Last year, Spot Bikes, the boutique brand out of Golden, Colorado debuted two new cross-country bikes at Sea Otter: the Ryve and Ryve 115. Both are cross-country bikes, the Ryve with 100mm of travel, and the 115 with a little bit more. Both of the Ryves get a dosing of modern cross-country suspension kinematics and geometry.

The past year or so has been huge for XC bikes, crossing over into a more trail-capable category, and that trend doesn’t look like it’s slowing down. The bike industry and consumers alike are rediscovering that short-travel bikes can be designed to descend better than ever. Not only can they outclimb bikes in other categories, but with the right geometry, these light-duty trail rigs are just as fun when they’re pointed downhill.

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