trail bikes should always put climbing as #1 attribute. because if you ride up and down hills, majority (75%+) of your time will be spent going up. any bike can descend, but increasingly nowadays climbing ability is mostly ignored. Hard to find a good bike nowadays.
@mariusreiter9493 Жыл бұрын
What you're describing is called a cross country race bike. Until a couple of years ago we used to call trail bikes "all mountain" (which I guess didn't sell that well within the enduro bike boom so the industry came up with a new name for the same thing), and the name pretty much described what their focus is. 50% focus on uphill and 50% on downhill performance, sitting right in the middle between XC bikes with something like 70%/30% and Enduro with 30%/70%.
@garethhughes5745 Жыл бұрын
@@mariusreiter9493 I would put XC Race bike more 90/10 than 70/30 you see, but then, I was racing XC back in '92 onwards, (egg rings, aluminium nipples and titanium axles a must etc.) when there were also dudes on cross bikes entering the XC races, and they were jumping logs on them too as bunny hopping was always a part of xc races. :) But yes, times have moved on, personally i would like to see a modern carbon 29er XC bike race against a superlight 26 on the gnarly trails we used to ride. I can understand why people think bikes focused on trail should be what used to be a downhill bike. but i dont agree with it, not think its faster. I still think a trail bike should be 70/30 imho.
@Zetler Жыл бұрын
eBikes solved all of these problems. With the motor you're no longer a slave to geometry for climbs and you can go full on Enduro geometry and burly shocks for the downhill.
@mariusreiter9493 Жыл бұрын
@@Zetler some of us prefer the physical exercise of pedalling up ourselves and the light weight of an unpowered bike. I see mountain biking primarily as a sport.
@alanross7979 Жыл бұрын
@@mariusreiter9493 So Motocross is not a sport?
@TheAndyMaan Жыл бұрын
I’m surprised you didn’t include last years winner to give a benchmark to compare to from last year.
@E.T_rode_bikes_As_well Жыл бұрын
No Yt Izzo, no Spur, no Fuel Ex, no Norco Fluid… no no no 😢
@IIISentorIII8 ай бұрын
no Stumpy, no Scott spark or Scott Genius 🥲
@ThunderStruckMTB Жыл бұрын
No mention of headset cable routing. I wouldn't give the Merida a second look because of it, no matter how it rides.
@stefromfortworth9 ай бұрын
Same. Literally an instant turn-off.
@stefromfortworth9 ай бұрын
That Merida looks nice, but they completely lost me the SECOND I saw that it had thru-headset cable routing. Need a new headset bearing? That’ll be a £200 workshop bill 🤡 Want to add a spacer under your stem? Yeah, Good luck…. Get the Whyte. LIFETIME bearing warranty and easier to work on.
@re7qi Жыл бұрын
That merida has almost identical geometry to the 2021 Trail Bike of the year - Bird Aether 9. Does Tom just 'fit' better on that geo, and so gives the award to a bike that fits him best? So it's less about the bike then.
@TomMarvin1 Жыл бұрын
Hey Jack, apologies for the late reply. Fit is, of course, important - as I mentioned in the full review, Merida offer a wide range of sizing, and so there should be a size that suits your preference. Fit isn't the only thing I look for though. On a trail bike, climbing performance is key, and the Merida was, without a shadow, the best in the test when it comes to uphill trails. While other bikes were smoother down, the Merida works very well - there'a bit more feedback than the Vitus, for example, but the overall shape (and I had the longer of the two options I could have easily fitted on) really aids performance on descents. it's also good value for money. So, fit is important, but it's not the only thing. Merida offer a wide range of fit (thanks to a short seat and head tube) and thus most people should be able to find a fit that suits. They can then benefit from the climbing and descending performance offered by the bike. This all went towards the bike winning the test.
@re7qi Жыл бұрын
@@TomMarvin1 Hi, thanks for the reply. Which did you prefer between the Bird and Merida?
@TomMarvin1 Жыл бұрын
@@re7qi tricky one - I like the customisable nature of the bird, so I could pick the components to suit my exact budget. But the kit on the Merida is pretty sorted for the cash! The Merida climbs better, but the bird is smoother down, so it depends a touch on what you want from them both. I think the frame finish aesthetic is better overall on the Merida. Honestly? Kinda 50/50 - if I had more than 3100 to spend I'd definitely consider getting a bird to the exact spec I wanted, but I'd be very happy with either
@kiwibob72 Жыл бұрын
So the trail bike of the moment, the Trek Fuel EX Gen 6 doesn't even make your list after being named BOTY by PB a few months ago - not to mention one of your own '2023 Trail Mountain Bikes you Want to ride' finalists only 4 months back. Odd.
@edmondthompson7525 Жыл бұрын
Money talks…I’m sure it could have made the list if they really wanted it to 😉
@bitumen83 Жыл бұрын
This "test" is irelevante and silly. 3 bikes in test and 2 of them are UK brands...
@55mblindy Жыл бұрын
WTF😮
@TheFatSteez Жыл бұрын
Because there’s no real objective measure of best and these are all opinions. And you know what they say about opinions…
@cesaralexis73 Жыл бұрын
He got paid. He’s a sellout
@i-am-vonnegut Жыл бұрын
The Ibis Ripley AF does tick those 3 boxes....Believe me. Scottish Munro and torridon loop, yep. Glentress and Lagan wolftrax, of course. Enduro lines, yeah just not warp speed. Flat trails and whole days out, of course Jump sites, no problem. And all with a DW 120mm that easily feels.. Or should say acts like an easy 140mm when needed. Sold my nukeproof mega 290. And haven't stopped smiling yet. Believe me 😁
@Mark_Tishman Жыл бұрын
I have vitus escarpe 29. But I didn't like that rear deluxe shock, so I've put a ext coil shock.
@Chris7uk00Ай бұрын
Why does a trail bike need to weigh 15.8kg (Merida one forty 700), canyon spectral al 6 (over 16 kg) , in fact they are all heavy now they have 29 inch wheels fitted, I used to ride a specialized pitch pro full sus with 26" wheels @ around 13.4kg, New bikes are too big and too heavy now to use as a trail bike for climbing and desending in my opinion. Tell me you can spend all day riding @ 16kg bike up and down unless your superfit. Bike manufacturers have all jumped on these 27.5 / 29 inch wheels, larger frames and the silly heavy rear 10 11 speed cassettes. Over 3kg for a complete rear wheel (tyre,wheel,cassette,etc). It's a joke most bikes are too heavy and expensive. I'm entitled to my opinion and this is it. Your better off buying a used 26" bike you will have more fun on it and it will be lighter too for climbing.
@plmn937 күн бұрын
I somewhat agree, though for me there's no going back to 26" or front derailleurs. The current Fuel EX is nearly 5 pounds heavier than my 2018 and for what? An extra 10 mm of travel on a bike that isn't as plush or as nimble as the old one. 5 years ago was the apex of all-around trail bikes, IMO. Bikes efficient and light enough to ride all day, compliant enough to not beat you up, and capable enough to handle just about anything a non-pro would want to try.
@jbear75 Жыл бұрын
Bike Radar seems always heavily biased towards a few select brands.
@AlejandroRodriguez-bw4oo Жыл бұрын
I have a Marin Rif zone 1 is a good bike for a good price the only thing that I dont like is the x fusion rear shock
@DB-sd3cw10 ай бұрын
Is there a way to filter out mountain bike content from the UK?
@mkim64 Жыл бұрын
Don't know why the Whyte even made this shortlist - average and uninspiring...
@TomMarvin1 Жыл бұрын
After testing it for 4 months against the competition, I felt it worked really well on a broad range of trails, and would be a suitable bike for many trail riders.
@ggexpeditions867 Жыл бұрын
Are kross bicycles any good,just wondering for my next bike ,answer asap
@serjturischev955711 ай бұрын
Dh tires on trail bikes looks ridicilous.
@cliffordrichardc11 ай бұрын
have udh or not
@youling1997 Жыл бұрын
Does merida use a AL flexstay?
@TomMarvin1 Жыл бұрын
yep
@i-am-vonnegut Жыл бұрын
Incidentally.... We're meant to find the limits of our suspension.... Why is the mentality always about upping stuff...... For that occasional 10%. You wanna smash buy a smasher.
@noeldanganan1638 Жыл бұрын
🎉
@chrisgreen1094 Жыл бұрын
Not one of them has a motor so this test is irrelevant 😉🤣 #ebikesarejustbetter
@GhettoSuguru Жыл бұрын
All bikes should come with internal frame storage if not it shouldn't even be on
@paulmaul11 ай бұрын
Is that feature really something that you consider a make or break buying consideration??? I mean, I don’t care since i use a camelback but just curious as to why an internal storage compartment is so important to so many riders nowadays?
@IIISentorIII8 ай бұрын
@@paulmaul Stumpjumper owner with SWAT Internal storage. Absolutely bloody Brilliant and honestly every bike should have this itds that good!
@plmn937 күн бұрын
How much weight and cost does it add compared to a $20 saddle bag? Because they require a massive downtube. I would guess at least a pound, if not two.