Gear Watch Wednesday is a weekly update on the latest mountain bike gear releases and products that Singletracks has received for test. Have gear news to share, or products you’d like us to check out? Email [email protected].
Spot Mayhem 140
Spot is putting their Living Link suspension design front and center on the latest Mayhem 140 all-mountain bike. This time around, the leaf spring and main pivot are flipped, a setup Spot is calling “Inversion.” The Living Link leaf spring allows the Mayhem to exhibit unique anti-squat and leverage ratio curves that are said to aid in climbing and descending, so much so that the brand claims riders won’t need to bother with a shock climb switch. The PDF below explains the design and includes graphs showing how the suspension performs throughout its range of travel.
In addition to the updated Living Link design, the new Spot Mayhem 140 breaks the front triangle into two with an asymmetrical bridge extending beside the shock, which the brand is calling “Slaybar.” Even the bottle mounts and internal cable routing see interesting updates designed to give the bike a sleek look and a light weight.
- Price: $5,999 to $9,499. Frame only price: $3,799
- Buy from spotbikes.com
Rocky Mountain Reaper Powerplay
The new Rocky Mountain Reaper Powerplay is an eMTB that’s designed for younger riders with a mini-sized Dyname™ S4 drive system and a frame that adapts from 24″ wheels to 26″ wheels as kids grow. The alloy frame and proportional controls promise smiles for miles.
- Price: $4,399 – $4,769
- Buy from Rocky Mountain dealers
Esker Smokey and Lorax steel
The Easker Lorax drop bar mountain bike and Smokey hardcore hardtail with 160mm fork are now available in steel. Previously only offered in titanium, the steel versions are available for purchase as a frame plus fork for $1,600, or as a complete build starting at $3,000.
- Price: $3,000 complete (and up)
- Buy from eskercycles.com
Smith mashes up Chromapop with photochromatic lenses
Smith’s Chromapop lens technology is designed to deliver “unmatched color and contrast enhancement,” and in our experience it does exactly that. Now, Smith is offering photochromatic lenses with Chromapop to deliver excellent optics no matter the light conditions. Lenses are available with various frames, including Shift Mag, Bobcat, and Wildcat models.
- Price: From $245
- Buy from Smith
New deuter packs will have 3D-printed back panels
The deuter Hiline 8L and 14L backpacks won’t be available until Spring 2025, though the brand is clearly excited to talk about the packs’ 3D-printed construction. It’s not clear what advantage the manufacturing process will bring to the MTB-specific packs beyond vague promises of “sustainability and innovation.”
- Price: $350 and $375, respectively
- Available Spring 2025
