What happens when a bike brand leans on 15 years of design and building experience to create a modern steel hardtail mountain bike but has it made overseas to keep the price down? Thats exactly what Colorados Reeb Cycles set out to do with the Hall Pass: a 130mm-travel steel hardtail with an impressive array of features. Dig into Miless review after several months of trail riding and local bikepacking here...The post Reeb Hall Pass Review: Flip the Script appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Cadex has made its first move into mountain biking with the Max XC WheelSystem, a 1,248g carbon wheelset aimed at high-level cross-country racing.If Cadex isn't a name familiar to you, it's Giant's high-end components brand. Until now, it has been best known for its road and gravel wheels, alongside products such as tyres and saddles. The Max XC is officially its first mountain bike wheelset.Cadex has gone straight for the sharp end of the XC market with the Max XC. It uses carbon rims and carbon spokes bonded directly into the hub flanges, with plenty of attention paid to stiffness and power transfer.Cadex says the wheels were developed and tested with World Cup riders from the Giant Factory Off-Road Team.Carbon spokes bonded into the hubs The Max XCs carbon spokes are bonded directly into carbon hub flanges, creating what Cadex describes as a one-piece hub and spoke structure. Cadex A big point of interest with the Max XC wheels is how Cadex has joined the spokes to the hubs.The Super Aero carbon spokes are bonded directly into carbon hub flanges, creating what Cadex describes as a one-piece hub and spoke structure. The idea is to reduce flex as the wheel loads up under hard pedalling.Its Dynamic Balanced Lacing system, or DBL, uses a wider spoke-bracing angle and is designed to balance spoke tension as pedalling load increases. There are 20 spokes in the front and 24 in the rear, with lightweight titanium threads at the ends of the carbon spokes.It sounds pretty wild, although the idea of heavily integrating carbon spokes into an XC wheel isn't new.Syncros launched the Silverton SL back in 2018. Those wheels had carbon rims, spokes and hub shells moulded together into a single rigid structure and weighed a claimed 1,250g. There was a catch, though. Because the spokes formed part of that structure, you couldn't simply true them in the usual way.Cadex has gone about things differently. Its spokes are bonded into the hub flanges, but alloy nipples are hidden at the rim and each spoke can still be tensioned independently.What does transmission stiffness mean? The Max XC wheels are aftermarket parts designed to fit compatible XC bikes from any brand. Cadex Cadex has compared the Max XC wheels directly to the Roval Control World Cup in its own testing, and this is where some of the more interesting numbers appear.It says the Max XC has 5.3 per cent greater lateral stiffness, measuring 45.5N/mm compared to 43.2N/mm for the Roval.However, the Roval wheels were considerably lighter in Cadex's test, at 1,001.1g compared to 1,247.6g. Once weight is taken into account, Cadex's own figures show the Max XC has a 15.8 per cent lower lateral stiffness-to-weight ratio than the Roval.Cadex claims a much bigger advantage in what it calls transmission stiffness.Put simply, this looks at how much the hub rotates relative to the rim when torque is put through the rear wheel. As you stamp on the pedals, the hub tries to drive the rim forwards, but the spokes and wheel structure can wind up slightly under load. The less movement there is between the hub and rim, the greater the transmission stiffness.Cadex says the Max XC rear wheel has a 111.2 per cent higher transmission stiffness-to-weight ratio than the Roval Control World Cup in its testing. That's a big difference, although these are Cadex's own laboratory figures.It makes another big claim about strength. The Max XC survived a 773.5kgf compression load before failure in Cadex's test, compared to 440kgf for the Roval, according to Cadex. That's a 75.8 per cent increase.Cadex also backs the Max XC with a lifetime warranty and a five-year incident replacement programme for registered original owners.120 teeth inside the rear hub The Max XC uses a 30mm internal hookless rim, with 5mm-thick Wide Guard edges designed to better protect the rim and tyre during hard impacts. Cadex The M1-C120 rear hub uses a 120-tooth Helical-Bevel Ratchet Drive System, giving a 3-degree engagement angle. Cadex says a 10-degree helical interface between the ratchet rings helps create smoother engagement, while its Wave Spring keeps the engagement force consistent. Ceramic bearings are used front and rear.The carbon rims are 22mm deep and 30mm wide internally, with a hookless profile designed for tyres from 2.2 to 2.6in wide. These are 29in wheels with Boost hub sizing.There's also a chunky 5mm Wide Guard rim edge. Cadex says its rounded shape helps reduce sharp contact with the tyre sidewall when you hit rocks or roots, while also protecting the rim and reducing the chance of pinch flats.The complete wheelset weighs a claimed 1,208g without valves and rim tape, increasing to 1,248g with both fitted. SRAM XD and Shimano Micro Spline freehubs are available.The Max XC WheelSystem is priced at 3,500 / $4,000 / 4,200. In the US, the front and rear wheels can also be bought separately for $1,650 and $2,350 respectively.This certainly isn't a budget way into MTB wheels. But for Cadex's first crack at mountain biking, there's quite a lot here that's different enough to get our attention.

The aptly-named El Jeffe Grande may be the best looking 32er we've seen yet

As riders in the Arkansas High Country Race settle into their fifth day of pedaling, Aaron Arnzen offers a detailed update on how the race is progressing. Find his report with photos from Aaron, Monica Foltz, and Kai Caddy here...The post Replacement Phones and Fast Times at the 2026 Arkansas High Country Race appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Primoz Roglic has spent much of 2026 being asked what comes next. On Wednesday in Slovenia, the 36-year-old showed again that he is not done yet. Roglic won the first European time trial title of his career on home roads, beating Bruno Armirail by 7.13 seconds over the 21.8-kilometre course and fina...

GravelKing X1: was 32.99 now 25.99Gravel tyres suited even to three and four-season UK conditions that roll well on the road too. Snap them up while this deal still exists it ends in nine-and-a-half hours at the time of writing.View DealAs a gravel convert of a few years now, I've ridden a number of tyre brands, widths and treads. I've found success with a few of these, depending on the time of year and the terrain, but among the best I've used of late has to be the Panaracer GravelKing X1. They are sporting some solid discounts this Amazon Prime Day as, in fact, are the whole GravelKing line in Panaracer's UK Amazon shop, with discounts up to 51% depending on what you're buying.Going on tread alone, the X1s are the gnarliest in this venerable line, which began with the original SK version and has become something of a benchmark in the discipline. However, the on-bike experience tells a different story. They have a decent amount of bite off-road, of course, but they're also fast-rolling on hardpack and tarmac, so I've used them for all manner of rides in all manner of seasons, including 50-mile-plus rides that are mostly tarmac.In all that time, I've experienced no issues, and no flats. In terms of getting them mounted, it depends which wheels you're using. I've used them on a couple, and they were super easy on one set, super hard on the other (in that case I used the Tyre Glider - not discounted this Prime Day, but so affordable you probably don't need it to be. Job done).The X1s are sold on Amazon in either all-black or black with brown sidewalls, and 35, 40 and 45mm sizes. There's also a 48mm version in all-black only. They feature Panaracer's ZSG compound for grip, and Beadlock for easy mounting and seating. With the 45mm versions available from 25.99, this is a great opportunity to buy.

Once Scotland's biggest bike shop chain, only four stores have survived administration

Demi Vollering has spent the last two weeks winning almost everything in front of her. By the time she rolled down the start ramp for the European Championship time trial in Slovenia, however, the edge that had carried her through that golden run had finally started to disappear. The Dutchwoman stil...

Teased earlier this year through their Concept Labs program, Revels El Jefe Grande 32er is officially here. Based on the light, fast, XC-oriented 29 El Jefe frame, the El Jefe Grande is a big-wheeled version that delivers the same idea. For more on this new 32er, read on belowThe post The Revel El Jefe Grande Has Officially Landed appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Primoz Roglic has won the elite men's time trial at the 2026 European Championships, taking the first European title of his career on home roads in Slovenia. The 36-year-old completed the 21.8-kilometre course in 28:16.061, beating Bruno Armirail by 7.13 seconds after taking control of the race from...