Welcome to RECON, the Friday email keeping you up to date on MTB in under 5 min.

Rolex watches, Prada handbags, and Beats headphones clearly weren’t enough. The criminals behind counterfeit goods have now identified an equally expensive segment of consumer goods: mountain biking.

Companies like Intend BC and Garbaruk have brought attention to evidence of fake products that could fail under pressure and put riders at serious risk.

One piece of advice? Maybe don’t shop for bike parts on Temu.

In Today’s Edition:

• 🏁 Transition Factory DH Team Closes

• 👑 MTB Components Made Of Titanium

• 📚 Riding School: How To Tackle Scary Features

RACING

😭 Transition Factory Shuts Down

The UCI’s revamped rules sent shockwaves throughout the industry and now the casualties are now becoming clear.

The latest major World Cup DH team to fall victim is Transition Factory Racing.

In a heartfelt Instagram post, Transition announced the closure of its DH program, citing the structural and organizational changes introduced by the UCI as the driving factor.

Despite their success—earning a World Cup overall title, multiple victories, and national championships—the team says goodbye after just two incredible seasons.

Unfortunately, this leaves athletes like Lucas DeDora, Matilda Melton, and Valentina Roa Sánchez without factory team support for 2025. Transition joins other teams like Madison-Saracene and Dorval AM Commencal in bowing out, signaling turbulence ahead for many programs.

🙋‍♂️ RECON’s Take

World Cup DH is entering a new era, and the stakes have never been higher. With the UCI’s new rules reshaping team structures and increasing financial demands, only the most committed players with deep pockets are likely to stick around.

While these changes aim to professionalize the sport and create a more polished product for fans, they risk sidelining smaller teams, privateers, and grassroots talent that have long defined DH’s unique appeal. Teams like Transition Factory Racing bowing out highlight how even successful programs are struggling to keep up.

RIDING SCHOOL

😳 How To Hit Scary Features!

This section of our newsletter is sponsored by MTB education app Mastery, where we bring you the advice of pro riders to sharpen your skills out there.

If you want to level up your riding, you're going to have to hit features that scare you.

We all know that rider who seems fearless, hitting new features with ease. But here's the thing: it's not about being fearless—it’s about trusting your skills and pushing through fear. So we put together 3 tips to overcome fear and stomp that next feature!

Visualize the Line Before You Ride

• Take a moment to inspect the feature, and mentally walk through how it will look and feel when you stomp it. Visualizing your movements can help you anticipate the flow and reduce fear when it's time to commit.

• Do a few run ups to practice the speed, but not too many, because you don't want to get in your head

Get a tow in

• Having a rider who’s more experienced tow you into a feature can be incredibly helpful.

• When you're being towed into the feature, try to match the speed of your tow buddy, and ask for tips if they have any.

When you send it

• It sounds counter intuitive, but if you're able to, sometimes it's best to throw a bit of a table or just tweak your bike in the air. Moving your bike can help you stay loose and comfortable.

• Don't overthink it, getting in your own head is the worst thing you can do when trying a new feature. 

When to back off

• If it's in your head and you're psyching yourself out, it might be best to wait for another day. You don't want to freeze up mid send and find yourself off the bike for 5 months.

• If the conditions are bad, it might be worth it to wait for a clear day.

With Mastery, you can learn MTB skills from the pros. If you haven’t yet, be sure to join their waitlist—it's the perfect way to level up your riding.

COMPONENTS

💎 Bougie Bike Bits

As the boutique MTB ecosystem surges in the world of e-commerce and 3D printing, a new entrant is shaking the cage with some extra shiny components.

Meet Gravity Components, a new German manufacturer making waves with their 3D-printed titanium parts that are sure to turn heads at the bike park.

How? The company uses cutting-edge Laser Powder Bed Fusion technology to produce a variety of precision-engineered components such as:

• Brake Lever: Made of titanium and promising a “crisper” feel. Compatible with most Shimano lever bodies (SLX, XT, XTR, Saint, Zee) and available in raw titanium or gold anodized finishes.

• Chain Guide: A titanium piece for ISCG05 mounts, promising your chain stays where it’s supposed to. Works with e-bikes and weighs in at just 33g.

  

  Photo Credit: Sebastian Sauer

• Eject Button: Like the one in James Bond’s DB5. Just kidding. This is a dropper post remote with a pivot arm behind to pull the cable. Hitting the DP is already one of the most satisfying feelings so why not make it extra special.

• Eject Lever: Dropper lever remote made of titanium. The ball-bearing operation ensures smooth, reliable control, giving you effortless adjustments for any terrain.

🙋‍♂️ RECON’s Take

The biggest lie ever told is that mountain bikers don’t care about exclusivity and status. Just because the industry projects openness and authenticity, doesn’t mean that’s how things are. People are spending more money on MTB than ever as the sport grows and riders want to stand out in a sea of sameness.

Gravity’s approach to creating high-end, luxury components makes snese. Just don’t expect them to dethrone SRAM.

WIN $100K

🚲 This Bike Brand Wants To Make You Rich

This bike company is giving away $100,000 to the first person that completes their challenge. But first we need some context.

In 1917, entrepreneur John Gates created the first rubber v-belt and turned it into what is today a $5.5B business.

With gearbox driven mountain bikes on the rise, Gates is at the forefront, providing the belts that drive these bikes.

To put their money where their mouth is, Gates will give away $100,000 to any mountain biker who can win a world cup with a bike using their belt. That’s 40x as much as a UCI world cup winner makes in prize money.

So why? Success in the pros trickles down to the consumer level. Gates knows if a rider secured a dub on a belt-driven bike it will explode their sales as manufacturers adopt the technology.

Who will win? NZ bike maker Zerode which uses Gates’ belts, is taking initiative and pouring money into their downhill team to hopefully claim that prize. Maybe 2025 will be their year!

🙋‍♂️ RECON’s Take

We doubt anyone will take home the $100K prize, at least until a big factory team deploys a gearbox mountain bike. Nevertheless, it’s super cool to see a prize of this size in an industry accustomed to awarding its most heroic athletes just $2500 for a victory.

RECON

🛠 Bay Area Riders Building MTB Startup

Startups are a grind. They’re scary, risky, and require miracles to succeed.

But fortune favors the bold.

We’re pumped to announce that we’re officially going full-time on building RECON into the next big brand in action sports and we’re going to be sharing the journey every step of the way.

So it’s just a newsletter? Absolutely not. Our first goal with RECON is building as big of an audience as possible before we announce what the business is. Our official launch will be in 2025.

In the meantime, we'll be sharing updates along the way.

• Justin Rausch, the brilliant content creator known as @onemtb, joined our team to help out with our socials while he continues to build his MTB coaching app, Mastery.

• We just moved into our brand new office in Los Gatos, CA

• The heating finally got turned on. For a week, we had to wear a blanket while working at our desks 🤣

Every week we’re putting together a vlog about building RECON from the ground up. Follow us on Instagram for the full experience!

🎥 Video Of The Week

 💥 This one had us on the edge of our seats. Nice one Eliott!

💥 Wipeout Of The Week

Chris Hauser gets lost in the loam.

🎧 Pod Of The Week

This whole section should be a Gypsy Tales ad, but seriously this one is fire 🔥

🗞 Miss A Recent RECON Newsletter?

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🌪️ Death Grip 2 Makes Waves As Major MTB Film

🐣 Red Bull Hardline Invites Their Youngest Rider Ever

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