Latest Product Reviews

Historically, Vital doesn't do cross country. We dabble here or there, but our passion is gravity-fueled mountain biking. When Specialized reached out at the end of last year about a new mountain bike on the horizon, I assumed it was for the new Stumpjumper (we all know it's coming soon). But lo and behold, it was for the Epic. Having always kept my knowledge of the XC world at arm's length, I knew the Epic had helped steer the evolution of XC racing, that it had a rear shock with a mind of its

During the past few years as a Vital editor, I've gotten pretty good at refraining from drinking the marketing Kool-Aid spilled throughout press releases. I rarely bite at claims of more-better-optimized-everything, but when Transition launched the Relay, they got my attention. Joining the ever-evolving lightweight e-bike category, its promise of two-bikes-in-one thanks to a small drive unit and easily removable battery was anything but status quo. You're telling me I only have to sell one organ

Norco's Optic created a lot of buzz for being a short-travel ripper with aggressive geometry when it last underwent a redesign in 2019. Meanwhile, the Norco Sight remained the silent workhorse in the mid-travel category focused on excellent all-mountain performance. For 2024, Norco has elevated the downhill performance of both bikes thanks to a new high-pivot suspension design. They maintain their respective on-trail handling while blurring the gap that separates the two bikes. The Optic now