‘Tis the season for trees in the living room, holiday anthems on the radio, and year-end recaps. While Freehub isn’t in the business of proclaiming which products are the “best stuff that will make you way better at bikes,” this is a good opportunity to recognize some products that have stood out in 2025, as we prepare for the new year.

As Freehub’s Gear Editor, I’m incredibly lucky to get to try a whole bunch of new bikes, new components, and accessories of varying merrit throughout the year. And while my goal with regular reviews is to educate riders and simplify the buying process, this piece will cover the highlights—the stuff that had a notable positive impact on my riding this year, and the gear that I think other riders will most appreciate.

How this list works:

This list is 100% editorially created. There was no input from advertising teams or preference given to Freehub's brand partners. It’s based on real-world impressions, not clicks or dollars. And beyond that, it’s mostly based on what I would actually spend money on, or tell my friends to spend their money on, versus what represents the absolute pinnacle of cost and performance. The “best” doesn’t matter that much if you can’t afford it.

There are a few rules here. First: Priority goes to products that were released in 2025. That rule is rigid for big ticket items (frames, drivetrains, etc) but a little more flexible for smaller things. There is one exception here, but it made a big impact on my riding.

Second: There’s no hierarchy of lists here, no second place. I chose one product for each category, and I'm sticking to it. There is however a brief "honorable mention” section at the end that sums up a few other items, as well as explaining why they didn’t make the full list.

Freehub reviewed a bunch of very good bikes, components, and accessories this year. Just because something didn’t make this list doesn’t mean that it’s mediocre or bad. This process is subjective and instead of trying to veil that subjectivity in a facade of impartiality, I'm leaning into it. This is the stuff that I would spend my own money on, even if I wasn’t reviewing bikes. In many cases, this is the gear that I actually have spent my own money on. So let’s get into it!

Trek Fuel EX / MX / LX

I’ve got a followup review to my initial piece on this bike coming, but the short version is that: A) every configuration that I’ve tried has been absolutely excellent and B) it’s really refreshing to see a bike that is this dialed in terms of geometry, liveability, and details, that’s also this modular. It would have been easy to update the design language of the old Fuel EX, make a small geometry tweak or two, and call it a day. Instead, Trek took the whole thing apart and made it into three bikes—any one of which could hold its own in the current market.

The MX variant is a great example of what a well-rounded playful trail bike should be. The LX is a reliable and leggy all-mountain rig, the EX will work well for the vast majority of riders on the vast majority of trails. And the off-menu "LMX" (MX lower link, LX rocker) is a delightful enduro/freeride machine. Each mode feels genuinely different, and worth the hassle of swapping parts and links around, while also being a strong contender in its particular category.

I can imagine buying this frame and only ever running it in one configuration and being very happy, but I can also equally imagine owning this bike, a couple of forks, a couple of rear shocks and a spare rear wheel, and swapping it between variants once or twice a month. That’s a really cool combination. And it’s not outlandishly expensive. And it’s available in aluminum. And you can slam a 250-millimeter dropper post in the size Large. And it’s got internal storage. And it’s easy to work on. There’s a lot to love here, so much that I purchased a frame from Trek to use as a consistent test mule for components over the coming year.

SRAM Transmission Eagle 90

I already mentioned this in my 6-month update of Eagle 90, but if I was going to buy a new drivetrain tomorrow with my own money, it would be Eagle 90. It’s burly, it’s precise, it’s rebuildable, and it just plain works. It doesn’t hurt that I never have to worry about charging batteries or electrical gremlins either. The vast majority of bikes I’ve reviewed this year have come with Eagle 90 drivetrains, and they’ve all worked nicely. Honestly, I just don’t have that much more to say about this drivetrain. It will be interesting to see where SRAM goes from here, because I’m pretty dang content. Hopefully the future holds a more premium shifter option, but I’m not holding my breath here.

One side note: SRAM’s Maven Bronze brakes are old news but, for the second year in a row, they’ve been the product that makes the most day-to-day difference to me as a bike reviewer. It’s really, really nice to just trust the brakes on a review bike, especially longer travel rigs and e-bikes. It seems like the Maven Base might be coming for this spot, and if they’re anything like the Bronze, I’m stoked to ride them.

Specialized’s Updated Tires

In my initial review of these tires, I took a tangent to describe why I think Specialized continuing to invest in its tire line matters. Mountain biking is better when all of Specialized’s bikes come specced with respectable tires from the factory, and when every Specialized dealer can sell good tires at a significant discount from Maxxis, Schwalbe, or Continental.

Gun to my head, I’d be just fine riding only Specialized tires for the next year. The new Butcher/Eliminator combo has been excellent on trail bikes, and I’ve appreciated the bump to a Butcher in the rear as well on longer travel bikes. While it’s not a new tire, as soon as it gets wet and loose, the double Hillbilly combo is awesome on enduro and e-bikes. Yes, you can eke out marginal, but noticeable gains in terms of casing flex and rubber grip from more expensive tires, but, when I need to pull out my own credit card and buy a new tire, much more often than not, I’m buying from Specialized.

Spurcycle Original Bell

No, this is not a new-for-2025 product, but this is the first year I’ve actually run a Spurcycle on all of my bikes. Many of my rides involve riding on mixed-use paths to get to the trails and a bell makes communicating with other trail users so much easier for everyone. I’ve tried a bunch of cheaper bells, and they just don’t hold up. Spurcyle’s bells sound good, they mount easily, and they last. I’ve thrown my bike off of ledges into rock gardens, directly onto my bell, and it still dings nicely. The Compact version is more affordable and even easier to mount, but the all-metal Original still has my heart.

I wish there was less friction between walkers, joggers, and riders on mixed-use paths. Running a Spurcycle bell on your rig is a great first step toward that goal.

Fox Enduro Pro Knee Guard

These snuck up on me. Previously, I’ve not been a fan of sleeve-style knee pads. But these ones are really comfy and, importantly, have held up to a whole bunch of miles and abuse in the past year. They’re not my top choice for lift-serviced riding, but for anything short of that, they’re absolutely excellent.

You can check out the full review for more info on the Koroyd padding inside the Enduro Pro, but the short version is that I’ve recommended these to a few friends, they’ve all been stoked, and once I do kill my current pair, I’ll happily pony up for another set.

OneUp V2 Carbon Handlebar

OneUp has two products on this list, and they both are here because they finally pushed me off of established standards that I thought I would stick with forever. In the case of the Carbon Handlebar, the new 50 millimeter rise version finally replaced the 50-millimeter Title bars that I’ve been running on review and personal bikes for the past few years. It’s got a nice combination of ride quality, geometry, and price. I’m not a big fan of changing up my cockpit all the time. Once I find something that works, I stick with it. These work, I’m sticking with them. I wish they were on all my bikes.

OneUp Wave Pedals

This is another place where I don't love experimenting. I’m happy to review pedals, but I tend to go back to my stalwarts (Deity’s Deftrap) on my personal bikes. OneUp has seduced me away with the Wave. My original set has a whole bunch of battle scars, but still spins smoothly and quietly. My biggest priority with flat pedals is grip. If they don’t grip well, I’m out. The Wave has the best ratio of grip to clearance I’ve used. Spin those cranks, don’t worry about the pedals, party on.

Trail Boss Crew Tools

If we're counting by the hour, the handle I spent the most time grasping this year belongs to the Trail Boss Crew Hoe Rake. It's far-and-away my favorite trailbuilding tool I've ever used. It excels in a variety of terrain, and is useful no matter what stage of the build you're in. Most importantly, the longer I use Crew Tools, the more I appreciate Trail Boss's easy-to-swap head system. It's simple, it's bomber, and it just plain works. Dig, ride, party on.

Honorable Mentions

This was an excellent year for new bikes and components, and there were a two other standouts this year that didn’t quite make the main list for one reason or another.

Fox’s new 36 is great and, when it’s working right, I think it’s the current benchmark in this class. However, I’ve seen too many 36s with aggressively over-greased air springs from the factory and my review unit had a bent shim in the damper that caused a terrible loud, aggressive chirp on the rebound stroke. This chassis is sick. The upgrades Fox made are rad and right on the money, and I wish I didn’t feel obligated to recommend dropping the lowers before you ride it.

Shimano’s new drivetrains have definitely grown on me the longer I’ve ridden them. They’re smooth and consistent, once they’re bedded in. I’m especially interested to see how affordable of a pricepoint we see Deore Di2 drivetrains show up on. I’m also a huge fan of Shimano’s new multi-entry cleats; they've changed my entire relationship with clipless pedals, but they don’t quite reach the level of notoriety to make the list.

That’s all for 2025. I can’t wait to see what 2026 holds!