Kyle Smaine was raised right at the base of South Lake Tahoe’s best mountain bike trails. He spent the winters skiing until the snow melted and then began chasing thrills on Northern California singletrack. Consumed by a winter contest circuit as a professional halfpipe skier, he is one of the only testers without extensive bike racing experience…yet his Strava times say otherwise. Kyle has spent several summers wrenching on bikes at a local shop and likely empties too much of his bank account to feed his bike addiction.
Showing 1-15 of 24 by Kyle Smaine

Best Hardtail Mountain Bike of 2023
We conducted a mind-numbing amount of research to identify the most compelling hardtail mountain bikes available...
Best Mountain Bikes Under $3000
Are you looking for a new mountain bike that costs $3000 or less? We researched the best budget-friendly...
Best Budget Mountain Bikes
Looking for an affordable mountain bike? After researching the best budget-friendly models we selected 5 of the most...
Top Pick
Specialized Fuse 27.5 Review
The Specialized Fuse 27.5 is easily the best budget hardtail mountain bike that we've tested. Recent updates to the...
Editors' Choice
Giant Stance 29 2 Review
Giant's new Stance 29 2 is a versatile and highly capable entry-level full-suspension mountain bike. This bike punches...
Top Pick
Marin Hawk Hill 1 Review
The reasonably priced Marin Hawk Hill 1 is a quality affordable mountain bike. The recently updated modern geometry...
Santa Cruz Tallboy Carbon C S Review
The redesigned Santa Cruz Tallboy is another of a new breed of super capable short travel trail bikes. This 29er trail...
Santa Cruz Hightower CC XO1 Review
Santa Cruz recently redesigned their popular do it all 29er trail bike, the Hightower, turning it into a hard-charging...
Rocky Mountain Growler 40 Review
The Rocky Mountain Growler 40 is an affordable hardtail with a distinctly middle of the road performance. What it...
Salsa Timberjack Deore Review
The very reasonably priced Salsa Timerjack Deore 27.5+ is an entry-level hardtail mountain bike. This is a solid...
Top Pick
Ibis DV9 NX Review
The Ibis DV9 is a zippy hardtail mountain bike with a high-end carbon fiber frame and well-rounded performance...
Salsa Timberjack NX Eagle 27.5+ Review
The Salsa Timberjack NX Eagle is a versatile bike at an attractive price point. On-trail performance won't blow you...
Editors' Choice
YT Jeffsy AL Base Review
The YT Jeffsy AL Base is an impressive sub $2500 trail bike and the winner of our Editor's Choice Award. This is a...
Cannondale Habit 6 Review
The Cannondale Habit 6 is a mid-travel trail bike with a need for speed. A long and slack geometry along with 130mm of...
Rocky Mountain Thunderbolt Alloy 10 Review
Rocky Mountain is well known for making excellent mountain bikes, but the Thunderbolt Alloy 10 is the least trail...
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