The year of xc....

Derkderkall

Derkderkall

iMTB Rockstah
So we saw the revel ranger last week...., Gg playing with ultra light trail pistol. New epic and scalpel models have also been getting a lot of praise.

Now transition is joining in with the spur (makes me think a new smuggler is incoming)

https://m.pinkbike.com/news/transition-spur-first-look-2020.html

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And yeti brings a new 115.....

https://m.pinkbike.com/news/first-look-2021-yeti-sb115.html
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After a few years of media hype saying the genre was dying out, it seems to be coming back quite strong.
 
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The Transition really seems to have nailed it in every department - travel, geometry, appearance, kinematics - if it rides as good as it looks, that will be the bike to beat. I wouldn't call it an XC bike, since racing isn't its intention, but if XC to you means "ride everywhere" this category and this bike may need to be on your short list.

The SB 115 is a mistake, IMO. Nothing new, just basically a new link. Geometry still lacking (on paper anyway). I'm waiting for the SB 123.6 myself.
 
Voodoo will somehow have a new downcountry rig before too long. There's just a lot of fun to be had on one of these. They pedal good, descend good, slice & dice and are easy to hoist over downed trees, gates and fences. So many nice rigs to choose from. Not at all interested in that Yeti. That transition spur is a frikkin beauty. The Ranger looks to be a great bike as well and I bet the rear suspension is dreamy. Heck as much as I'm not a fan of the big "S" company I gotta say that new epic evo is a damn nice looking bike too. No more brain and proprietary parts, just crazy expensive and insanely light. I'd own that epic evo pro proudly.
 
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Voodoo Tom said:
Voodoo will somehow have a new downcountry rig before too long. There's just a lot of fun to be had on one of these. They pedal good, descend good, slice & dice and are easy to hoist over downed trees, gates and fences. So many nice rigs to choose from. Not at all interested in that Yeti. That transition spur is a frikkin beauty. The Ranger looks to be a great bike as well and I bet the rear suspension is dreamy. Heck as much as I'm not a fan of the big "S" company I gotta say that new epic evo is a damn nice looking bike too. No more brain and proprietary parts, just crazy expensive and insanely light. I'd own that epic evo pro proudly.
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The Epic still has the brain....they just updated it....still proprietary.
 
evdog said:
That Transition does look sweet. Does anyone have experience with the current SID suspension? This is the second or 3rd bike I've seen spec'd with that recently.

The Transition review mentions a Pinkbike field test review of 9 xc bikes coming up.
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New Sid has 35 mm stanchions. I’ve held one in my hot little hands. MUCH more robust looking than anything bearing that name in the past.
SnakeCharmer said:
Is it me or are Transition bike frames starting to have a GG look to them?
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well, except for the shock being vertical and out of the way on the Transition, and the internal cable routing, and carbon rear, and lack of pivots in the rear- but yeah, otherwise, hard to tell them apart!

Ok, I know, smartass answer. Transition did move away from their curvy lines to straight lines for their 2021 models. So from that perspective they look a little more similar.
 
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Derkderkall said:
So we saw the revel ranger last week...., Gg playing with ultra light trail pistol. New epic and scalpel models have also been getting a lot of praise.

Now transition is joining in with the spur (makes me think a new smuggler is incoming)

https://m.pinkbike.com/news/transition-spur-first-look-2020.html

View attachment 66679

And yeti brings a new 115.....

https://m.pinkbike.com/news/first-look-2021-yeti-sb115.html
View attachment 66678

After a few years of media hype saying the genre was dying out, it seems to be coming back quite strong.
Click to expand...
Wow. as everyone else has said. The Transition looks great. Going to have to read about it.
 
Derkderkall said:
So we saw the revel ranger last week...., Gg playing with ultra light trail pistol. New epic and scalpel models have also been getting a lot of praise.

Now transition is joining in with the spur (makes me think a new smuggler is incoming)

https://m.pinkbike.com/news/transition-spur-first-look-2020.html

View attachment 66679

And yeti brings a new 115.....

https://m.pinkbike.com/news/first-look-2021-yeti-sb115.html
View attachment 66678

After a few years of media hype saying the genre was dying out, it seems to be coming back quite strong.
Click to expand...
I’m not sure this is really about the rebirth of “xc” as it is just backfilling the trail category. The idea of a “trail” bike kind of went Full Enduro a few years back.

Or maybe the increasing rowdiness of World Cup XC racing has influenced the local Cat 6 lycra crowd, and I’m just not paying attention.

either way, Kona built this bike in 2014 and it’s taken people this long to realize how awesome they are.

the SB 115 needs an XXL though.
 
So, I'm not really hip to mtb product cycles, but is this onslaught of same niche bikes from multiple manufacturers more or less simultaneously common? Similarly, it seems like most of these manufacturers are "releasing" these bikes, but then no one can actually get their hands on them for months. Common tactic to create demand/hype, or Covid supply chain phenomenon?
 
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buggravy said:
So, I'm not really hip to mtb product cycles, but is this onslaught of same niche bikes from multiple manufacturers more or less simultaneously common? Similarly, it seems like most of these manufacturers are "releasing" these bikes, but then no one can actually get their hands on them for months. Common tactic to create demand/hype, or Covid supply chain phenomenon?
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Yes. MTB niche customers have cash and intense FOMO.

Supply chain is probably COVID related though.
 
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