The techy releases have slowed down a little bit but what has broken from the many embargos is huge – especially on the cross-country mountain biking front. We've had a fair bit of cool items arrive at the office this week including some mega-racy suspension components from both ends of the mountain biking spectrum, an aggressive-looking gravel bike from Merida and some fresh threads from DHaRCO. Let's get stuck in.

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Breaking big news this week was the release of both Specialized's new Epic and Epic Evo cross-country mountain bikes and the unveiling of RockShox's new Flight Attendant. The former looks set to be the fastest XC bike around, rocking a fresh downcountry-esque geometry and binning Specialized's famous Brain tech in favour of RockShox's Flight Attendant. Our mile-munching XC-smashing Editor, Aaron got hands-on with the Specialized Epic in its Comp build, which is a little easier on the wallet compared to the £12,000 S-Works model, so head over to his first ride review for his early impressions.

If that didn't give the game away, Flight Attendant is now available on RockShox's XC suspension components including the SID and the SIDLuxe. Not only does this make tonnes of sense as it takes away some of the thinking and fiddling with levers for lycra-clad XC whippets, but it also makes lightning-fast adjustments to put your suspension in the perfect setting for what you're riding. We're told that during a test during a 90-minute UCI XCO World Cup race, it made 1,325 adjustments.

Cross country has been the theme of the week with Liv's new Pique getting a single Pivot suspension design, and Fizik introduced the Vento Proxy, its latest race-specific off-road shoe. Mason has also teased its new Macro mountain bike, which takes a more bikepacking turn and has already finished eighth under Josh Ibbett during the 2024 Atlas Mountain Race. We also brought you the riders you should watch at this year's Cape Epic MTB race.

Moving more towards trail riding, Scott's resident bike-building wizard, Dangerholm gave us a glimpse into the future of MTB with his latest Scott Genius ST build. Then, Michelin revamped its Wild Enduro Racing Line tyres, promising less rolling resistance and better grip in cooler temperatures.

RockShox SID SL Ultimate

£959

With the race season quickly approaching, our own Matt Page is set to rock up to the start line of a few events this year. With that in mind, we took the opportunity to get him riding some race-ready components to put through their paces – including the RockShox SID SL Ultimate fork.

This fork is designed to help XC riders go as fast as possible and RockShox has done everything it can to shave off all unnecessary grams, claiming that this is the lightest 32mm stanchioned fork the brand ever created. To get its weight as low as possible, RockShox has redesigned its alloy crown but thanks to upgrades made to its internals, the fork promises to be strong and it's now available in a 110mm travel option.

The SID SL Ultimate benefits from RockShox's Charger Race Day 2 damper which the brand claims is the lightest damper on the market. It's a three-position damper too with its Open, Pedal, and Lock positions being switchable through a new TwistLoc remote.

• www.sram.com

Merida Silex 700

£2,350

Just last year, Merida brought a host of updates to its Silex gravel platform and already, they've proven successful with Matej Mahoric riding the bike to victory during the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships. However, the 700 model brings things down to earth with its alloy frame and more approachable asking price.

As for its geometry, it's modern to say the very least with numbers that would have been found on cross-country bikes only from a few years ago. Up front, there's a 69.5-degree head tube angle and its seat tube measures in at 74.5-degrees. The reach on a large frame measures 426mm and there's a 600mm top tube, so it's a long old gravel bike.

Although this model revolves around an alloy frame, it's equipped with a carbon fork complete with cargo mounting points and routing for a dynamo hub. There's internal cable routing and a dropped seatstay with clearance for up to a 700x45c tyre, although we're told that riders could easily squeeze in a 47c tyre.

With its mountain bike-like geometry, it's not without similar features, including the large 180mm front brake rotor and 160mm disc at the rear. The same goes for the 12-speed Shimano SLX cassette that's paired with a GRX groupset.

• www.merida-bikes.com

Ohlins RXF38 m.2

£1,477

Taking a different turn to the featherweight 32mm-stanchioned cross-country fork with 110mm of travel is this burly 38mm stanchioned, 180mm enduro fork from Ohlins. The RXF38 m.2 is said to deliver dual-crown performance in a single-crown package and, as such, it borrows a few things from its dual-crowned counterpart, the DH38. 

That includes a TTX18 damper with a three-chamber air spring system. It also has a floating axle design that's said to reduce friction and its travel is adjustable from 160 up to the 180mm of travel you see here. It's only available for 29-inch wheels but it can run up to 220mm brake rotors, although Ohlins states that it's optimised for 200mm discs.

• www.ohlins.com

Michelin Wild Enduro Racing Line tyres

£80 - £90

Earlier this week Michelin announced its revamped Wild Enduro Racing Line tyres and we've got some in for testing. Comprising three new tread profiles with a fresh rubber compound and a redesigned carcass, the new Wild Enduro Racing Line tyres are set to fix the issues present in the previous-generation tyres. Michelin claims that these roll faster, saving up to 30W and they're 10 per cent lighter.

Those three treads come in MS (mixed soft), MH (mixed hard), and rear patterns. The brand says that the MS and MH can be run both front and rear whereas the rear has been crafted for efficiency. Another cool note is that Michelin has introduced a new grey sidewall logo that runs alongside the classic yellow, which will make these tyres pair with a greater range of bike colourways.

• www.michelin.co.uk

DHaRCO Race Jersey and Gravity Pants

€80 - €140

Born on the beaches of Sydney, DHaRCO is a relatively new kid on the block in the clothing realm but it's making waves by creating some of the most stylish surf-influenced clothing on the market. The brand does things a little differently in that it designs lifestyle clothing but bolsters it with useful technologies that make it all great to ride in, says DHaRCO. 

Here, we have the Men's Race Jersey and Men's Gravity Pants. Starting with the former, it's been designed with help from the Commencal Muc-Off downhill team and it features a longer but slim fit. The fabric used is 100% recycled polyester and it uses FTF fabric tech. DHaRCO openly admits that this fabric isn't as durable as its standard jersey fabric but instead, it's built to be super lightweight.

The Gravity Pants are said to be more like a pair of jeans rather than MTB bottoms. However, they're articulated that should result in a good fit when on the bike. These are constructed of a nylon and spandex blend and that fabric is Bluesign-approved, so less water and fewer chemicals have been used to manufacture it.

• dharco.com

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