Last week’s show looked at Trek’s experiments with both 32″ and 36″ diameter hoops, a topic that was always going to rustle people’s knee pads but also one that, given they’re one of the largest bike companies in the world, can’t be ignored. That said, how about we don’t talk about wheel sizes, and especially new, weird wheel sizes, for a little while? Something else that can’t be ignored is the host of all-new cross-country and short-travel shredders debuting for 2020, many spurred on by this being an Olympic year.
Or, it was an Olympic year, anyway. While Corona has postponed one of the sport’s most prestigious events, British Columbia’s restrictions have been relaxed enough for us to get a bunch of those new bikes sent to us for review. For the first two weeks in June, we’ll be doing exactly that for our cross-country Field Test series. It includes eight of the latest and maybe-greatest full-suspension machines, four being race-focused and four being fun-focused but also race-able. All the bikes will see timed laps, (unlocked suspension) efficiency testing using power meters, and even some kind of torsional rigidity evaluation. We’re still figuring that one out. You’ll also get to see the Impossible Climb, of course, and don’t think that cross-country bikes are going to get a free pass in the Huck to Flat video; I already feel bad for Jason Lucas’ ankles.
While half of the bikes are still under pesky embargoes that keep us from talking about them, I can reveal that the Field Test fleet includes Cannondale’s new Scalpel in both race and fun flavors, Trek’s clever Supercaliber, and Canyon’s ultra-successful Lux. You’ll have to wait to see the other four. Plus, for additional perspective on the efficiency testing and round-table discussions we’ll throw in a race-y hardtail and the 180mm-travel Specialized Enduro. Neither are official test bikes, but they’ll let us answer a few questions. How much more efficient is a hardtail actually? Does that make it the faster machine over an entire lap? Modern long-travel bikes like the Enduro have become incredible climbers, but just how big is the difference between bikes with drastically different intentions?
Let’s hear those predictions.
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