You have to shell out around 3000 euros for the nine all-mountain bikes in this test group. In return, you get a lot of suspension travel on all bikes, namely 140 to 160 millimetres according to our definition of All Mountain Plus.
But when you look at the equipment, question marks flash up. Rarely have such unequally equipped bikes rolled into our test lab - a result of the class war that is direct sales versus specialised dealers. In this case, mail order companies such as Votec and Radon boast Race Face cranks, top model suspension forks, high-quality wheels and remote-controlled telescopic seat posts.
Specialist retailers such as Trek or Scott supply groupless cranks for € 2999, Fox forks from the inexpensive Evolution series and the telescopic seatpost, which has become indispensable in this category, is missing. Where do these differences, which are not exactly insignificant for the function of a bike, come from?
We tested these nine all-mountain full-suspension bikes:
- Centurion No Pogo 2000.27 3149 Euro (BIKE Tip Tours)
- Cube Stereo 140 HPA Race 27.5 2999 Euro (BIKE-Tip specialised trade)
- Drössiger XRA 650b 2 2699 Euro
- Giant Trance Advanced 2 2999 euros
- Radon Slide 27.5 10.0 2999.90 euros
- Rose Granite Chief 2 Custom 2863 Euro
- Scott Genius 730 2999
- Trek Remedy 8 27,5 2999,-
- Votec VM Elilte 2999,- (BIKE Tip mail order)
You can download the points table as a PDF below.
Conclusion Christoph Listmann, BIKE Test Manager: "Mountain biking is getting more expensive, this thought has been haunting my mind since the Eurobike trade fair. In this case, because you have to spend more money to get the same performance as before - in other words, a well-equipped, lightweight bike. If you're prepared to pay 3000 euros for an all-mountain bike in 2015, you should take a closer look. Firstly, the suspension travel doesn't tell the whole story. Secondly, the specifications of these nine bikes differ dramatically. Light and shade, you could call it. Overall, the long-travel all-mountain bikes in 27.5-inch wheel format are pretty heavy by my standards."
You can read the complete test of the nine 27.5-inch touring full-suspension bikes (BIKE 2/2015) in the BIKE app (iTunes and Google Play) or download the issue from the DK shop reorder:
