All Arround MTB

The new Tues downhill bike is here – and won a World Cup on its first outing While a number of big brands have launched 29er downhill bikes,YT Industries are sticking with proven 650b wheels – for now, at least. The latest Tues comes in five sizes (S-XXL), with the biggest sporting a reach of 495mm. Head tube and chainstay lengths now vary between sizes, to put the rider in a better position on the bike. The S-L bikes have 435mm stays, while the XL and XXL are a shade longer, at 440mm. Reach is longer than last year on some sizes, including the XL ridden to victory by Aaron Gwin at this year’s openingWorld Cup round.A reachadjust headset can be used to tailor the fit further. YT have also made subtle but significant changes to the suspension. The initial stroke is said to be more sensitive, while there’s more mid-stroke support, to sit the bottom bracket a shade higher when on track.YT have decreased end-stroke progression, by five per cent, to make tackling really big hits th...

There aren’t many companies like NS Bikes, whose entire product range is designed around getting rad, ripping corners and boosting jumps. The Polish brand are passionate about freeride and have gained a reputation for building heavy-hitting,wellspecced and reasonably-priced bikes. This latest incarnation of their Metropolis dirt jump rig follows in this vein, with a doublebutted 4130 chromoly frame and an array of reliable kit. The frame mixes MTB and BMXtechnology, using a threaded bottom bracket and Race Face AEfect two-piece crankset in combination with horizontal dropouts and an integrated headset and seat clamp. A Manitou Circus Elite fork gives 100mm of air-sprung travel, with a 20mm front axle to maintain stifness. The Metropolis rolls on 26in NS Fundamental rims, fitted with Kenda Small Block 8 tyres. We reckon the combo of chrome frame and tan-wall rubber looks pretty rad too! The full build weighs a fairly robust 12.13kg , but it should have no problem shrugging of s...

We investigate the world of women’s-specific bikes , and find that the ‘shrink it and pink it’ stereotype is no longer true. Some differences are fairly self-evident – female riders are, on average, smaller and have a lower weight-to-height ratio. Others are more contentious, such as suggestions that women are likely to ride less aggressively. WHAT TO LOOK FOR If you’re thinking of buying a women’s bike, check which of the following it ofers: - Female-specific finishing kit, including saddle - Lighter shock tune - Smaller sizes to suit smaller riders - Dedicated frame geometry – both Canyon and Liv ofer this Go back a few years, and it was easy to tell which bikes were ‘women’s specific’. They were short, tall, usually under-specced for the price and often sported a flash of a suitably‘girly’ colour. The design philosophy was simply to take a men’s – sorry, ‘unisex’ – bike and ‘shrink it and pink it’. That’s what every woman wants, right? We’ll totally overlook the bike...

The Specialized Stumpjumper has taken many forms since it claimed the title of ‘first production mountain bike’ back in 1981, from XC hardtail to mid-travel full-sus. It’s now evolved once more, into what Specialized are touting as “the ultimate trail bike”. Potential buyers are presented with a lot of different options – you can go for 29in wheels or 650b, a carbon fibre frame or aluminium, short or long travel, a unisex build or women’s-specific finishing kit. There’s even an Evo version for riders wanting something longer, slacker and overall more aggressive. All share one important trait – enhanced stiffness to improve handling in rough terrain. This was Specialized’s primary goal when redesigning the Stumpy. Hence the asymmetrical reinforcing strut that connects the top tube and seat tube (a design first used on their Demo downhill bike). The carbon frames also have a new lay-up, resulting in a claimed eight per cent higher stiffness and 100g weight saving. Every frame i...

New Stereo 150 29 has been purpose-built for winning EWS races When you’ve got one of the fastest men on two wheels riding your bikes, it makes sense to build him the fastest bike you can, and let him play a part in its development. That’s just what Cube have done with EnduroWorld Series star Greg Callaghan and the Stereo 150 29. Here are five things you need to know about the flat-out Irishman’s new whip… Cube decided to develop this frame after Greg jumped on a Stereo 140 29 at the Emerald Enduro EWS race in 2016. The mid-travel 29er was by no means a dedicated enduro race bike, yet Greg beat Richie Rude and Sam Hill for the win, proving that big wheels suit him down to the ground. The new 150mm-travel frame has been built specifically for enduro racing. Cube have changed the suspension kinematics to make the bike much more progressive through its stroke. Even the fastest riders on the planet will have a back end that can deal with anything they throw at it. The ‘C:68’ fr...

The DH race bike that may spell an end to the era of Atherton dominance Who is Tahnee Seagrave? Born in West Sussex, Tahnee soon moved to Morzine in the French Alps, where she became fluent in both French and riding steep, gnarly downhill tracks. These days, the Seagrave family (including younger brother Kaos, an up-andcoming DH racer) live in Mid Wales, just down the road from Revolution Bike Park, a place that serves as Tahnee’s second home when she’s not away racing. We never like to see a rider crash, but one positive did come out of Rachel Atherton’s shoulderdislocating tumble at Fort William last year – it blew the door wide open for the rest of the women’s World Cup field. One rider who stepped through that door in commanding fashion was British young gun Tahnee Seagrave. At the start of last season, the 22-year-old didn’t have a World Cup win to her name, but by the end of the year, she’d chalked up three victories, three more podiums and came ever so close at the Wo...

The first thing we noticed aboard the Reign was its geometry.With a 459mm reach and 435mm chainstays, the sizing of our medium bike felt spot on, encouraging a great position on the bike and feeling well-proportioned when out of the saddle. The next thing that became apparent was the bar height. Even with all of the available steerer spacers stacked under the stem,we couldn’t get the own-brand bar to sit as high as we’d have liked. This isn’t a big issue to fix, though. There’s 160mm of rear wheel travel, courtesy of Giant’s twin-link ‘Maestro’ suspension system, which drives a RockShox Deluxe RT shock.Tweaks for 2018 ensure this offers more support than the previous iteration. This means things feel sprightlier uphill and down, where you no longer have to fill the shock with volume spacers tomake it use its travel in a controlled manner. It also means that, even with the additional stability from the geometry adjustments, this year’s Reign feels livelier and more playful. The ...

The S-150 is designed to use a fork with a reduced offset (42mm) – the idea being to calm the steering without dulling the bike’s nimbleness. Working alongside that to boost stability further are a slack 65.3-degree head angle, 435mm chainstays, a long 1,212mm wheelbase and a ground-huggingly low 333mm BB – which is why Whyte spec 170mm crank arms, to limit pedal strikes. With those angles and a generous reach (458.5mm on the medium), the S-150 feels surefooted and commanding from the outset. While it’s still fun to throw around at slower speeds, it’s when the pace picks up that the geometry shines, particularly in high-speed, chattery turns, where there’s a calmness through the bar that really helps when you’re trying to hold a line. It carries speed well on flatter sections of trail and, providing it’s not too muddy for the shallow-treaded rear tyre, will claw its way up pretty much any climb you point it at. Here, you’ll appreciate the wide gear range, courtesy of a SRAM GX Ea...

While the new Enduro’s ‘X-Wing’ frame layout and Boost-width back end look almost identical to that of its 2017 counterpart, Specialized have made some significant changes. These include stretching the reach out further (it’s jumped from 430mm to 440mm on the medium) and adding a geometry chip at the base of the shock, which lets you drop the BB by 8mm and slacken the head angle by 0.5 degrees. In the lowest setting, this sat our test bike 344mm off the floor and gave a 65.1-degree head angle. On the trail, speed comes easily to the Enduro. Its shape and balance make it easy to acclimatise to, while its forgiving ride means you can speed head-on into boulder fields without wincing. It helps that set-up is a rapid, faff-free affair. You can tackle steep, roughed-up sections of trail with relative precision and when the hits do start to come thick and fast, the supple rear suspension doesn’t get overwhelmed easily, with enough progression and support to handle big impacts in a comp...

The Mega has gone through some serious changes for 2018 and now comes with a metric shock, widened Boost rear end and 170mm fork. Sizing has changed dramatically on the large and XL bikes too, though the small and medium stay roughly the same. We tested the medium and – while the reach isn’t the shortest on test, at 435mm, and our 5ft 8in main tester felt comfy enough – the general consensus was that it could do with being a touch roomier. The seat angle is quite steep, at 75.5 degrees. Combined with the 585mm effective top tube length, it sits you quite upright when climbing, so we wouldn’t want to run a shorter stem than the stock 50mm unit. Get out on track and those sizing concerns feel less important, thanks to just how playful and fun the Mega feels. It’s eager to pop from obstacle to obstacle, or change direction with a split second’s notice. While the ride is a little livelier than that of some of the longer bikes here, the well-controlled, balanced suspension keeps your ...

It’s not just the Scout’s rear travel that’s grown for 2018 (by 5mm), it’s also got a 15mm longer reach (475mm on the large size), making it one of the lengthiest bikes on test. This is part of Transition’s ‘Speed Balanced Geometry’ concept, which combines longer reaches and slacker head angles with shorter fork offsets in a bid to give extra stability and confidence without making things feel too sluggish. And it works – the Scout is far more capable downhill than its 130mm of rear travel would suggest. That does come with its own issues, though. While the geometry lets you push the bike hard down technical trails, you reach the limits of its suspension quicker than you might expect, which can thrust you into trouble (although some may find this fun!). We also can’t help feeling that the Scout has lost a little of the character that made the previousgeneration bike one of the most fun and playful out there. It still has a nicely progressive suspension action, which lets you load...

Cotic have stuck to their tried-andtested steel construction for the latest FlareMAX, but they’ve pushed the boundaries with the geometry, making it the longest bike on test. We feared that the length of the tubes and their narrow diameter might result in a flexy feel, but clever shaping and butting means they’re stiff enough to give good trail manners, without making the bike ping from rock to rock. With the long geometry adding stability and confidence at speed, the FlareMAX feels like it wants to be ridden flat-out everywhere. It’s not a bike that requires finesse to get the most out of it, but more of a ‘point and shoot’ affair. Which is fine, until you hit terrain where the limits of its 120mm of rear travel become apparent. The Cane Creek DBAIR [IL] shock on our test bike was very adjustable, so it could be set up to deal with a wide range of trails. But there’s no doubt that the bike’s shape encourages you to push it a little too far at times. While the back end is suppl...

The original Transmitter subverted expectations of how nuts you could go on a sub-$1500 bike. Now it’s been stretched out for more balanced handling, without losing the bargain price tag. The frame If you think you’re going to be getting a basic frame ($450 separately) from this bargain-priced brand, think again. The Transmitter was designed by one of the best in the business, and oversize multi-section, tapered, split and ridged main tubes and plate chainstay sections make for a pedigree ride that’s efficiently purposeful without being punishing. Bolted clips hold the gear, brake and semi-internal dropper post lines, and there’s an ISCG mount on the threaded BB shell. Boost dropouts complete the shortest back end on test (425mm), which means clearance is tight with a 2.8in tyre. The kit This mid-range model costs $3300 if you buy it through one of Alpkit’s three shops, but choosing to have it shipped to you (for free) from their UK workshop saves you $450. It’s still the m...

TheWhyte 905’s position as the benchmark progressive hardtail was put in doubt last year, but even more radical geometry and the best plus tyres in the business put it right back at the cutting edge. The frame A tall head tube and deep triangular top tube give impressive front end accuracy. The big down tube is extensively shaped, with cables routed internally through sealed rubber plugs. Wide-splayed tubular chainstays and ‘keyhole’ seatstays give generous clearance for 27.5x2.8in tyres (but should you want to fit 29in wheels, space is extremely limited). The kit The Revelation RC fork is the only dedicated 650b+ (not 29in) fork in the test, and gets a custom 42mm (rather than 46mm) offset too. Gears are 11-speed SRAM GX, but the cranks are from the Eagle family so they get the latest X-SYNC 2 chainring, along with broad 170mm arms. The SRAM Level brakes feel OK but are less powerful than Guides, particularly with the 180/160mm rotor set-up you get on every 905 apart from ...

As the lightest bike on test and a 29er too, the comparative climb and distance efficiency of the Scout isn’t a surprise. It’s how it handles the hits and techy descents that really impresses. The frame While the frame looks simple at first, the down tube has a load of tapers, shapes and swerves going on. It shares a long weld seam with the steeply-sloped top tube, which is almost parallel with the round seatstays. Chunky dropouts carry a Boost axle and post brake mount, and there’s a chainring-dodging plate section on the driveside chainstay. The dropper post cable is routed internally, apart from a loop under the BB. A full-length gear cable outer runs under the top tube, with a neat extra guide block on the down tube to swing it clear of the short tapered head tube. The Scout has front mech routing too, but the 290 Comp uses an MRP micro chain guide instead, mounted to the ISCG tabs on the threaded BB shell. Production bikes will have a set of bottle bosses. The kit A ...

Orange’s new steel trail warrior has big tyre and wheel capability and a rock-solid, damped ride feel. Its handling balance is grounded rather than giddy though, and the tyre and brake spec don’t help first impressions. The frame Unsurprisingly, the Orange’s steel frame ($825 separately) looks a lot more traditional than those of the alloy bikes here. The 44mm head tube relies on an oversize externalbearing headset cup to handle a tapered fork. Gusset plates reinforce the junctions with the stout, round down and top tubes. The tapering, swerved chainstays and straightgauge seatstays are much skinnier. Add a long 445mm back end and there’s space for 2.6in tyres in 29er format or 27.5x3.0 rubber if you go plus-size with some fresh wheels. Neat cloverleaf dropouts house a Boost rear axle. Brake and gear lines run through bolted guides under the top tube, while the dropper seatpost cable exits at the base of the seat tube and runs up alongside the down tube bottle bosses. There a...

Who is Tam and Burf? After both studying as design engineers at university, Tom‘Tam’ Hamilton and Paul ‘Burf’ Burford bumped into each other while working for Oxfordshire-based bike brand K-9 Industries. The pair hit it off and soon realised they shared the same ambition to design and build their own bikes. That was six years ago. Since then, the pair have dedicated themselves to turning out immaculate steel-framed bikes from their workshop in Frome, Somerset. Why this is a superbike? - Designed by a pair of steel bike fanatics and built entirely in-house right here in the UK - A short-travel trail weapon that’s capable of having seven shades of sh*t smashed out of it! - Craftsmanship and detailing is second to none UK-made, steel-framed, do-it-all trail destroyer “When we started, we never planned on building a full-sus bike,” says Tom ‘Tam’ Hamilton, one half of BTR Fabrications.“Back then we were searching for a way to make downhill fun again and our Belter hardtail wa...