Race Gear: Jeremiah Bishop's Cannondale Scalpel 650-6er
While at the US-Cup Pro XCT opener in Fontana, California, last weekend, Bikemag snatched some photos of Monavie-Cannondale rider Jeremiah Bishop's Scalpel with a 650B front wheel and a standard 26-inch rear.

Review: Continental Mountain King 29er 2.4
I switched to the 2.4-inch-wide Continental Mountain King 29er after losing control on rough terrain one too many times with my racier tires. The large casing allows the tire to be run with slightly lower pressure without worrying about pinch flatting, and even took some of the sting out of riding a hardtail.

Tested: FSA XC-290 NINER 29er wheels
The XC-290 NINER wheels represent FSA's first stab into the 29er market. The first thing most riders will notice about these wheels is that they use proprietary spoke nipples.

10-29-08 // Tested: Syncros DS28 All-Mountain Wheelset
Syncros' DS28S are billed as all-mountain wheels: light enough to be ridden all day, yet stout enough to handle any terrain without turning into an aluminum taco.

7-24-08 // Tested: FSA Gravity Wheels
Testing the 2500-gram Gravity's strength was pretty simple: I tried to break them and I couldn’t. After many weeks of negligent boulder-plowing, all I got was a broken frame pivot bolt and a feeling that maybe I’m not going big enough.

7-23-08 // Tested: Bontrager Rhythm Elite 29
The engineers who created the 1,950-gram Rhythm Elite 29er wheels gave them an extra-fat 28-millimeter rim profile. They’re certainly not the stiffest wheels on the planet, but I almost forgot these wheels are a bit heavier than standard 26-inch hoops.

TESTED: Cane Creek Terros Disc
While diving into tight corners, the wheels tracked straight. But on rock-strewn climbs the Terros when mounted to a hardtail.

DECEMBER 26th: Sun Ringle 8 Track
We slammed these wheels into dishwasher-sized boulders and cased them on big jumps without a shred of finesse, ride after ride. They tackled staircase hucks, step-ups, step-downs and tabletops without incident.

TESTED: Magura Freeride Disc
Magura's Freeride wheels are built by hand in Germany, using 32 double-butted DT spokes and DT Hugi FR hubs from Switzerland and Mavic’s XM321 rims from France.

TESTED: Bontrager Big Earl Wheelset
Thrashed at all the North Shore’s main attractions, the Big Earls pulled through without a wobble. Day after day, they were stiff, stout and bomber.

JULY 26th: TESTED Mavic CrossMax XL Wheels
The XLs weigh less than many dyed-in-the-wool XC wheelsets, but these things are built for much more abuse.

July 11th TESTED American Classic Disc 350 Wheelset

MAY 17th:
Tested--Mavic CrossMax SL Disc
Mavic's CrossMax SL Disc is light, sturdy and perfectly suited to cross-country racing.

Mavic Cosmos Road Wheelset
When it comes to a pound for pound improvement, a fine set of wheels is arguably the best upgrade you can buy for your bike.