The New Eminent Onset MT 5

Eminent Cycles officially releases their newest enduro bike, the Onset MT. This is the fourth bike from the San Marcos, CA company and the return to its enduro roots. The MT continues what their original bike, the 27.5-inch Haste started and completes the 29-inch Onset line up. It is culmination of five years of R&D and the progression of Eminent's acclaimed, patent pending AFS suspension platform. The result is the brand's most capable and most terrain hungry bike thus far. It will change your perception of how much trail a bike can consume and it will leave you wanting MORE.

Highlights

• 155mm rear wheel travel, via MT specific Onset frame revisions
• 160mm front fork, with ability to run 170mm
• 64.5mm head angle
• Full internal cable routing, including seat post
• 442mm chain stays with improved layup for added stiffness
• Offered in sizes S-XL
• AFS Suspension
• New Limited-Edition Blue/Gold Color as well as Gray/Orange & Black/Gray options
• 2021 Fox 38 and X2 rear shock spec to meet the rigors of full enduro riding on Advanced and Pro level bikes. Comp bikes will receive the tried and true 36 Rhythm and DPX2
• Three Pricing options: $4899-Comp, $6499- Advanced, and $8499- Pro

For the MT it was never a question of if, it was a question of when.

Last year Eminent introduced the Onset ST and LT 29er trail offerings. Both bikes demonstrated the AFS 29 platform's ability to work way outside the trail category scope. Case in point, the entire crew ran 140mm Onset LTs for park & shuttle laps last year. But on paper the MT had existed all along...

“The LT in particular is incredibly well rounded, quiver killer bike that eats chunky terrain. If we're honest, that’s where we thrive and that’s why we couldn’t just leave an additional 15mm of travel on the table. One thing quickly led to another and here we are. The result is the fastest, most aggressive, and most capable bike we’ve produced.” - Jeff Soncrant, owner/founder

Though the travel clearances were there, Eminent used the development of the MT as an opportunity to review all aspects of the Onset chassis. Numerous enhancements have been made to the MT generation frame and these updates will also be pushed out to the entire Onset family.

INTERNAL DROPPER ROUTING

Eminent has addressed the demand for an internally routed post. New Onset frames will lose their top tube cable porting, in favor of a sleek, invisible, dropper routing.

NEW CHAINSTAY LAYUP

Using FEA analysis and the latest carbon forming techniques, Eminent was able to increase chainstay stiffness by11%. The original Onset had already received high praise from the media and public for its incredibly stiff rear end. One review went as far as to state it was significantly stiffer than a recognized DH bike it was testing. Eminent continues with a stable 442mm chainstay length for two reasons: a longer chainstay provides more sensitivity over rough terrain and improves the traction balance between the front and rear tire.

MT SPECIFIC SHOCK LINK

The link is shorter to accommodate the longer 230mm eye-to-eye shock. The benefit here is that the new MT can be reconfigured as an LT or ST via shock/shocklink/fork travel swap. The link functions as an extension much like those employed by other brands. While appearing slender when viewed from the side, in person one will notice a broad, I-beam profile. This is our fourth bike to market, proof of concept that this design characteristic is exceptionally strong and effective.

REVISED SEATSTAY

To accommodate the additional rotation at the drop out pivots, Eminent had to open up the clevis cavities slightly. As with the chainstay improvements noted above, Eminent used FEA analysis to ensure the stays remained structurally consistent in both lab and field testing.

DEEPER HEADSET CUPS

Eminent uses press-in versus drop-in-style races. The new cup recess has been in creased to 17mm allowing for the use of a 1-degree slacked headset on the MT, bringing the head angle to 64.5 degrees. The decision to go this route allows riders greater flexibility should they desire a different head angle or different fork lengths.

AFS System

The MT is the 4th bike with Eminent's patent pending Active Float System. The AFS mission statement is "traction, fully realized" in all riding situations: pedaling, descending, & braking. AFS employs a brake bracket that eliminates anti-rise issues, allowing the engineer to design more directly to leverage curve and anti-squat characteristics. The long rocker arm provides a direct transfer of bump force and delivers exceptional lateral stiffness.

Finally, by floating the rear shock within the linkage, lateral shock bind if significantly reduced when compared to static shock mount designs.

This time, engineering dialed in the gravity oriented characteristics of the AFS package. Once again without having to worry about brake jack, the team focused on increased bump sensitivity. As a result, anti-squat was actually reduced to 120%, giving the bike better handling when under power in the rough stuff. Rest assured that the bike still continues to deliver the solid traction and pedaling platform AFS has become known for. To learn more about AFS go to EminentCycles.com

Sizing and Geometry

For 2020 the Onset size range gains an XL. Eminent took the opportunity to steepen the seat angle to 76 degrees. Taller riders have longer effective seatpost lengths, putting them further over the rear wheel. This change centers them more correctly on the bike. The XL also recognizes the progressive reach trend and as such Eminent chose to keep seatpost height identical the large size.

Pricing and Builds

Head to EminentCycles.com for more information.