Q&A: Ryan on 2026 Tech Predictions

Written by Nick Sowards, on December 30, 2025

For an industry with a strong strain of counter-culture at its very core, the bike space has historically hung its hat more on evolution vs. revolution from a tech perspective. And while revolutionary, big swings are not unheard of, progress tends to arrive in incremental, snowball-like layers and additions, compounding year over year.

Looking back at 2025, we saw several ideas cross an important threshold—from "interesting experiment" to "legitimate direction."

The golden question: what does it all mean for 2026? And more to the point, as you consider your next upgrade or new bike, which trends and new tech should you be paying the most attention to?

To help separate durable trends from short-term noise, we sat down with Contender owner Ryan Littlefield. Based on a variety of inputs–what Ryan is hearing from manufacturers, what customers are seeking, and what he's seeing on the interwebs–here's what Ryan had to say, across the overall industry, along with road, and gravel, mountain biking and e-bikes.

Big Picture - The Overarching Tech Trends

Q: Ryan, let's start as big picture as possible. When you zoom out across road and gravel, mountain bikes and e-bikes, what do you see as the cross-category, most impactful trends that are likely to define 2026?

A: I think we're going to see some shifts in how we approach being comfortable on the bike without making much of any compromise in performance. This could be taller front ends or shoes with much more open toe boxes. We could throw bigger, wider tires into this same category.

Cyclist racing a black and yellow Cervelo S5.

Road - Aero Everywhere, Streamlined Cockpits, Return To Tubes

Q: Road bikes saw some meaningful shifts in 2025—wider tires, aero bikes on climbing stages at the Tour de France, increasingly integrated cockpits, and TPU tubes stealing some market share from tubeless.

As we look ahead, how do you see road bike technology continuing to evolve in 2026?

A: Road bike development will always be influenced or throttled by the 15 lb. limit imposed by the UCI. For sure, brands are getting more comfortable at going below that mark with "off-the-shelf" bikes like the Scott Addict RC in the high 12lb. range. While the widespread use of aero-frames and deeper wheels in the grand tours is mostly due to the speeds of modern racing, it is also encouraged by the weight limit. Gone are the days of hanging weights on the frame to make the bike meet the limit.

Image of a black and red Specialized Epic World Cup with drop bars.

Gravel - Rugged Frames, Wider Tires, and MTB Mashups

Q: With gravel riding still a relatively new discipline but also a major growth driver for the industry, one could argue that it's perhaps the most exciting and experimental cycling category right now. Rugged frames, wider tires, and cross-over tech from mountain biking (i.e., dropper posts) all come to mind.

For 2026, how do you see gravel tech unfolding?

A: I think the line between road and gravel is already about as grey as it can get. There are road bikes that fit 40mm tires and gravel bikes with 50mm, super deep aero rims. The whole idea of these types of bikes is that you're going to come across a lot of different surfaces and terrains and what works well in one area for one cyclist will differ somewhat for other riders in other regions. That being said, I think the area between a gravel bike and a mountain bike will be the new focus. We have already seen the proliferation of much wider tires with folks racing on 2.1 or 2.25 tires.

We built a couple of Specialized Epic World Cup full suspension bikes into gravel bikes that would shine for something like Epic Divide or rougher gravel events like the local Wasatch Allroad. While some brands are now offering full suspension gravel bikes, I think we'll see more and more in the area of gravel hardtails (such as the Scott Scale Gravel). On the surface it seems pretty easy: hang your gravel groupset on a hardtail frame and...not so fast. Hardtails have wider hub spacing (Boost), and can rarely fit a chainring larger than 38t. While it presents some challenges, I still think the benefits of wider tires, lower gearing and a longer wheelbase are all pretty awesome for those of us who do not have access to the smoother and faster gravel roads.

Two close up shots of RockShox Flight Attendant.

Mountain - Smart Suspension, 32s, and Highly Efficient Frames

Q: Mountain biking seems to be at an interesting inflection point. On one hand, we saw the increasing adoption of Flight Attendant smart suspension, along with stronger signals about 32-inch wheels becoming broadly available in the next 1-2 years. On the other hand, some folks are turning back the clock towards hardtail or rigid frames, in an effort to grab any advantage they can.

In your mind, what does 2026 hold for mountain biking?

A: As much as I am excited to try a 32" bike, I am not sure any of us will have a chance to ride one this year. I think this year we'll see more and more integration along the lines of what has been offered in RockShox's Flight Attendant and Fox's Neo system. We can all agree that getting away from six different cables coming off the handlebar is a win. It looks horrible, and we already have enough of a challenge to keep the bike going down the trail.

While I will admit that having a mountain bike with seven or eight batteries is a bit much, the current stuff just works so well! In the mindset of "the sky is the limit", we should imagine that anything with a battery in it should be able to talk to anything else on the bike with a battery in it. SRAM's Hammerhead cycling computer seems particularly under utilized for how much integration they currently offer.

Two close up shots of the TQ-HPR40 drive unit.

E-Bikes - Lighter, Faster, Better

Q: E-bikes continue to evolve across every category, along with increasing adoption from all types of riders, from urban commuters to adventure gravel riders to enduro mountain bikers logging bike park laps. Perhaps most exciting is the pivot towards smaller, more streamlined motors while maintaining power (newton meters) and battery life (wattage hours), along with that natural ride feel we all know and love. Attitudes towards e-bikes also seem to be trending positively…more embracing, less judgmental.

How do you see e-bike technology and adoption playing out in 2026?

A: We'll definitely continue to see an arms race of bigger batteries and more power. While this is not my personal favorite approach, the bikes are incredibly capable and can be a ton of fun. On the side, I think we'll see the smaller motor brands try to cater to more niche segments. I am particularly excited about the use of the really light motors like the TQ HPR40. With a system adding about five pounds to a bike, it can add a ton of fun to riding a road or mountain bike. It can level the physical playing field between riders, making the experience more enjoyable for the newbies or those building their fitness.

Personally, I would love to see an electric bike version of an Orbea Oiz or a Santa Cruz Blur. My personal BMC Fourstroke AMP is more or less this already, I just think there is some weight to be shed there by offering the newer, smaller TQ motor and/or battery.

Two images side by side of Wolf Tooth DEL pedals and SRM X-Power Direct Pedals.

Beyond the Bikes - Components, Shoes, Apparel

Q: Branching out to non-bike categories (components, apparel, shoes, etc.), are there any innovations you're especially excited about for next year? Anything that might seem small but can have a big impact on a ride to ride level?

A: Candidly, I feel like most of the clip-in pedals on the market are too similar to what we were riding thirty years ago, with very little change in the core technology. I am excited to see new pedals from SRM and Wolf Tooth that have more performance oriented features. While they're not earth shattering, it is great to see some new products that will push Shimano and the others to innovate a bit more. I think we can safely assume that a SPD-compatible pedal is not the same as another SPD-compatible pedal. I think a similar evolution has already started to happen with shoes. Cycling shoes that offer higher volume toe boxes are already rolling in, and are poised to make a big impact.

We have also seen helmets in the last year or two as having raised the bar. Frequently riding up and down our local Emigration Canyon, this is a place where I see a lot of room for cyclists to make an improvement. While it probably will not make a huge impact on someone's day-to-day cycling experience, a new helmet could be both a needed "freshen-up" and a good investment.