Now, we're back in the parking lot, savoring a nice cold chocolate milk and reliving the madness of the ride. While I'm sat on my metaphorical tailgate, let me share my Dirty Dozen MTB picks from 2025.
Let's hope 2026 brings us a casual recovery ride!
1. Finale Ligure Riding Trip
The year started with a media camp to Finale Ligure, Italy – one of my all-time favorite riding destinations. I was riding the new Pivot Firebird and guided by the friendly faces at Evolve Shop.
Finale offers a wonderful mix of quality trails and European history that we just don't get in the good ol' USA. Whether it was dropping into world-class descents overlooking the beautiful blue sea, riding next to castles on cobblestone paths, or eating copious amounts of gelato and pizza with friends, Finale Ligure and the Pivot Firebird were a match made in heaven.
We are hoping to put together a Loam Wolf Field Trip to Finale Ligure in 2026. If you would like to attend, email info@theloamwolf.com so we can start planning some dates and gauge interest!
2. Pivot Firebird
While the trails and views of Finale are incredible, I know from experience that riding amazing trails in amazing places on a sketchy bike isn't quite as fun. Luckily, the new Pivot Firebird ended up being one of my favorite bikes of 2025. I fell in love with the bike's performance almost instantly.
It felt good out of the box, but after switching the chainstay into the long position, it was game on. The new Fox rear shock and suspension tune, combined with the updated geometry, made this bike an absolute winner in my book. Even after a full summer of riding, the bike remains one of our crew's favorite picks in the enduro MTB category.
3. Meeting Guest Testers At Our eMTB Shootouts
Last year, we started a new members platform, which we'll soon be improving greatly! One of the perks for those members was the opportunity to win a trip to join us at our bike shootouts, as a guest tester. I absolutely loved having two total strangers show up with little to no knowledge of what was going down, and put their faith in us!
In both cases we had some amazing times showing our fans what we do in real life. It was awesome to witness their excitement, struggles, and everything in between, as they tested more bikes than they had energy for! As mountain bikers, I think we all love sharing our passion with others, and getting to bring others along for a memorable experience is something I really enjoyed this year. I hope we can keep this tradition rolling strong!
4. AMTBERPRODUCTS DARK MATTER CHAIN LUBE
Don't get upset at me for picking something as "minor" as chain lube to put on my list…I'm a bike dork, alright?! As a good bike nerd, you should realize that maintaining your components is vital in keeping them performing well and lasting as long as they can. This aMTBer Dark Matter chain lube runs incredibly silent, smoothly, and I personally know a couple of dozen people who are now swearing by this lube as well!
Tell 'em Loam Wolf sent ya!
5. FOX RAMPAGE RS HELMET
With plenty of concussions in my past, I try to ensure my head is in the safest and most comfortable helmet I can. When I went down to Fox’s HQ and learned all about the testing and development work that went into the new Rampage RS, I felt confident it would be a contender. After receiving my own helmet and spending dozens of hours in it, I believe it’s not only an incredibly safe helmet, but it is one of the most comfortable full-face downhill helmets I’ve ever worn, too.
6. SHIMANO'S NEW BRAKES
For me, 2025 has not been a great year for mountain bike brakes. I've had terrible luck with nearly every set of SRAM Maven brakes I received on a test bike, roughly 20 sets in total. I've had two sets of Magura's fail, and I have not loved everything about the new TRP brakes that replaced my trusty ol' DHR Evos.
About halfway through the year, I started receiving some bikes with Shimano's new brakes: some XTR and some XT. Both levels have been very impressive in their power and consistency. I've ridden them on 140mm bikes up to 160mm bikes, and when combined with bigger rotors, they have produced impressive stopping power when I really need to slow down. The lever pull does take a little bit of time to get used to, but once you get the position right, I think you'll be pleased with how these brakes work.
7. SCHWALBE RADIAL TIRES
I am a huge fan of Schwalbe's Radial tire construction. I will admit, they are not for everyone! In fact, if I were going to Whistler and only sessioning A-Line and Dirt Merchant, I'd likely not run Radial tires, as they can squirm when pushing really hard into lips or mega-G berms.
Since that's not my cup of tea, I find the compliance, traction, and feel of the Radial casings to be a great asset for my riding style. They offer a unique feel, beautiful sounds over the trail, and really let me push my limits in the corners and over rough terrain.
Some of you may be skeptical, as Schwalbe has been the official tire sponsor of our eMTB Shootouts for a few years in a row. As a disclaimer, there is no part of our Shootout sponsorship that contractually obligates us to review Schwalbe's products, give them any awards, or mention them anywhere beyond our shootout. If I could take it a step further, part of the reason we continue to work with Schwalbe and ask them to be our sponsor year after year is because, we really like their product. Tires are incredibly important to maximize performance on the trail, and equally important for rider safety. We wouldn't opt to keep running a product we didn't believe in or feel safe on board.
8. SPECIALIZED & FOX COLLAB GENIE SHOCK
The collaborative Genie shock effort by Fox Factory and Specialized Bicycles is truly impressive in my opinion. As a rider who greatly values a suspension feel that blends off-the-top suppleness with mid-stroke support and pop – not forgetting end of stroke ramp – the tuning capabilities of the Genie shock provides customization that I really appreciate. Being able to control differing aspects of the shock’s performance without making huge sacrifices to other aspects of its travel is a big step forward in mountain bike suspension tuning.
9. REDUCED ANTI-SQUAT AND PEDAL KICKBACK DEVICES
Can I get an "Amen" from all the downhillers out there?! For years, we've had DH performance suffer for the sake of pedaling efficiency. Chattery rear ends, spikes in energy, foot fatigue, and pedal kickback are all things I've personally been attacked for criticizing in reviews, especially by the VPP fanboys.
In 2025, more brands officially announced updated generations of bikes "With reduced anti-squat for better DH performance." Other brands such as DT Swiss, Ochain and e*thirteen saw a ton of interest in their pedal-kickback reduction products. Even Yeti – a brand known for XC and pedal-friendly bikes – released a bike they said, "has the lowest anti-squat numbers of any Yeti bike we've ever produced." Downhillers rejoice, we can finally have bikes that climb alright, but descend even better! Now if only we could get electronic-controlled suspension prices to drop a bit…
10. MODULAR BIKE PLATFORMS
Keeping in line with trends, I am really excited about modular bike platforms becoming more popular. Sadly, Guerrilla Gravity is no longer around to see more brands bringing adaptable bikes to the mix. However, I'm excited to see it just the same.
This year, both Trek and Orbea offered incredible packages that let a rider choose between multiple disciplines with only one main frame. The Trek Fuel – and its three different linkages – provides numerous options, which takes it from a do-it-all trail bike, through a party rig, to a long-legged enduro machine. The Orbea Rallon lets riders choose go from a full-blown DH race machine to an enduro bike and park-rat dream machine.
Call me naïve, or an optimist, but I'm hoping that as brands can reduce production expenses, shipping and storage costs, it can bring down the overall cost of a product. Consumers can hopefully reap the benefits of more affordable bikes in the near future as a result.
11. TQ HPR 60 DRIVE UNIT WITH 580WH BATTERY
I've said it before, but this time last year, I was convinced that the "SL" or mid-power eMTB category was on its way out. I was hoping full-power eMTB's would continue to get lighter and more capable. However, it turns out that the power race has brands adding bigger batteries and increasing power outputs to match Avinox's disruption to the space. This meant that my dream of lightweight, full-power eMTBs would be temporarily delayed. Thankfully, the TQ HPR60 system stepped up as one of my favorite ways to ride eebs.
The Yeti MTe and Trek Fuel+ are two of the best eBikes utilizing the TQ HPR 60 drive unit and 580Wh battery combo, and both stood out from the countless bikes I rode this year. The power, silence, range, and data provided to the rider are impressive. The system gives just enough assistance for the climbs, while these eBikes remain light enough to be playful and capable on a variety of trails. And the range is impressive, too.
12. WHISTLER (AND NOT THE BIKE PARK)
Once again, we traveled up to Crankworx Whistler with the van packed. Before the trip, I talked with many industry friends to plan meetings, and checked in with our crew. It seemed like a lot of people were feeling a bit burnt out, and were not looking forward to bike park laps on blown-out, bomb-holed trails.
Rather than just bringing up Downhill bikes as we usually do, we also decided to each bring big-travel e-bikes. Now, if I told myself 20 years ago that I'd be going to Whistler and spend more time riding outside the bike park than on my DH bike riding chairlifts, I probably woulda slapped myself. Granted, there was still dirt on the trails 20 years ago…
After 9 days in Whistler, my stoke was at an all-time high after leaving this year, and I only spent a couple of those in the bike park. I rode newly built trails, old trails, and so many trails I'd never ridden before. They all delivered stoke and smiles in different ways. I was lucky enough to ride the Hidden Peak Trail as part of a heli-drop with the Continental Tires crew, chasing the Atherton brothers. I got shown top-secret freshly built loamers with Geoff Gulevich, Garen Becker, and Parker DeGrey. I got to ride incredibly scenic trails with Chris Cocalis of Pivot Cycles. And there were so many other awesome people and trails.
These epic rides reminded me that no matter how tough the bike industry gets or how stressed we can sometimes be, we are all in this crazy game because we still love riding bikes and having fun out on the trails!
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