T
wopricepoints, 10 bikes,twowheel
sizesandmultiplepreviouswinners
makesthisyear’sTrailBikeofthe
Yeartestoneofthemostcompetitive
todate.
Thebiggestchangefor 2019 is
thatwe’vedroppedthePlussizecategory.
Lastyeartherewasa cleardistinctionbetween
the2.8inPlusbikesandtheotherwheel
sizescomingwith2.3intyres.Thisyearthe
bandwidthfortyresseemstohavesettled
between2.4inand2.6in,sowedroppedthe
Pluscategorycompletely.
Whichmeanstherearenow 10 bikesinthe
test,evenlydividedbetween27.5inand29in
wheels,witha splitinpricepointstoo.The
27.5inbikesarearound£2.5kwhilethe29ers
areall£3Korover.Andevenwiththeshuffle
we’vemanagedtogetlastyear’swinnersback
todefendtheirtitles;theScottGenius now in
29erguisegoinghead-to-head
withtheVitusEscarpe29.
We’vegotplentyofnew
29erstoo.Thelatestcarbon
JeffsyfromYT(aprevious
winnerin2017),thenew
CommençalMetaTR29in—
the27.5inversionwinning
itscategorytwoyearsago—
andthenewSpecialized
StumpyEvowithitssuper-
progressivegeometry.
In the 27.5in class the Canyon
BIKE TEST
56 mbr M AY 2 019
Spectralhasgoneupintravelanddownintyre
size,butit lookseverybitassharpasthebike
thatwonlastyear.It’snotgoingtobeplain
sailingforCanyonthough,asit’sbyfarthe
cheapestbikeintestbuthasstiffcompetition
fromthelikesofSonder,withthenewEvol
140mmbikecomingequippedwithtastyCane
Creeksuspension.Thenthere’sthenewWhyte
T-130S thatlookstotallydialled.TheKonaHei
HeiTrailbringsa morepumped-upXCattitude
totrailriding,whiletheTrekRemedyis at
theoppositeendofthespectrumwithits
160mm-travelRockShoxLyrikfork.
Whichis fitting,astrailridingreallyis a
spectrum,andmorethananyothercategoryin
mountainbiking,youcandefineit insomany
differentways.It reallyjustdependsonthe
terrainyouride.Andwiththatinmind,it will
nodoubtbethemostversatilebikethat gets
crowned Trail Bike of the Year 2019.2 7.5in
■CanyonSpectralAL
6.0£2,249
■KonaHeiHeiTrail£2,499
■SonderEvolGX
Helm£2,799
■TrekRemedy 8 £2,700
■Whyte T-130S£2,65029in
■CommençalMetaTR
BritishEdition£3,406.42
■ScottGenius 940 £3,299
■SpecializedStumpjumper
EvoCompAlloy£3,400
■VitusEscarpe 29 £2,999
■YT Jeff sy CF Pro£2,999MEET THE BIKES
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
T A L E O F
THE TEST
EventhoughourTBOTYtestis split
evenlybywheelsizeandprice,weused
thesamelocationsandtrailsfortesting
bothgroupsofbikes.Aftermultiple
shakedownridesintheSurreyHillstoget
thebrakesbeddedinandthesuspension
setupweventuredfurtherafieldin
searchofmoredemandingterrain.
Firststop,theForestofDeanfor
somerapidback-to-backtestingwith
theassistanceofFlyUpDownhill’suplift
service.If you’venotupliftedwithyour
trailbikewehighlyrecommendit —it’s
a greatwaytogetina tonofriding.Next
weheadedtothevalleysofSouthWales
insearchofincreasedgradientandtrails
thatwouldreallypushthesebikestothe
limit, and in some cases beyond.CONTROL TYRES
Tomakethetestingprocessasfairaspossible,
wefittedthelatestEXOPluscasingMaxxis
MinionDHF2.5inandDHR II 2.4in tyres to all of
thebikesinthistest.
Price£64.99each.
maxxis.co.uk