Pinkbike Awards: Trail / All-Mountain Bike of the Year Nominees
If you were to choose a single adjective that could be used to describe all of the finalists for this year's Trail / All-Mountain Bike of the Year category, 'capable' would be a good choice. Any one of these bikes is capable of taking on properly rowdy terrain, and in fact, every single one of them has seen action at Enduro World Series events, in many cases helping to deliver their riders to the podium. As amusing as it is to poke fun at the 'e' word, the growing popularity of the enduro race format has helped push companies to create bikes that absolutely shred on the downhills while also climbing reasonably well, a trend that ends up benefiting all riders, regardless of whether or not they ever plan on rolling up to a starting line.
Santa Cruz Nomad
Santa Cruz drew from everything they'd learned over the past decade regarding geometry and suspension design in order to create the latest version of the Nomad, a bike with 165mm of travel that can tame the most technical trails on the planet while still possessing efficient pedaling and a light fighting weight, traits that help take the sting out of those long grueling climbs. To go along with its spot-on geometry, the Nomad's features read like a bike nerd's wish-list: a full carbon frame, complete with internal cable routing, a revised VPP suspension layout that tucks the lower link up into the frame and out of harm's way, space for a water bottle inside the front triangle, and on top of all that there's even a threaded bottom bracket shell. Santa Cruz absolutely nailed it with the Nomad, creating a bike that combines beauty and brawn into one outstanding ride.
Yeti SB5c
The SB5c introduced Yeti's Switch Infinity suspension design to the world, a system that uses two Kashima coated rods to control the rear wheel path as it goes through its travel. The intention is to provide an excellent pedaling platform for climbing and sprinting, while still retaining a bottomless feel for the bigger hits. The best thing about the new design? It works exactly as claimed, and the SB5c was one of the best pedaling bikes we threw a leg over this season. It's no slouch on the downhills either, a fact that Richie Rude helped demonstrate with a second place finish at the Winter Park stop of the Enduro World Series. There aren't many trail bikes that can boast results like that, and it's a testament to just how incredibly well rounded this futuristic-looking carbon creation truly is.
Intense Tracer 275 Carbon
“XC light and DH fast” were the words RC used to describe the carbon version of Intense's venerable Tracer when it was reviewed earlier this year, an apt description for a bike that can handle everything from smashing out laps in the bike park to spinning for hours on big backcountry adventures. In addition to constructing the frame from carbon fiber, Intense updated the Tracer's geometry, giving it a slacker head angle and steepening the seat tube angle, changes that boosted its downhill performance up a notch, while also creating a more comfortable climbing position. The Tracer is the flagship in Intense's lineup, a top notch creation that epitomizes how a modern all-mountain bike should look and behave.
GT Sanction
The Sanction was built with a purpose, and that purpose isn't toddling along on gravel rec paths or setting hill climb records. No, this is a bike designed for speed, specifically the downhill variety, a purebred, no-holds-barred machine meant for the rigors of enduro racing. Out of all the bikes on this list, the Sanction is the least well-rounded, but that's because of its single-minded focus. It'll still get you to the top of the hill, but it's when the trail points downhill that the Sanction truly shines, thanks to a generous reach that gives it incredible stability at speed. Basically, GT have managed to shrink down their World Cup DH bike, the Fury, and create something with improved pedaling performance and a lighter weight, making it an ideal weapon for race day domination.
Ibis Mojo HD3
The hands down favorite during this year's round of bike testing in Sedona, Arizona, Ibis' HD3 ended up being the all-star out of an impressive lineup of the top bikes on the market. It isn't one particular trait that makes the HD3 a crowd pleaser, but rather the ease at which it can tame any type of terrain, whether it's a steep, switchback filled climb or a tricky, chunky descent. Pro-level skills (or speeds) aren't required to get it to come alive, which makes it much more versatile, and in many case more enjoyable, when compared to some of its contemporaries. Ibis have imbued the HD3 with a commendable mix of quick handling and downhill stability, a balance that can sometimes be difficult to find on bikes in this travel bracket.
Stay tuned for more PB MTB Awards nominees all month.
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Also, the tracer platform was released a while ago. I think you mean 'bike' not platform. In that case, it makes sense that only models released this year would be eligible for the 'award'. Which is unlink most industries the world over that keep items in the running so long as they are available.
But, the part where that all comes apart, is that the process 111/134/153 is a 2014 model (completely redesigned for 2014). Which makes your entire whining post, moot, and everyone elses question pretty darn valid.
Apologies accepted.
2014: 2014.konaworld.com/bikes.cfm
You're welcome.
The SB6 is direct competition for the Nomad. The SB5 is more along the lines of a bronson?
Not a fair comparison in my eyes?
dirtmountainbike.com/features/carbon-mtb-wheels-do-you-need-them.html
This equally is not a sales hype, if you watch it the whole way through.
Still fun to read but to be honest we all know that a bike will always need to judged by yourself on your trails and with your riding style. As a bike that fits rider A might be shit for rider B
Where are the Banshee Bikes in the list of nominated bikes, Spitfire, Rune and the Phantom? Are they are made from Alloy not plastic ; )
But you probably want to hear some answer about "the man" trying to screw us over and prevent us from riding bikes...
Even if labor is free, you still have costs of raw high-modulus carbon fiber, resin, mold release, all the proprietary bladders and/or vacuum bagging materials, the molds themselves which are comically expensive, and you have to have them in at least 3 sizes. Molds also have a finite lifespan so that needs to be taken into consideration, a single mold can cost anywhere up to a few hundred thousand dollars, especially for larger parts such as front triangles.
That's materials alone... Not to mention the fact that production rate is limited by number of mods they own, layup/cure time, prep/finish work before and after frame layup. You then have to pay for all the frames to be shipped wherever they need to go.
The markup is what's needed for the industry to survive, especially with the growth of companies like canyon and YT who don't seem to care that they're f*cking over bike shops and having a negative impact on the industry.
I think it's interesting that several brands now release their carbon models first and some consumers (like me) have to wait for the aluminum version, when things used to be the opposite. It's as if some companies no longer cater to their "core", but focus on those willing to pay $5K, $6k, focking $7k+ for their bikes. It's funny because I'll bet many (insert bike brand here) employees have more in common with their $3k bike-riding customers (and would rather ride with them) than their $7k customers. I admit that's a generalization though so don't get your panties all bunched up. No offense to anyone riding a $7k bike, as long as you ride it like you stole it.
And now the direct-to-consumer model. I'm not against it, and I don't think it's focking over the industry, at least not yet. I see very few of those bikes on a the trail and for now, I think they still come with a stigma (though riders like Fab Barel are probably eroding that stigma quickly). Not sure if this is more of a "problem" in Europe. A lot of consumers still want to buy from a shop who can back them up if things go south. Maybe we need a separate thread to trade ideas on the D2C model....
Almost forgot - IBIS for the win.
Regarding direct to consumer brands, I'm not against it.
All these brands are business so if there wouldnt be enough people buying no on would sell that kind of product either.
My personal opinion: as long as people dont even think twice about spending 1000 bucks on a (I)phone i dont think 6000 is asking too much for a bicycle.
I even have some doubts when having a look at the flags on this forum.
That said, there are plenty of good brands outside of the US : Canyon, YT, Lapierre, Commencal, Banshee, etc and there is no doubt Pinkbike can test all of them due to its worldwide visibility.
My 2 cents, other brands didn't pay enough to be in the list...
Why not include bikes from a range of prices and let the more affordable options fight it out with the super bikes? There's no point giving an award dedicated exclusively to these kind of bikes, they're clearly all amazing. I liked it a couple of years ago when MBR mag in the UK gave their bike of the year award to the Voodoo Bizango hardtail you can buy from Halfords for £500. Obviously, in terms of raw performance, it wasn't a better bike than the high end stuff elsewhere on the shortlist, but a decent cheap bike is still something to shout about.
No one is saying that PB should stop reviewing Kitsbow shorts and Enve wheels, but accusations that you're not very consumer focused are well placed IMO.
To be honest, the US is too big for YT at this point anyway, the waiting times for its' euro customer base is long enough.
I've not ridden all of these machines and there are many other capable bikes out there, but people this is a top 5, not a mention all bikes, not a best budget bouncer,this is PB so you know your never going to all just get along :-)
And are the Banshees on new brand new platforms? If not, why would they be on the list?
Maybe one day, Pinkbike will understand others countries exist in the world \o/
Its awesome to me that the growth in our sport is prompting such immense competition amongst manufacturers. The range of choices for these capable all-rounders span a full gambit and though the models may come in top spec'ed at prices that I as a student cringe at, mountain bikes overall are becoming more and more accessible to the masses. That in of itself is very pleasing, and it can only get better from here as 1.) those complex manufacturing methods are improved and advanced tech gets included on lower-spec'd builds and 2.) the updated geometries make lower spec'd bikes that much more capable. Santa Cruz's Heckler comes in at $2,500, Transition's 2015 line at $3,500, Trek's Remedy's....
I'm just stoked on our sport!
The fact that Ibis HD3 is on this list, means that bike turned a few heads!
However out of all these Nomad all the way.
Yesterday I rode a hardtail with 2003 shiver sc, that felt like going back to the roots. And it was fun as hell. To me the level of enjoyment of a ride is not proportional to actual, measurable speed I am riding at. It is 70% subjective for me, the remaining 30% is whether I can keep up with my friends. It's about how do I handle obstacles. If I nail a line in a rockgarden I am happy, I wasn't happier by jumping over it or plowing it on my Nomad. I am a too aware of subjectivity of "going fast". Usualy fast rides feel slow. Honestly it boils down to the fact that big bikes scare me. You can go faster with same skills, you debelop new ones but trees stay as hard... I enjoy the fact that i haven't hurt myself since... i can remember
My whole post was utterly pointless sorry... I haven't ridden any of those bikes and I will never ever own them so why do I care? But to keep myself up, judging by nr of posts I am not the only one.
They have 2 great bikes ( Nomad and HD3) depending on your taste and riding style.
Please do a poll with these bikes:
1. YT Capra Pro/Comp
2. Kona Process 153 DL
3. Banshee Rune/Spitfire V2
4. Transition Patrol
5. Knolly Warden
6. Giant Reign 27.5
7. Norco Range
8. Lapierre Spicy 527
9. Commencal Meta AM
Sincerely your asian side of the world fanbase.
Haha! I'm just butt-hurt because I went to buy one and discovered they are built for dwarfs only.
@Yippee-Ki-YayMF Dude, your words actually can hurt most Asian people.
lol
I'd take my Kona Process and use the $5000 savings to shred all summer long over these bikes.
I guess these are the 5 bikes that can.
There are at least 25+ viable contenders, all that perform very well and have great damper tunes from the factory. I just feel grateful that biking has come so far in the last decade so as to offer so many kick ass bikes.
www.bikemag.com/videos/2014-bible-of-bike-tests-roundtable-reels-kona-process-134-dl
Very clearly a 2014 platform and all new bike
There are some outstanding 140mm bikes out there and I was surprised none of them made it into this list. These bikes are all tagged as "Enduro" bikes too.
Although I'd honestly buy any one (or all) of these bikes if I could afford it.
I think the fact that so many people have been proposing other very competent bikes indicates the depth of the field in this category. Where it comes to adding another bike to my stable there are probably nearly a dozen contenders I'll have to sort through.
Regardless, they've got a solid group to choose from and there's basically wrong answer...well, except for the Sanction since the red fork doesn't match
(also interesting they have 3 different fork manufacturers represented...too bad Zoch or X-fusion doesn't seem to have much OEM presence)
But like I said, I suspect all the bikes I listed, as well as the 5 in the running, are fantastic. So much so, I bet I could finish mid-pack in an enduro or Super D race with any of them!
Go Mojo HD3, third generation awesome! :-)
Bike of the...November/December nominees?
Might replace the 2015 ibis with kona '53 since its best in class geometry for '14.
However, all of these bikes are excellent choices as they should be for costing an arm and a leg.
These are some of the most legit trail/AM bikes available. Hype is for Specialized.
Now that the FSR patent is expired, and all the "boutique" brands are scrambling to move use it, I wonder what people on pinkbike will have to say.
Are those bikes out in the wild for the regular consumer?
There are a lot of great 140mm bikes out there, too.
But seriously, WTF PinkBike?!
I owned a 2014 fury team and the geo was spot on but the GT's are very linear in there linkage rate. Which makes for a bike that likes to blow through it travel without a shock such as a fox with the boost valve.
www.bicycleretailer.com/recalls/2014/07/17/csg-recalls-150-gt-fury-bikes-us-and-canada#.VH3RTly9LCR
I can't believe GT only sold that few of these two fury models
Surely alloy framed bikes should feature still as contenders.
Not everyone can or will find SC carbon coinage £$€¥ to buy a carbon do it all monster bike!