​2017 Vital MTB Trail Bike Test Sessions Introduction 30

18 of the hottest new mountain bikes put to the test in the wildly varied terrain of Tucson, Arizona

bturman
2/14/2017 5:54pm
s1600 18NewBikesTestedA
Related:
Enduro
Trail / All-Mountain
Test Sessions
Women
Vital's Voice
Tested
Tucson, Arizona
30 comments

View replies to: ​2017 Vital MTB Trail Bike Test Sessions Introduction

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ButtersNZ
7 years ago
Would it be possible to have reviewers ride the bikes without knowing what they are? Cover them up to obscure colours and details, have them ride some short loop of diverse terrain and rate the bikes on a few of the usual aspects. I wonder if there would be any difference to the results
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TEAMROBOT
7 years ago
But you didn't include my weird personal favorite obscure bike brand that no one else rides. This review sucks!
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LookinForIt
7 years ago
I'm stoked on this. Whatever the bikes, whatever the price, I just like reading about how they ride and don't forget (don't forget) the pretty pictures!
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gazelle11
7 years ago
i think it's enough for popular bikes..there are many good underrated bikes need to be tested! cmon vital, test them..cube, mongoose, dartmoor, da bomb, etc etc..
popular bikes are mainstream..just opinion..
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bturman
7 years ago
You're right, there are a lot of other good bikes out there. No doubt about it! I think we snuck in a few smaller brands this year with bikes from Evil, Guerrilla Gravity, and Ellsworth. Cheers for the feedback. We'll consider it for the future.
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Salespunk
7 years ago
Super stoked to read the tests. The only thing I would like to see is fair comparisons either corrected for build kit or price. Testing a $3500 Specialized Enduro vs a $7K Pivot Firebird doesn't give a real idea of a direct comparison. Corrected for price, say all bikes in the $6-7K range, or all XO1 build kits would help us really understand how the bikes really stand up to one another.
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bturman
7 years ago
"Keep in mind that this is not a shootout, and bikes were ridden and reviewed individually with their relative merits in mind. With a wide range of bikes to read about, we felt our sampling should give you plenty to study as you decide which features, builds and geometries will work best for your budget, riding style and local terrain."

We certainly do take price into account, and you'll see that reflected in the reviews and ratings. That $3,500 Specialized held its own quite well.

I hear you though, a Face Off style feature would be rad. You never know!
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mp
7 years ago
Dig the new large format! Photos really shine this way.
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NoahColorado
7 years ago
How many dropped chains or bent chainrings? I know how Dylan rides....

6 hammered rims, but 7 cracked carbon rims?
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bturman
7 years ago
Pretty sure Dylan doesn't want to recount the number of dropped chains he had while riding one bike in particular, but you'll surely read about it in the review.

I think all the rings survived without issue. There's no rolling many of the rock bits in Tucson, at least at speed, which likely helped. A chain or two may have gotten a bit dinged up though.

Five of the bikes came with guides this year and only one bike was missing ISCG tabs. Sounds like progress!

Clarified. Six hammered 'alloy' rims. Thanks amigo.
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bturman
7 years ago
"7 carbon rim cracks" - It's how you read it. Could be two rims with multiple cracks, could be seven rims with one crack. You'll have to read those reviews to find out.
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adrennan
7 years ago
good to hear. i just never feel like they get the love and they are so deserving especially with a unique suspension layout instead of all the same horst links. and as always, we really appreciate the honesty in the reviews.
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rideonjon
7 years ago
From what i understand there warranty is less than spectacular and you will need to use it.
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adrennan
7 years ago
my balance has been holding up great. in all the canfield forum threads i have never seen a warranty complaint. would be interested to see where you got that from.
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rideonjon
7 years ago
Well it is really only 2 people i know who had experiences with them,one was a sponsored rider.The other was a guy who raced enduro on one.Both had terrible things to say about the reliability of the product.The sponsored rider,BOUGHT a different frame to ride.He is no longer riding for Canfeild.Both said the bikes were amazing to ride.