What a great time to be a mountain biker. Better yet, a mountain biker with a spare $5000-$8000 to drop on a brand new ride. We have had an amazing opportunity to ride a SHIT-TON of great new bikes this summer. With updates to geometry, suspension (Fox), and components (love the new XT), bikes are getting more fun and versatile. Here are 10 of the best bikes we’ve ridden this year (in no particular order, but our most favorite is at the top!)
Ibis Ripley – The Newly updated Ripley is even better than the original with updated cable routing, the excellent Fox DPS EVOL shock, stiffer pivots AND a the LS geometry option that gets longer, slacker and lower! This is my current bike and I am in love with the versatility of this bike as a trail bike. Light, incredibly efficient and more than capable for anything I throw at it from east coast rock gardens to Colorado Enduro stages.
Transition Smuggler – A playful machine to tackle a wide range of trails from steep, rocky and technical to fast and flowy. This bike gives confidence in the tech, pedals extremely well AND is definitely a blast to ride. Read the review here: Smuggler Review
Kona Process 134 Supreme – This is a trail ripper that can crush other longer travel enduro sleds – We are big fans of the Kona Process line here. Brent tested the 111 earlier (Process 111 Review), while I rode this 134. The geometry magic that Kona has with this bike is so good and the 134mm of travel is so high quality. Read our full review here: Process 134SUP Review
Santa Cruz 5010 – Light, fast and fun. This is really a bike I enjoyed riding this summer. The great new geometry made for a super versatile and playful ride.
Yeti SB4.5 – Our new favorite Yeti. Super clean cable routing, awesome suspension, rolling on big wheels.
Juliana Furtado- Like the 5010 for the boys, but cooler. The suspension is dialed for us ladies with more sensitivity to the everyday trail, but more supportive over big rocks and on the drops.
Yeti Beti SB5c – The ladies version of the SB5c delivers with the same excellent Switch Infinity suspension, but dressed in women’s attire. This 27.5″ is a Jill-of-all-Trades and literally does it all!
Rocky Mountain Thunderbolt BC Edition -It’s highly adjustable to terrain and riding style. The Ride 9 adjustable geometry makes this a capable and versatile all-around bike.
Salsa Horsethief – If you’re looking for a 29er that combines modern trail bike geometry with light weight and efficiency, the Salsa Horsethief deserves serious consideration. Read the review here: Horsethief Review
Ibis HD3 -The HD3 strikes a great balance of geometry and pedaling performance that make the bike an incredibly versatile 6 inch travel bike. Read our full review here: HD3 Review
You may be asking where are the fat bikes or plus bikes? Its not that we don’t like them, in fact I’m fairly positive I will find some that I really like. But, they didn’t make the top 10 yet.
These bikes are bad ass! Ride one and you’ll see.
This Post Has 4 Comments
Giant..???
Agree Chad – no Giant Trance or??? Maestro suspension over these above.
Hi Larry! I did ride the Trance and really like the bike. I am VERY picky in my suspension design and love a bike that has a great balance of efficiency and downhill performance, but thats only one of the factors in my favorite bikes. Geometry that strikes a good balance of playfulness and cornering/climbing characteristics is as important as the suspension kinematics for me personally.
Although I feel that Giant makes a very good bike, the above bikes are the ones that combined personal geometry, suspension and component tastes best for ME.
Great article, after all there are several models of same manufacturer’s… It just seems advertorial given the maestro suspension won the enduro world cup.