PINKBIKE FIELD TEST
Five bikes doing down-country differently
Words by Mike Levy, Photography by Margus RigaWith many brands now offering some sort of short-travel machine that aims to combine cross-country and having fun, it seems like down-country might have some legs under it. And if you think that's an unlikely pairing, you really should throw a leg over one of these bikes - they're all a blast to ride and much more capable than you might expect. But with all five of my test rigs tackling the challenge from different angles, down-country is the haziest, most ambiguous of made-up bike categories.
Sure, all five have around the same amount of travel, but their intentions, geometry, spec, and as you might expect, personalities on the trail are vastly dissimilar. And while there's no right and wrong way to do it, weeks of back-to-back testing on the same terrain revealed each bike's strengths and weaknesses. You can hear all the details and comparisons in the above video, or watch the five individual reviews below. And if you want to know how we tested,
you can learn about our control tires, timing, and the loop that all the bikes faced.
Levy's Recommendations
The back-to-back nature of the Field Test series means that it's much easier to not sit on the fence with my opinion about these five bikes, and there was a clear winner in my mind: Transition's Spur surely won the hearts and wallets of many PB readers, but... I'd rather reach for the wildly versatile Specialized Epic EVO. I'll explain my thinking in a sec, but first, let's hand out some awards.
The 'Confused-Country' award goes to Yeti's SB115 for its impressive suspension action but handling that can't match less-forgiving bikes that offer more capability. If the SB115 was released in 2018, it'd likely impress. It's not a bad bike, but as an SB100 with a bit more travel that isn't more capable, I have a hard time getting excited about it.
Who wins the 'We Can Make Two Bikes Out of One' trophy? The Scalpel SE 1, of course, that's assembled around the same frame as the ultra-light race bike. That sounds like nothing but trouble, but it really isn't. The SE 1 is more of a long-legged cross-country rig than anything intended to compete with the Spur, and it works because that's precisely what Cannondale was aiming to create.
Next, Transition's new Spur earned the 'Maybe I don't Need 150mm of Travel' prize for being a wildly competent machine on the descents. I suspect that's all some of us need to know, even if the cost is some climbing potential. For a place like Squamish that isn't short of steep, rocky, rough trails, the Spur makes a ton of sense to me.
The Revel Ranger and the Specialized Epic EVO offer the kind of versatility the can replace both a pure cross-country whip and a more capable trail bike, but it's the Ranger that I had the most fun aboard. Its mix of energy and ability means that not only is it quick, but it also loves a long manual, a nose bonk on that old stump, and any inside line you've got on your mind. For those reasons, it gets the '
Cross-Country Really is Fun' nod that still might not exist for some people. Get on the Ranger and you'll see, I promise.
And if I had to choose one of the five to be my down-country bike,
the winner is going to be the Epic EVO. Sure, it being an S-Works bike means that it's mega-light and mega-pricey, but it's the handling that won me over, not the amount of carbon fiber. Specialized has put together an oh-so-right combination of climbing and descending balance, and the result is a bike that can be ridden incredibly quick almost everywhere. Yes, the Spur is better on rough and fast downhills; yes, the Scalpel is better on tight singletrack climbs; and yes, I probably laughed more when I on the Ranger. It's not perfect, but the Epic EVO does a damn good job of combinng the best traits of all five bikes into one tremendously versatile package.
The 2020 Pinkbike Field Test was made possible with clothing, protection, and support from Giro. Control tires provided by Schwalbe, and power meters provided by SRM. Filming took place at The Backyard pub in Squamish.
But sadly, some people will never own this bike. Not because it’s too expensive. Not because it’s not the perfect bike for the terrain they ride...
But because they suffer from a tragic condition called SDS, or Specialized Derangement Syndrome. This tragic disease affects roughly 6 out of 10 Pinkbike commenters and manifests itself in hyperventilation, red face and outright rage anytime a Specialized product gets a good review; and a marked refusal to buy anything from Specialized. Some have been known to mutter the word “sue” repeatedly.
This year has been a tough year for these victims of this crippling illness. Not one, but two Specialized bikes have won best in class in this year’s Pink Bike Field Tests. They need your help... please give generously to the SDS fund, which I have bravely established. Look into your heart, and please give generously. Proceeds will go to help those suffering from this tragic condition. Or maybe beer...Together, we can end the suffering.
Fun fact, ~100 comments in and you're the only whiner who got red-faced and posted a wall of gibberish about suing
I’ve had an s-works enduro frame, sold it after 2 years, and only managed to get about 1/3 of the rrp back after holding our for ages.
If that was a santa cruz or pivot or yeti you’d get at least 50%...
Speaking from experience, that doesn’t apply to Pivot. Sold my Immaculate frame for a 3rd the rrp after 2.5 years, effectively throwing in a factory spec fox fork for free too
I'm allergic to acroymns
@Whitey5 It's kind of like saying you miss chlamydia. It might have started out fun, but turned embarrassing really quickly.
Nah, just kidding. They’ve always been good to me. I haven’t really experienced douchiness from any shop in a long time, Specialized or otherwise. That’s just me. Not denying anyone else’s experience.
Thanks for the invite but I don't believe you understand the definition of "party". I've already told you what I think about a bunch of boring nerds arguing about 0.1 mm of reach all evening, so it's a hard pass.
And yeah, ST angle doesn't help much on the fun bits, does it? There had to be something in common
**Disclaimer** If I had known said Facebook group was run by PC Bro Dudes I would never have requested to join, lol.
If you read between the lines you realize that all the commentary reads like a version of the press release of the manufacturer. How can it be different: there is no blinding of any sort. Most of the commentary ends up paraphrasing the press release, somewhat corrected by performance measures that are irrelevant fractions of seconds (reported in per cent!) and only reflect random variation among runs, not differences in speed (?) among bikes.
Do yourself a favor, forget these meaningless ranking and try a bike before you buy!
You have an unreasonable expectation. This is a small group of people not charging you a thing testing the bikes they are sent. Of course it's going to be subjective. How could you possibly even put together a real blind study on MTBs and MTB trails where small variations in line choice can add seconds to a run. You'd need 200 hours, you'd have to control for diet, lines, develop bike coverings that don't interfere with the function of the bike and completely obscure the linkage, put the same size dropper on every bike- which interferes with testing since some could take different length droppers, etc etc. Not saying it couldn't be done, but I don't see any bike site ever being able to devote enough resources to do it.
Or the opposite: just buy any of them and odds are you will be happy.
They also tested the regular sworks epic, but that was tested by Sarah in the XC half of the field test
But I‘m not a dentist.
Is this possible?
And we did however see similar tests of the SB4.5 some years back - and suddenly everyone wanted one anyway after testing it themselves. :-)
And for someone like Levy who will notice the nuances may tip him a bit Of the way to nicer words than sending an entry level bike.
There is no blinding. There is a huge amount of built in bias because the "tester" read the press releases of a bike before they try it , and the lap timing they report has nothing to do with the "performance" of a bike but only reflects random variation among runs ... All you are reading are a paraphrasing of press releases and a discussion about statistically non-significant differences of timed runs ...
If you can and you can exploit it to its full potential then 'Well done'. But I think you might be a figment of my imagination.
If I didn't already have a Tallboy and was in the market for a downcountry-ish 29er, I'd never look at the Sworks Epic Evo, but the Comp model would be really interesting. Super smart spec with plenty of value for the money - they even specced SLX 4 piston brakes and the X-fusion seatpost which is pretty much the epitome of value.
I'm pretty sure that for most riders, the Comp would offer 95% of the performance of the Sworks-model, with way under half the price (4100 dollars vs 11500 dollars). Spend some money on a really good second wheelset and the difference between comp and sworks would be even narrower.
However, when somebody has disposable income and makes the odd decision to spend 5-10k on a bike they are still probably gonna say "I want the BEST of the BEST for my money" while doing so... And this is where industry media comes in.
You'll also notice every bike basically gets a good review (as they should at these prices), in order to not alienate any company from participating and benefiting. You'll also notice the winner of the comparisons just happens to be the over built over priced Sworks, which ensures that the other options stay relevant as more affordable options.
Luckily, PinkBike DOES do budget reviews such as the 2k bikes field test but it's not quite as useful because those bikes are often VERY similar (bare bones) and people don't need as much convincing to commit to them.
So yeah, if I was sitting on cash to burn and willing to put ~10k on a bike, I'd want to hear in this review that my 10k is truly getting me the best bike money can buy. Echo chambers are so hot right now lol
parts tested (no loaners), and (2) the site not accept advertising from bike brands. That would make it very hard to be profitable. But you are right, absent those controls, Pinkbike is essentially just an extension of bike brand marketing departments even though they like to think otherwise. But hey I still come here and eat all this shit up. I just can’t help myself.
Also PinkBike is fairly grass roots in its design, especially in 2020. Thank god they haven't plastered energy drink logos over everything and dumb down the website to appeal to corporate cleanliness. PB is more or less what we all want from a hobbyist outlet
Looking to see how Hei Hei and Revolver compare.
Three or four years ago I rode a Salsa Spearfish at a demo and was blown away by how it rode. A genuine 'climbed like a goat' on the ups, and totally decent on the downs. Really surprised me. Looking forward to more comparisons in this category.
www.vitalmtb.com/product/guide/Bikes,3/Kona/Hei-Hei-CR-DL,29866#product-reviews/3893/expand
I'd also like a @mikelevy comparison.
It's kind of touched on but I still want to know what is the best backcountry epic bike. What makes you want to organize big 6-8k climbing days and range way out there? At least for the rocky mountain area where terrain can get really rocky and hence technical, I keep coming back to the Spur because it seems to be built durably enough to not get destroyed and also because it is well priced for the XO1 spec (IMO). The Revel might be rad but would need to demo. The EVO is rad too but I feel like I'm in between sizes and no longer like "oversizing".
Part of what makes a bike climb well is the weight...along with suspension kinematic, geo, and other stuff. And, with the EVO, you only get that weight with the S-Works model....which you can only get by shelling out $11K (or a frame).
The non-Sworks are around 24-25#. I'm sure they're great b/c the geo is good (if it fits you) and the suspension seems solid...but I would be willing to bet that adding 2-3# has an effect on its turbo-boost. Especially b/c, as others have noted, a big part of the weight savings is the super blingy wheels...and their corresponding loss of spinny weight (it's an industry term).
I think it's fair to comment on the price, when you have to pay that to get the bike that was reviewed and the lower models, I believe, while similar, will be muted from the SWorks.
If it was just the frame and suspension being tested and components didn't matter, why the control tires?
I guess they aren't the same size, but it would have been cool to have Levy take a lap on one of the pure XC bikes Sarah tested and have Sarah take a lap on a downcounty bike to see how the the times compared.
Your $8k example does bring up the weird pricing structure...where you're penalized for buying a complete bike. (I know Speshy isn't the only brand doing, but it's still odd to me).
Of course this is the case for the Sworks… buy the frame and build the same bike for $8-9k.
And last but not least, by the way I saw the reviews I think the sb100 needed a place here in the comparisons, what will be the conclussions of the same test if we change the SB115 by a sb100?
Did you guys just hold a steady wattage for all bikes and see where they end up?
Handling is subjective & all, but efficiency and then geo that matches the riders style/preference is a magic combo.
So if your gonna wear lycra you might as well build a spreadsheet.
When considering these 2 bikes (as I am) I'm trying to decide that once price/ weight is equalized, what performance differences remain for XC/ trail considerations?
Trying to recall the frame weights of these 2 models.
That said (I'm shopping for a race bike for my daughter) it looks like geo is more comparable once you drop from one comparable size in the Spur which will save some weight. For instance, Small Spur versus Medium Epic Evo. Furthermore standover height is a major factor for these bikes, nearly 5" less on the Spur!
The question I have is where issues like issues with a fork are raised how much are they likely to be bike specific and how much just a generic issue? I know there are custom tunes but are some of these observations more an issue with the components than related to the bikes?
Oh, and a big thank you to Specialized for still not putting that piece of info in the spec sheet...
The cranks are indeed the cheaper alu X1. Cassette and chain are GX Eagle and the inhouse stem and (narrow) alu bar are probably the other sources of slight excess weight.
Mike- Can you take some of your older fave DC bikes like your Rocky Mtn and Proces111 and ride em on the same test tracks? Kinda in line with the used bike testing theme others have been requesting.
Also I wonder if you would have enjoyed the SB115 more if you were on a size Medium...
Bike rides like a dream and doesn't flinch at drops out rough terrain. The frame might be free hundred grams heavier but at least I have a peace of mind
Would like any of of these for long distance trekking.
Edit: Look at which country the guy who wants them to do other locations is from during a pandemic. Classic.
So clarify something for me, does Canada only have trails in BC eh? Because looking at the map...it seems like a pretty big country with a wide variety of terrain. Also too, Kazimer is stateside and so is Daniel Sapp.
But whatever, my point is, there's value to be gained from testing bikes in different types of terrains/settings. Even before the pandemic, Pinkbike being so focused on their home turf, while understandable, also fails to serve a wide variety of readers who live in different settings. And even some of the reviewers have mentioned that bikes that the loved on their home turf, didn't work as well in Whistler or Squamish or whatever.
YT gets the weight down with some XC tires, but you would have to take them up a notch or two for DC or Trail riding.
You can just easily pedal it up rocky, ledge stuff that would’ve hung up other bikes in the same category.