Jeez, I can’t believe it’s time for Editor’s Choice already. I don’t know how you guys feel about it, but the year flew by for me. As the year comes to a close, I am tasked with remembering the products that I tested in 2024 and coming up with my favorites. This is always hard for me to do.
I do feel very fortunate to do what I do for a living. And I am grateful that the brands trusted me with their products and stories. I also appreciate all of you who took the time to read and comment on some of my stories, I appreciate you guys and the kind/not-so-kind words that you’ve taken the time to write.
The readers are at the heart of Bikerumor’s success. I enjoy sharing my thoughts and opinions with you, and reading yours. You guys are the wind beneath my wings—just kidding, but seriously.
I reviewed a lot of gear this year, and frankly, it’s taking me a while to compile a list of my faves. I wish I could just pick one, not because I only have one favorite, but because I feel like it would be easier. Anywho, below are my faves in a few different categories.
Let’s get to my Editor’s Choices for ’24.
Best Bike Experience
Editor’s Choice: Overlanding Trip with K-EDGE
I know it seems weird to give my Editor’s Choice award for Best Bike Experience to an experience that didn’t involve bikes. But, to be fair, this experience did happen because of bikes, with the planning for this event starting at the 2024 Sea Otter Classic.
Tyler and I were hanging with the K-EDGE crew at their booth, enjoying some Coors Banquet and chips and salsa, which, over the past several years, has become somewhat of a tradition at Sea Otter.
Except this time, instead of talking bikes, and bike bits, we talked about and planned an Overlanding trip through a portion of the Owyhee Wilderness, which is located throughout South-Eastern Oregon and South-Western Idaho. And, just so happens to be the K-EDGE crew’s stomping ground.
Tyler was planning a road trip from the East Coast to Portland, Oregon for the MADE Show, and he had to make a stop in Southern California. Since I was headed up to Portland too for my second MADE Show experience, we decided to have him stop at my place.
He could park and camp in my backyard, and we could caravan up to Portland together over the next few days. That way, we could camp at some cool places along the way.
The Owyhee Wilderness Area was absolutely stunning. All of these photos do zero justice to this amazing place. My wife and I had an amazing time with the crew at K-EDGE as they showed off their incredible backyard.
This trip got my Editor’s Choice award, not because it was all about bikes, but because I would’ve never had the opportunity for such a beautiful trip with such beautiful people if it wasn’t for the bicycle and bicycle people.
Let me take the time to extend a heartfelt thank you to the K-EDGE crew, Tim, Troy, and Eric for your hospitality, amazing meals, snacks, and all of the planning it takes to execute such an amazing trip. I want to thank Tyler and Harrison for being great caravan partners!
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, and I look forward to doing it again!
Best eMTB
Editor’s Choice: Salsa Moraine
Although, I reviewed and rode many eBikes this last year, most of them were cargo bikes. But, I also had the opportunity to review a few eMTBs, including the Aventon Ramblas, and the Salsa Moraine. The Aventon Ramblas was a fun bike, but the Salsa Moraine was an incredible bike.
The announcement of the Salsa Moraine intrigued me at the 2024 Sea Otter Classic. After my Ramblas review, I was more eMTB curious than ever, so I thought I’d reach out to Salsa to bring a Moraine Deore 12 in for review.
The bike uses the compact and lightweight Fazua Ride 60 for the assist. At 53lbs, the bike wasn’t very light for a “lightweight eMTB”, but it rode light and felt great. I loved riding the bike. I loved everything about the bike, even the mid-tier component spec.
The Moraine’s geometry seemed to be perfect for me in the large size, making for a very comfortable bike. The suspension design and kinematics were impressive and familiar.
The Split Pivot design is a system that isolates pedaling and braking forces. That’s no marketing mumbo-jumbo, it does exactly what it claims to do.
My Edotor’s Choice Award for best eMTB goes to the Salsa Moraine.
Best Mountain Bike
Editor’s Choice: Salsa Blackthorn C XT
Ok, after I reviewed the Salsa Moraine, I didn’t want to give it back. I wanted to buy the one I used for the review. But, lack of bike funds meant it didn’t work out. So I said goodbye, shipped it back to Salsa, and moved on with my life. Sometimes the hardest part of my job is saying goodbye to some of the bikes that I review.
After a few weeks, I was strolling on Salsa’s website and came across a massive sale on their Blackthorn C XT full-suspension mountain bike. After doing a bit of research on it, I found a large size and went ahead and purchased one for my personal mountain bike.
This bike is gorgeous with its low-key branding, and amazing color. It has a solid spec sheet, and best of all, it has the exact same geometry and suspension design as the Salsa Moraine that I fell in love with during my review of that bike.
The Salsa Blackthorn has me shirking my responsibilities, as I keep going to ride one of the review bikes I have and grab the Blackthorn instead. It makes me want to ride it all of the time.
It’s relatively light at 34lbs (large size w/ pedals), climbs efficiently, and descends like a bat outta hell. It’s one of my favorite mountain bikes I’ve ever ridden. And, it is one of the best bike purchases I’ve made in decades.
My personal mountain bike, the Salsa Blackthorn C XT, although I haven’t officially reviewed it, is my Editor’s Choice for the best mountain bike, because it’s an amazing bicycle!
Best Grips
Editor’s Choice: Ergon GE1 Evo Factory
The Ergon GE1 Evo Factory grips may be the best grips I’ve used in a very long time. They are very comfortable and do what they claim they do – relieve any hand discomfort, and offer a great bar/trail feel.
I use these grips on both of my mountain bikes. I have a pair in Frozen Stealth (black) with the Oil Slick clamp on my Salsa Blackthorn, and the Frozen Moss (green) with the Oil Slick clamp on the Haro Saguaro 1.
This grip is one of the most noticeable, low-cost upgrades I’ve made to a bicycle. They instantly made a difference in how my hands felt on both short and long rides.
I noticed the grip’s highlights and features on rides with long technical descents, where the terrain requires a tighter grip while using more of the brakes. The soft compound helps keep the numbness at bay while providing ample damping.
The ergonomics of the grip are subtle, but obvious as it keeps you in a riding position that is ready for action. And while the grip’s compound feels soft, its purposeful shape still feels very defined and precise.
Best Hitch Rack
Editor’s Choice: 1UP USA 2″ Super Duty
The new 1UP USA’s 2″ Super Duty double hitch rack is a bike rack that’s rated for extreme off-roading. And I enjoy getting off-road as much as possible, so that aspect was important to me.
With the new 2″ Super Duty, they’ve addressed some shortcomings of the older version of the rack. This new one is very beefy, with newly reinforced areas. I don’t rock crawl in my Jeep, but the way the new 2″ Super Duty is built, it looks like it could take that abuse without a problem.
The rack is constructed from corrosion-resistant aluminum, which is used for the entirety of the build. There is no plastic being used. And, as usual, the rack supports bicycles without any contact with the frame or fork, using the load arms on the bike tires.
The new Wheel Chock accessory almost eliminates one of my pet peeves with some tray-style racks. And that’s the continuous movement of the front wheel through the steerer tube, even when the bike is “locked and loaded”. The new Wheel Chock comes in handy for these instances (albeit at a hefty additional premium of $110 per tray).
A welcome addition to the 2024 SD Rack is the addition of true one-handed operation of the rack. there are two ways to actuate the arms of the rack.
If you want to use two hands to open the rack, just press the red button, lift the arm, load the bike, and adjust it to familiar ratcheting as you close the arms onto your tires
Some racks’ integrated locks are better than others. I would say that the 1Up USA Wheel Lock 1/4 Turn (long), is more of a deterrent than a full-blown lock.
But, I like that it doesn’t come in contact with the bike in any way, which is great – if you have a bike rack with an integrated cable lock, it’s not a good idea to drive with it locked since it can rub through the paint on your bikes (or worse).
Honorable Mention: RambleSwing
I have to say that I would not have been able to use the 1Up USA 2″ Super Duty on the Jeep without the awesome Rig’D Supply RambleSwing. The RambleSwing allowed me to run the hitch rack of my choice and still be able to utilize and open the rear door of my Jeep.
It’s also rated for extreme off-roading, so the two products worked perfectly together. Hats off to Rig’D Supply for an amazingly beefy rack swing out. In my opinion, it’s probably one of the best swings out there.
Best Tires
Editor’s Choice: Teravail Kessel
I am in the process of reviewing the Teravail Kessel tire. It is an aggressive trail, all-mountain, and enduro-type tire. I’m using the tire for mostly aggressive trail riding. And it’s at home in most of the conditions I ride in. I say most, because I’m not done reviewing it, and I have yet to ride in soft, wet, and sloppy conditions.
As chance would have it, I’ve ridden this tire on the Salsa Moraine eMTB and loved it. I then brought in a pair to review and put them on the Haro Saguaro 1. I loved them so much on that bike, that I brought in another pair for my Salsa Blackthorn.
They aren’t the lightest tires out there, but they hook up and roll fast. I really don’t notice the weight. Another thing that I like is that the Kessel does not seem hyper-sensitive to tire pressure. I don’t have to obsessively check pressure before a ride. The tire performs great regardless of small incremental changes in pressure.
I find that for a discipline-specific tire, it does a lot really well. It climbs great while the descending is predictable with traction and braking that inspires confidence. I am using the tire in a 2.6 up front matched with a 2.4 in the rear. I use this combo for both the Salsa Blackthorn and the Haro Saguaro 1.
Best Drop Bars
Editor’s Choice: Tumbleweed Bikes’ Big Dipper Drop Bar
Let me start by saying that I love the Tumbleweed Persuader Bars that I’ve used in the past. So when I saw that Daniel over at Tumbleweed Bicycles released the new Big Dipper Drop Bar handlebar, I asked him if I could bring a pair in for review.
Daniel designed the Big Dipper to pair perfectly with Tumbleweed’s drop bar adventure bike, the Stargazer. Ready for a good time, the Big Dipper drop bar is rated for off-road use (ISO 4210 mountain bike strength/fatigue testing). The bar has a clamping diameter of 31.8mm and is made of triple-butted 7000 series aluminum, which is stronger than 6000 series.
I’m a firm believer in the benefits of riding with wider handlebars. In my experience, they offer the rider more comfort and control. The Big Dipper is a wide bar with the narrowest bar being 51cm.
The sizes of the Big Dipper go up from there with the next sizes being 54cm and 57cm. According to Tumbleweed, the width is measured from center to center at the hoods. It has a shallow drop (109mm), a short reach (50mm), as well as a nice 5° back sweep. All of this is perfect for me.
Combine all of that with a nice short reach of 50mm and the 20° flare, and the Big Dipper seems to be the perfect drop bar for me. The bar is so easy and comfy to go long distances.
With the shallow drop, short reach, and 20-degree flare, it’s especially confidence-inspiring on technical descents, when you’re hard braking while in the drops.
Parting Words
Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read what I write. I hope you all enjoyed the list, I had a great time this last year. Let me also thank all of the brands for their trust in letting me share my thoughts and opinions about your products. I look forward to another year of bikes and bike people!
See ya!
Each of these products was entirely chosen purely on their technical merits, by me personally, and for the reasons described above. More great products passed through my hands in 2024. Under no circumstances were any of my picks, paid for by their producers. Nor was any preference or favor given to the brand or advertiser. My selections are mostly (but not exclusively) limited to products I’ve actually spent time riding/testing in person. So a brand’s willingness to invite Bikerumor to join a launch event, or to provide product samples can make it more likely that we will have considered their products, if only because we can share our real, firsthand experiences.
