Vital MTB recently took six bike testers into the mountains surrounding Phoenix, Arizona to test a whopping 17 new trail, all-mountain, and enduro bikes. The reviews will start dropping on Friday, January 22nd.
Our biggest goal this year was to keep the dollars low and value high. With an average price of $4,648 USD (down from $6,150 last year), costs of the test bikes ranged from a very respectable $2,900 to an attainable $6,599, with just one over the $6,000 mark. We had 11 carbon bikes and 6 aluminum with weights ranging from 27.4 to 31.5 pounds. Considering lasts year's bikes were more expensive, we were surprised to see an average weight gain of just 0.3 pounds from 28.7 to 29 pounds (13.2kg) year over year. Travel ranged from 115-170mm for men's bikes and 150-155mm for women. Other interesting metrics include an average bar width of 765mm, stem length of 54mm, and bottom bracket height of 336mm.
Looking the bikes over, it's clear that 2016 brings a continued focus on longer reach measurements, the resurgence of FOX suspension and SRAM brakes, new boost axle standards, wider rims, and more 1X drivetrains that ever. Our Test Sessions reviews will dive deep into the details of each.
Here's the full breakdown (click to enlarge):
We thought it would be neat to see all the suspension designs cycled back-to-back for a fun comparison. This video shows them from shortest to longest travel. Watching link rotation, chain growth, brake movement and the like is pretty dang rad!
Now that you're all excited, ready to see the bikes? Click next, hit your right arrow key, or swipe right for a preview of what's in store. Commence drooling in 3, 2, 1...
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