MTB FORK OF THE YEAR
FOX GRIP X2 – 40 AND 38
When it came time to picking the best MTB fork of 2024, we all agreed it had to be one with a Fox Grip X2 damper, though much debate went into the decision to crown the Fox 40 Grip X2 or the Fox 38 Grip X2 as the best MTB fork of the year. So, we’ll play it safe and just say, anything with a Grip X2 damper will be a solid choice for the front of your mountain bike.
While evaluating the hundreds of products we ride over the year, things can easily fade into the background. The flashy new thing quickly gets buried by the slightly newer flashy thing to hit the HQ. Over the course of 2024 however, our crew rode over a dozen Fox Grip X2-equipped forks on a variety of bikes. While all the Fox Grip X2 forks rode very well and impressed the team, it was the Fox 40 Grip X2 fork that was most notably improved in Drew Rohde’s opinion. The larger structure just meant that any improvement to sensitivity, suppleness and reduced air pressures would yield more noticeable gains in performance.
The improved sensitivity, reduced stiction and ability to better handle chatter while still maintaining composure for big hits had our testers all commenting during our blind testing. We really like this fork damper and can’t wait to see more downhill focused products taking the place of climbing focused products in 2025.
Website: Ridefox.com
Shop Now: Competitive Cyclist | Jenson USA
MTB SHOCK OF THE YEAR
ROCKSHOX VIVID ULTIMATE AIR
The stand out product for the rear suspension unit on a bike was a close call this year, with Fox’s Live Valve Neo DHX Coil offering some promising performance. However, we think the best MTB shock is the RockShox Vivid Ultimate Air. The shock’s ability to transform the rear end of every bike it was mounted to made it a unanimous winner for our crew.
For an air sprung mountain bike shock, RockShox have managed to deliver incredible sensitivity out of the Vivid Ultimate air, which yields great traction and comfort on the descents. The Touchdown RC2T damper offers high quality damping and is very tuneable, allowing us to obtain the desired support without ever feeling harsh. The Hydraulic Bottom Out feels considerably less harsh on the biggest hits compared to relying on the air spring ramp up alone. And on the longest descents we’ve ridden, we’ve experienced nothing other than faultless consistency.
Overall, the RockShox Vivid Ultimate rear air shock is a truly incredible unit, and fully deserves earning the MTB Shock Of The Year award.
Website: Rockshox.com
Shop Now: Jenson USA
MTB TIRE DEVELOPMENT OF THE YEAR
SCHWALBE RADIAL CASING
Schwalbe were thinking outside of the box when it came to the Radial tire casing that launched in the middle of 2024, and we were instantly impressed by the results. Thanks to the extra-supple casing that results due to the Radial Tire Casing’s near-radial casing thread alignment, there are large benefits to both comfort and traction. As a result, the Schwalbe Radial Casing is an easy choice for us as a mountain bike tire related product deserving of an award in 2024.
We’ve found that you need to increase tire pressure by 3-4psi in order to maintain the support, but this still yields a more compliant tire overall. They’ve proven to be as durable as the equivalent non-Radial Schwalbe casing – if not more – and we haven’t experienced a great detriment to the rolling speeds either.
We’re excited to see how the Radial casing tech continues to develop, and to continue enjoying the fruits of our MTB Tire Development Of The Year – The Schwalbe Radial Casing – out on the trails.
Website: Schwalbetires.com
Shop Now: Jenson USA
MTB HELMET OF THE YEAR
FOX SPEEDFRAME PRO MIPS
The MTB Helmet Of The Year was a difficult one to crown, with so many different heads to please in our crew and a spectrum of helmets from top-tier DH full face helmets through to budget trail mountain bike lids. But we kept on coming back to the Speedframe Pro Mips as a helmet in which we’d all be happy to spend the rest of our trail mountain biking days wearing.
Fox sponsored our eMTB Shootout and our YouTube channel this year, so we’ve spent countless hours in their Speedframe Pro Mips trail mountain bike helmet as a crew. We found that even when given the choice of many of the other trail mountain bikes on the market, we were still reaching for the Speedframe Pro Mips, thanks to its dialed fit; light weight, and stellar ventilation. The 5-star Virginia Tech rating gives us peace of mind that it’ll do its job when the time comes. And for what it’s worth, we all think it looks damn good, too. For these reasons, the Fox Speedframe Pro Mips is our MTB Helmet Of The Year.
Website: Foxracing.com
Shop Now: Competitive Cyclist | Jenson USA
MTB OF THE YEAR
YETI SB165
The MTB Of The Year award is reserved for a bike that’s not just good in one particular niche, but manages to blend different genres to be a versatile machine that’s likely to please a wide range of riders. For 2024, the bike that stood out above the rest in its ability to offer impressive efficiency and climbing performance while being a blast on the way down the hill was the Yeti SB165, The Loam Wolf MTB Of The Year.
From the very first ride, Robert was singing the praises of the Yeti SB165, stealing all of the initial ride time on it and setting the expectations sky high for the rest of the crew. The other members all took their time to get to know Yeti’s aggressive mixed-wheel enduro bike following this, and were all impressed. It’s incredible how well-mannered the SB165 was on the climbs, given how fun and capable it was on the way back down the hill. While other bikes such as the Norco Sight and Specialized Stumpjumper 15 came close, in the end the crew couldn’t deny that Yeti has made a special bike in their SB165, and it’s a bike that truly deserved to be crowned The Loam Wolf MTB of the Year.
Website: Yeticycles.com
Shop Now: Competitivecyclist.com | Jenson USA
EMTB ADVANCEMENT OF THE YEAR
DJI AVINOX DRIVE UNIT AND ECOSYSTEM
While there’s never a shortage of innovation in the cycling industry, however small they may seem, there’s always a plethora of modified or improved products dropping. For the last couple of years however it seems that the real arms race in MTB is in the electronic mountain bike sphere. It’s not possible to tune into any newly released eMTB and miss the countless comments saying, “If it doesn’t have the DJI Avinox drive unit it’s off the back!”
The amount of power, refinement and technology that DJI have been able to stuff into this palm-sized drive unit is really impressive. Are there other more proven designs? Absolutely. And there are other brands with similar power numbers out there too, so it’s not necessarily that we’re saying this is THE MUST HAVE, drive unit. On the other hand, it does seem like consumers are saying just that!
Weighing in a 5.5lbs (2.52kg) the DJI Avinox drive unit and larger DJI eBike ecosystem is a big step ahead. We know for a fact that several brands are experimenting with these drive units in their own test mules and we believe once they drop, the horsepower race, for better or worse, will be on. We’re not sure that’s a great thing, but there’s no denying, that without brands pushing the envelope, we won’t know just how far we can go.
To learn more, visit Dji.com
And watch our review of the DJI-equipped Amflow here.
BUDGET MTB OF THE YEAR
POLYGON COLLOSUS N7
Our pick for the best budget mountain bike of the year isn’t necessarily going to be the best bike for everyone, but it’s impossible to deny just how capable and awesome the Polygon Collosus N7 is. With a normal MSRP of $2,299 but currently selling for $1,999, this Rock Shox Zeb and Super Deluxe Select + equipped bike is ready to hit the bike park, shred your local shuttles or be willfully pedaled to the top of your rowdiest local descent.
During our Budget Bike Shootout, this bike won the award as the Enduro Rider’s Choice and even still, all these months later, we look back at how well the bike handles big hits, high speeds and rugged terrain. We can’t remember any other $2,000 mountain bike that we’d feel as confident on! If you’re looking for an XC bike that’s light and easy to pedal, this ain’t it, but then again, we’re not really about that life either. We want something that gets us up, but really comes alive on the way down. Props to Polygon for making $2,000 so dang fun.
Website: Polygonbikes.com
Shop Now: BikesOnline.com
SUPPORT AND JOIN THE LOAM WOLF PACK
Did you find our products of the year helpful? Would you like the chance to review (and keep) products? Are you interested in saving big bucks by getting exclusive Members Only discounts from industry brands all while helping support a small, rider-owned media crew? We have big plans for our members beyond big discounts and product giveaways! To learn more and help support small, independent media, visit our Member’s Page.