Well, we ordered the bike and tested it ourselves. Uphill, the tough rolling tyres and the heaviest wheels in the test keep you on your toes, and the single drivetrain (watch out for the red pencil: cheap 11-42 cassette!) means you often have to use the easiest gear on steep ramps. Downhill, we're just waiting to finally let go of the reins. Our test stand in the test lab only showed 107 mm of rear travel, and you can feel it in practice. Although the Maxxis Minion front tyre conveys confidence, the suspension is constantly working at its limit. The Magura stoppers with a small 160 mm brake disc are also moderately powerful. We admit: The Rift Zone would certainly have felt more at home in a trail bike environment. However, the high wheel weight is all the more unacceptable there. The stylish frame is offset by a weak spec.
ConclusionCarbon chassis and all-mountain specification paired with little suspension travel - the Rift Zone prefers low mountain tours to a trip to Lake Garda.
The alternative: For 4099 euros, the Rift Zone 8 model offers the same carbon/aluminium chassis, but higher-quality equipment with Fox suspension and a Shimano XT groupset with 22 gears. A sensible investment.
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