Hardcore freeriders are specialists. Unlike their cross-country counterparts, these bikes have just one mission: they should not let anything stop them on their way down into the valley. Rockfalls, scree fields, blocked trails, chicken ladders metres above the ground that end in nothing: a problem for many riders, but not for these bikes. They were designed for this and are perfectly prepared. When designing the rear triangle, the engineers preferred to add a little more metal rather than filing away too much. After all, the suspension still has to compress in a controlled manner even after the ten-metre drops of the pros.
No wonder these bikes swallow two-metre drops as if they were hops off the kerb. All the rider has to do is keep the handlebars straight and hold on tight. The disadvantage of sumo bikes is that the heavy weights make the uphill as strenuous as a Himalayan expedition.
The cradle of extreme freeriding is undoubtedly British Columbia. The European Northshore is called Bikepark. Weight and kinematics hardly play a role here, as the gondola helps with the uphill. Our freeride test took place on the newly built freeride course in Saalbach-Hinterglemm. Here the bikes were able to show what they can do. And to really push the hardcore bikes to their limits, the BIKE test team was joined by World Cup pro Guido Tschugg.
The test candidates were an ensemble of very different characters - we wanted to check out the whole range of hardcore freeriders. This time we refrained from a direct comparison of the bikes with BIKE judgements in favour of a characteristic that nevertheless makes it possible to find the right bike.
The bikes in this test:
Alutech Wildsau HR, Banshee Chaparral, Kona Stinky Dee-Lux, Norco A-Line, Proceed VRC, Rocky Mountain Switch, Scott High Octane FR, Specialised Demo Nine Pro
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Dimitri Lehner
Editor
