The downcountry bikes were an interesting proposition. In fact, even the longer travel trail bikes were a very mixed bag. The latter category spanned to the space age from, if you were to cruelly go off aesthetics alone, one might say from the age of steam. There was something distinctly Brunellian about the steel-framed bike on that test and, I have to say, I really quite liked it. Slightly gangly, perhaps. It almost had a case of the Stephen Merchants. But alas, maybe it’s something in the Bristol water.
What made the downcountry bikes so interesting was the ideological iron curtain that existed within the group. There were some bikes that were longerer and slackerer than one could ever dream of. There were also bikes with more conservative geometry.
There were some things that many of those bikes got wrong though. I suppose I would suggest that a bike’s spec might only be as strong as its weakest link. It was odd to see some of these bikes, steeped with amazing suspension parts on frames that, if anything, could be defined as too radical, came with things such as organic pads or small rotors. The whole point of these bikes was that they opened up so much terrain – it seemed bizarre to try and peg that capability back at the first attempt.
It was like having a modern supercar with drum brakes. It all seemed a little strange. Then, of course, there was the element of short dropper seat posts.
Want and need is a different thing. However, when you bolt trail or downcountry on a bike’s model name then concessions have to be made. It’s no longer an XC bike, it’s inherently, by its very definition, a compromised beast – which is good! Compromise makes bikes interesting. As horizons narrow, design is driven and innovations are more likely.
Now, ever the bearer of bad news, here’s something of a bitter pill to swallow: downcountry, which I know is a silly name, is a real thing. Yes, I know you’re probably thinking I’m a pillock, and quite frankly who can blame you, but I would say that there was a real difference in that test between 120mm…
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