris north of the border, but from what I hear they have a pretty good lineup of bikes. I hope the rebrand is more successful than what happened in the Pinkbike comment section!”

Dale Stone is a professional MTB content creator based in British Columbia. His recent brake reviews have been quite the talk in the mountain bike industry, specifically his take on the brand new SRAM Mavens, which received the lowest score he has ever given to a brake set, despite seemingly glowing reviews from "legacy" bike media. Dale’s reviews clearly have a deep understanding into the engineering of products, with Dale himself having a mechanical engineering degree and bike industry design background. This might be the reason SRAM has reached out to him to talk following the review. Mo reached out to Dale to hear more about his negative experience with the SRAM Mavens, thoughts on honesty in bike media, why he thinks SRAM reached out to him, and if traditional bike media is gatekeeping from the new generation of bike review talent. Interview Starts: Mo: Hey Dale! Hope you have been great. Your recent Sram Maven review video seems to be really making the rounds and creating quite the buzz. So before we get into it I just want to ask, who are you and what's your background? Dale: Hey Mo & Hannah! Hope you're doing well too, and congrats on getting engaged! That review has certainly taken off and seems to be sparking some debate online, haha. My name is Dale Stone, and I'm a bicycle addict in Vancouver, Canada. I'm a mechanical engineering graduate by study, and before going full-time with my YouTube channel I had been working on the engineering team of a major bike industry OEM for almost 6 years, having a small hand in a few of their award winning mountain bikes. I choose not to mention this in my videos because although it might be relevant, it definitely isn't a requirement for producing honest and accurate reviews. Mo: Thank you!! And so cool! Yeah I remember you mentioning your past career to me before. Your engineering background really shines through in your reviews on your channel, the water bottle brake actuation demonstration was pretty rad to watch and as someone who is much less mechanically intelligent than you, it was super cool to see things broken down that way. For anyone that hasn't seen the review of the Maven brakes we are talking about here it is (SRAM Maven Review). I highly recommend people watch it as it gives a very good detailed breakdown into the issues you ran into with the brakes. I think it's pretty safe to say with a 55 score on the "Dale scale" and your issues with fatigue, you didn't get along with these brakes lol. So to start things off, how would you describe your issues with the SRAM Maven brakes for people that might be looking for a shorter summary? And also so people know, what is your favorite brake currently and why? Dale: I'd like to think the water bottle test resonated with many of the viewers too. I'd happily talk about graphs and spreadsheets all day (and I may have overstayed that welcome in the video), but demonstrating my point with something as tangible as the water bottle test is at lot more approachable and still gets the majority of my point across to most viewers, I think! They certainly weren't the brakes for me, haha. A quick summary of my opinions of the Mavens eh? They are one of the most powerful, consistent and (likely) reliable brakes that I've ever tried. If you've never found a powerful enough brake for your needs then this is clearly for you. They're genuinely almost one of the best brakes on the market. My criticism is that they have some of the stiffest levers around, and the force required to start them moving and get through the deadband is nearly double that of the Shimano brakes that I've tried, which aren't notably light action. I believe that this heavier/stiffer lever force was the primary contributor to these brakes being one of the most fatiguing options I've tried, to the point where I would routinely have to pull over and rest my hands. As I'm sure you're aware from road riding and presumably training with a power meter; even a small difference in watts (or in this case force) can make or break your soul over time. Some riders will be able to handle this additional load, and that's great. But I can't think of a benefit of a stiff lever feel; I certainly believe that a lighter dead stroke force would have contributed to less rider fatigue and make the Mavens appeal to a much broader audience. My favourite brake is the Intend Trinity. It is truly a work of (expensive) art: it has an extremely light lever feel, a very predictable ramp up in power, and is without a doubt the easiest brake to bleed on the market. I've tried most of the brakes out there in at least some capacity and I have yet to find a better option for me. As always, the hunt continues though! Haha Mo: That's very interesting! I've ridden with you before and you are definitely a rider that knows a thing or 2 about braking as you have a very "trial-sy" riding style, so that must be some very high regards for those Trinity brakes on the "Dale Score". I will have to look into those! So personally I love SRAM Code RSC brakes and I might actually be one of the few people out there that do. I had a chance to test the Mavens months ago on a bike that is still under embargo, and my personal first thought was that the entire construction of everything seemed way over the top. The brand wasn't able to tell me much about the brakes at the time but I actually thought they were going to be released as an E-Bike brakeset. Then they came out and I was surprised that similar to the Transmission, it was marketed as a brake set for all bikes, both analog and electric. So I guess putting our tinfoil hats on, do you think the Mavens are more intended for bikes in the 50-60lbs ebike weight categories that most people seem to be enjoying? Like a YT Decoy or Specialzied Levo or Kenevo? I personally feel like Transmision was meant to be an E-bike drivetrain and they were forced to market it to the masses. I haven't been shy in thinking that transmission is the worst drivetrain or even mountain bike component I have tested in years. In my eyes it makes so much sense for e bikes, not shifting when you want it  but rather pre preprogrammed points because on an ebike it would explode the chain. If it was marketed as an ebike drivetrain I would say its amazing but its not. Do you feel like the Mavens might be in the same boat, and do you feel like SRAM and other brands are having to choose whether to market something as E specific or a general product? Dale: Haha, I appreciate that! And I’m glad that you had the chance to try out the Mavens in person. I have no doubt that Mavens or even Codes are a perfectly sufficient brake for a number of riders out there. They wouldn’t be as popular if they weren’t! But I wish that everyone could experience all of the available options before making their purchasing decision; I strongly believe that the market share for just about every component would be quite different if that was possible, given that small brands can just not compete with the major player's budgets. As much as I do love a good conspiracy theory, I think the boring reality here is that there is just a lot of overlap between what makes a good e-bike component and a long travel mountain bike component. A good example here is the Shimano MT520 brakeset. It was marketed to OEMs as an e-bike brakeset, but they turned out to be great for long travel mountain bikes too! This is a very interesting point though, and I have no doubt that SRAM’s engineering team had both target demographics in mind when they designed the Maven. If I had to put my tinfoil hat on I would bet that ON AVERAGE e-bike riders tend to be a bit more open minded when it comes to component selection than mountain bikers. If this is true, then it would make the most sense for anybody to market products that are relevant to multiple categories to the audience that is the least open-minded. If we look at SRAM’s product landing page for the Mavens, their aspirational imagery of downhill racers with dual crown forks make it pretty clear who the marketing department has identified as their target consumer. I’d bet that this strategy does not dissuade e-bike riders from purchasing these brakes, but marketing them in the opposite way would likely result in fewer sales. After all, how many times have you heard mountain bikers complain about e-bike specific components being ridiculous, whether justified or not? SRAM has one of the best marketing teams in the entire industry and I’m sure they’ve had many discussions at length about this exact topic, haha. Am I way off base with this mildly-hot take? I won’t bite on your Transmission comments, not because I fully disagree, but because they’re worth their own long-form video in the future. 😉  I know another content creator has plans to cover this topic before I do… Mo: Interesting and I am sure you are probably more right with that rational take, but I will be keeping my tinfoil hat on. Now I have to ask, did SRAM reach out to you after your review video and if so what did they have to say if you can share? Also I can't help but feel like the reason your video resonated so well with people is the honest feeling I got while watching the video. Do you feel like bigger review sites can maintain a level of integrity while also not burning the marketing dollar bridge that is SRAM? Like you mention their marketing team is huge and I'm sure their advertising budget is as well? Dale: I'm glad that honesty was one of the themes you took from the review, that was exactly what I was going for and is a very important part about being a credible reviewer. SRAM did indeed reach out to me within 24 hours of the video going live which they deserve big credit for. One of their PR reps from Bellingham wanted to establish contact and invited me out for a ride sometime to discuss things. I'm sure there will be some back and forth before anything publishable is discovered, which is fine.They haven't suggested anything of the sort, but I'm the first to admit that there is a non-zero chance that my sample was particularly stiff or there is a significant variation between batches. If my review turns out to be a statistically significant outlier then I'd be more than happy to retest another brakeset and applaud SRAM for reaching out first. Time will tell! Integrity is a huge point for sure. There's always a balance between providing truly unbiased product reviews and actually being able to pay rent, you and I both know that. What matters is how professional affiliations are disclosed to the viewer or reader. If one review site has a much more positive take on an objectively bad product than the rest that doesn't inherently make them guilty, but it does raise some red flags that would warrant a closer look. I feel that in general a lot of the major publications tend to be a bit too soft on everyone. As far as I'm aware none of them are extremely well off financially and they rely on loaned products in order to make review content in the first place, to varying extents. There will always be some level of bias, conscious or unconscious as long as the bike industry continues to let review products go to reviewers as "gifts", or let them be purchased at insultingly low prices. Disclosing industry relationships between companies and individual reviewers along with stating what level of compensation is being offered in exchange for product reviews would go a long way. I could rant about this topic for hours so I'll stop here, haha. Do I believe it is possible? Absolutely. But I don't think we're there yet, and some outlets have significantly more work to do than others. Mo: Couldn't agree more on the disclosure aspect! And super interesting on them reaching out. I'm very interested to hear how that will play out. Do you think they would have reached out to you if your video was just as viral, however you had a more positive experience? Also do you feel like there is any gatekeeping when it comes to companies and product reviews? It seems like new media doesn't seem to get the same treatment in my eyes as "traditional media" even though it seems like general consumers are looking more and more to new media? Dale: I'm not sure if they would have reached out if my experience was more positive. My intuition says probably not, but our conversation has not gotten far enough for me to truly understand their reasoning. Stay tuned, I'll keep you posted haha. I see what you're saying, and I generally agree. In many ways the bike industry is stuck in the past. A ton of brands of all sizes still don't view YouTube as a serious platform, or creators on it as competition to the traditional websites. This mentality also extends to athletes who 90% of the time are ultimately just a marketing tool. To us this seems insane, as we have the potential to individually pull in view and watch time numbers that are an order of magnitude higher than traditional media with salaried marketing teams can. Although I was too young to remember it, I'm sure this gradual transition away from traditional web media and towards video-centric media is not dissimilar to that of the transition from print to web. I haven't  personally experienced any gatekeeping, but I do feel that a lot of brands don't take social media as seriously as they should and will end up paying for it in the future. It's hard to miss the elitism vibe from the usual suspects in traditional media though! Mo: Look forward to hearing more about that conversation with SRAM. Last question for you, what is something you want people to know about what you have planned for the year? Are you still looking to do more reviews? Anything people can look forward too? Dale: I'd like to get into more review style content this year! Currently I'm on the hunt to find the best brakes ever, so people can definitely expect many more brake reviews in the near future. I'm also a lover of all things quirky and weird, so if there's anything you or any viewers have in mind then please let me know. Things like linkage forks, revgrips, the raised reverse stem... they're my kryptonite, haha. And of course, lots of high quality riding and adventure content sprinkled in between. Thanks again for reaching out Mo & Hannah, see you on the trails next time you're up here eh! Follow Dale on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dalestonemtb Check out his YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DaleStone

The other day I wrote a piece on how I felt the leaked 2024 Specialized Epic geometry chart of the new Epic shared a lot of similar geo numbers to the Allied Cycle Works BC40, leading me to believe that Allied might have had their homework copied. I took that article and I did what any self proclaimed “greatest mtb journalist in the world” would do, and I went to both companies' websites, found an email and sent the article in for comment. Allied Cycles Works was a general customer support email and Specialized was a PR email. Now before I get into both of their responses, I do want to make something clear. I don’t think it's crazy to think that companies lean on each other to make better bikes. Afterall, there aren't too many ways to make a bicycle and if something works, you can’t just completely alter your bike to avoid any similarities. Sure being the first to the punch is always nice, however you shouldn't start throwing kicks in a boxing match just because you weren’t the first punch. The best boxer always wins, and years of development and improving upon your product makes the better bike. Similar to sports, studying your competition is very important. They are after all in the same game as you, making the best bike. If you as a company don’t have another competitor's product in for testing, that is insane. Why would you not want to learn how your competition thinks? Once again the goal is to make the best bike, and in a world where marginal differences can produce tremendous results, every edge helps. So what did they both have to say? Well, within the hour of the emails I had a response back from the CEO of Allied Cycle Works as well as Specialized bikes PR email. Here are their responses: So what do I think of the responses? Well in the case of Specialized, clearly we are not on whatever email list you need to be on for PR purposes. But for Allied Cycle Works, the fact that the CEO of the company took time out of their day to respond shows me they are hungry. On a surface level, we didn’t learn many new things from the response from Drew besides what we know. Brands closely study their competition to help make sure they are creating the best possible product on the market. I am willing to bet that Specialized has every XC frame on the market in their HQ for some kind of testing. Study the competition and make a better product, that's the name of the game. One can say you should “Specialize” in it, see what I did there? However on a broader level, I have stressed this for quite some time now to anyone that will listen. The soul of our sport is slowly being extracted through marketing bs and PR teams standing in the way of a brand being able to communicate to its customer base. Do I think the people creating bikes at Specialized are as soulless as that auto generated PR email? Absolutely not, I do not think you get to the top without having a hunger for success and a personality to match. I mean just look at Mike Sinyard, the founder of Specialized and how much of a personality he has? Mike is a big advocate of promoting Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies through Project New Day (https://projectnewday.foundation/about-us/). This is the man that created the biggest, arguably most successful bike brand in the world. He didn’t do it through cookie cutter PR teams too scared to take a stance or speak an opinion. He did it by thinking outside of the box and making bold moves. Sure, there was a little blow back from time to time, but thats what happens when you are different! If you want to be the best, you need to have the hunger and drive to take that top spot. Allied Cycles clearly has the drive, with a bike from 2022 clearly shaping the XC market currently, and it looks to be paying off. Does Specialized still have that hunger? So my message to companies? Fire your PR team, speak to the people yourself, and tell them why they should buy your bike. We’re in the market of bicycles, none of us are Hollywood bound, and we don’t need to act that way either. Bring back the soul. -Mo Awesome