Singletrack Issue 121: XXC: Cross Country Extra

Bike TestBikesReviewSingletrack Magazine

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Three bikes that take the short travel full suspension bike to another world.

Words Chipps Photography James Vincent

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It’s a mixed-up, muddled-up, shook-up mountain bike world these days. We have long travel 29ers winning enduro races, 27.5in trail bikes that are slacker than downhill bikes from a mere few years ago. Even how and where riders are riding is changing. Road bikes are going off road, enduro racers are riding to the tops of mountains… and have you seen the state of cross-country World Cup racing these days? Those tracks are gnarly!

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Chipps Chippendale

Singletrackworld's Editor At Large

With 23 years as Editor of Singletrack World Magazine, Chipps is the longest-running mountain bike magazine editor in the world. He started in the bike trade in 1990 and became a full time mountain bike journalist at the start of 1994. Over the last 30 years as a bike writer and photographer, he has seen mountain bike culture flourish, strengthen and diversify and bike technology go from rigid steel frames to fully suspended carbon fibre (and sometimes back to rigid steel as well.)

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Replies (2)

    • johnw1984 October 11, 2018 at 6:29 pm

    There’s too many of these bikes for my wallet to handle! After having a series of 150mm travel bikes, I’ve just gone to a Scott Spark RC and it’s a revelation!

    I’ve not missed the extra travel as the speed everywhere else more than makes up for it. The fact that this sort of bike is seeing a rise in popularity doesn’t bode well for my bank balance (or credit score!). I can be a bit of a serial bike swapper, and have yet to keep a bike for longer than 12-13 months!

    ricardonf October 24, 2018 at 6:14 pm

    Hello Singletrackworld Team, how are you ?
    We have another bikes that checks the 100 mm rear travel / 120 mm front:
    Orbea oiz TR , Santa Cruz Blur TR and Pivot Mach 429 Sl.
    Do you intend test these bikes soon ?
    Best regards and congratulations for the Great article.

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