Color-coded geometric shapes can onlly go so far describing a mountain bike trail. With all the varieties of trails out there, do ratings really serve a purpose? Or do they mislead more than guide?

Bike owners have hoped for years something like Apple's AirTags would come along to help them track down their stolen bike. We tested the AirTag in real-life scenarios, and the results were, well, mixed. Here's the full rundown on how well AirTags work for items that aren't lost, but stolen—especially your precious bike!

The former advocacy wiz turned MTB apparel entrepreneur discusses how the Pacific Northwest became a magnet for mountain biking.

Apple’s new AirTags are great for finding something that’s been lost. But what about finding something that’s been stolen—like your bike?

If any one person can qualify as the PNW's mountain biking ambassador, Michelle Valko would be it. Here we explore how she got into mountain biking, where she loves to ride, and what she feels makes PNWmtb so special.

Strategies for preventing, or at least deterring, bike theft. This is a followup to our previous podcast on how I got my stolen bike back. There's lots of things you can do to slow down or discourage a bike thief, but the best mindset to have is that, short of constant physical contact with your bike, you can only hope to make things as difficult as possible for the creep. Good luck, it's a tough world out there.

Bike theft is on the rise, particularly as more folks are riding due to the pandemic. When my bike got stolen from a storefront in North Seattle, I figured it was sayonara baby. But sometimes you get lucky, and here's how I managed to recover my bike.

The Pandemic Tax is hitting the bike industry, with Santa Cruz Bicycles set to raise prices across the board by 10 percent. Other bike makers are rolling out new models with premium pricing. The industry could certainly handle things better from a customer relations standpoint, but is there anything we consumers can do? Or even should do, since pricing on commodities everywhere is on the rise along with anticipated spikes in inflation. In any case, be prepared to open your wallets 10 percent more...

You’re thinking about getting an electric bike but you keep hearing about maybe there’s gonna be a rebate. Should you e-wait for the e-bate? 

To get people to ditch their cars and lower their carbon footprint, there’s lots of new legislation floating around at the state and federal level. A bill has been introduced to Congress offering a rebate of up to $1500 on e-bike purchases. And here in the PNW, there’s WA state proposal to exempt ebikes from sales tax, which at around 10 percent would save hundreds of dollars off a typical ebike purchase. 

OK this bill being promoted by a Portland-area and a NorCal congressmen has gotten tons of attention, especially for something that as of right now is mostly a wing and a prayer. There’s no actual bill language available for scrutiny, and some really crucial details have not been spelled out. So it qualifies as a classic trial balloon, and we know what happens to most balloons.

Here’s what’s been put forward so far, in a somewhat sketchy 2 page press release that cutely names the potential bill the Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment. That’s right, E-BIKE for short. Purchasers of an e-bike, as long as it does not exceed 750 watts (pretty powerful) and $8,000 price (fairly speedy), will get a third of the purchase price up to $1,500 as a consumer tax rebate, similar to what’s done with electric cars.

Some initial thoughts on where the Trail 429 fits in the Pacific Northwest mountain biking scene.