The 2025 RockShox Lyrik Ultimate, Privateer's Gen 2 141, the Muc-Off Air Mach and more

A bike, fork and a carbon fibre pump make it into this week's Five Cool Things.

Liam Mercer

Jun 14 2024

This week's Five Cool Things kicks off with something new from RockShox and Norco. We're also going to check out a carbon-fibre pump from Muc-Off, large-framed photochromic riding specs from Smith Optics and a bottle cage-based tool storage solution from Topeak. But before diving in, let's look back at the top news stories from the week.

There was plenty of news this week but also some stellar features. Lance brought you everything you need to know about cartridge bearings vs cup-and-cone and we took a deep dive into FNLD GRVL 2024, highlighting the things you need to look out for before this weekend's racing.

RockShox has then dominated the headlines again with news of its new SIDLuxe Ultimate Flight Attendant that's been arranged especially for the small cavity inside the Scott Spark RC. The suspension giant brought even more adjustability to its trail fork and shock range. Then, Ritchey returned to the front page with its updated P-29er that looks set to please XCers and gravel riders alike.

Giant also unveiled its latest Faith kids mountain bikes and Specialized launched the Crux DSW, the lightest alloy gravel bike ever made at just 9.3kg.

As for reviews? Well, we delivered our verdict on RockShox's newest Lyrik Ultimate praising it for its adjustability and smoothness. Pete also gave us his thoughts on Decathlon's Rockrider Feel 900S, a full carbon trail bike that'll set you back just £3k.

Privateer 141 Gen 2

£4,289

We loved the original Privateer 141 for its great all-round ride at a more than achievable price. Earlier this year, the brand known for its accessible performance ethos updated the bike, hauling it right into 2024 with refinements and a fresh suspension platform.

The changes come most notably from the A-L-P suspension. As before, it's a Host link design but it's been tweaked with a high leverage ratio for loads of grip at the start of the stroke and plenty of bottom-out resistance towards the end. Anti-rise is under 90 per cent and that doesn't change as the bike goes through its travel. What's good about this is that suspension performance under braking should remain similar regardless of how deep it is in its travel. The anti-squat increases as the bike shifts into harder gears to keep pedalling sharply when sprinting at high speeds.

Other updates come in the form of two flip-chips. Now, the bike can run both a 29-inch or a 650b rear wheel, depending on your preference but there's a second flipchip at the rear axle that allows riders 10mm of adjustment in the chainstay length. Features include a larger, more durable pivot bearing, an accessory mount under the top tube, comprehensive frame and chainstay protection and a full complement of Enduro Max bearings.

With this bike, Privateer wanted to provide a bike that's ready to rip straight out of the box, so at the detriment of its overall standing weight, the brand specs burly Maxxis Double Down tyres.

www.privateerbikes.com

RockShox Lyrik Ultimate

£1,079

The review's already out on this but we reckon it's certainly cool enough to make it into this week's round-up anyway. Earlier in the week RockShox announced its updates to its trail and enduro fork range, as well as its SupeDeluxe and Vivid Coil shocks and we've had some time ahead of the launch with the Lyrik Ultimate.

For 2025, the Lyrik benefits from a refined version of the Charger damper dubbed the Charger 3.1. It gets a lot of the same tech, such as the cross-talk free compression circuits, the same chassis and the ButterCups tech we saw in the 2022 ZEB Ultimate but the new damper ushers in a greater range of adjustment in both high- and low-speed compression circuits.

There's a lot more going on here than meets the eye and as the RockShox Lyrik Ultimate suspension fork review is already out, we'll let it do all of the talking.

www.sram.com

Muc-Off Air Mach Carbon

£50

Muc-Off has been putting some serious force behind expanding its range, which includes the Air Mach Carbon pump pictured here. As its name suggests it features a carbon construction with CNC-machined goodness.

Rather than a regular mini-pump, it takes the form of a miniature floor pump with a neat 304 stainless steel footstand and a larger-than-usual build. Muc-Off promises it delivers 55.78cc per stroke and can inflate up to 130psi.

Included in the box is a bolt-on holster. Its flexible hose not only prevents bent valves but clips into the handle for easy storage, too. It weighs 132g.

muc-off.com

Smith Optics Shift XL MAG

£190

Large-framed glasses make perfect sense for mountain biking. They extend the field of view while providing extra coverage for protection against the sun and flung debris.

The Shift XL Mag is a premium pair of sunglasses brimming with tech that combines Smith's ChromaPop to boost contrast and colour saturation. The lens is photochromic so it automatically changes to the ambient brightness. The MAG acronym denotes the magnetic lens, which secures in place and allows for super-easy lens swaps.

www.smithoptics.com

Topeak Dualside Cage Pro with Toolbox N11

£60

Smart ways of carrying a little more on your bike are all the rage right now, and few come as simple as bottle cage-mounted multi-tools. The real benefit here is that tool storage solutions like these fit on a greater range of bikes without requiring any modification to your bike.

With this cage, Topeak has combined its adaptable Dualside cage which is a side-release bottle cage that can be swapped from left or right releases with a Toolbox N11 multitool that's housed at the bottom of the cage and accessible via the flick of a switch. That multi-tool covers most needs with 2 to 8mm Allens, T10, T15 and T25 Torx bits and a flat-head screwdriver.

The cage is made using engineering-grade polymer and weighs 165g.

www.topeak.com

Author block

Liam Mercer

Since beginning his mountain biking career while working as a resort photographer in Greece in 2014, Liam became a freelance contributor at off.road.cc in 2019. From there, he’s climbed the journalism job ladder from staff writer to deputy technical editor, now finding his place as technical editor.

Partial to the odd enduro race, heart rate-raising efforts on slim-tyred cross-country bikes, hell-for-leather e-MTB blasts or even casual gravel jaunts, there’s not a corner of off-road cycling where Liam fears to tread. With more than 40 bike reviews under his belt and hundreds more on MTB, e-MTB and gravel parts and accessories, Liam’s expertise continues to be cemented and respected by the industry.