TOM’S REVEL RANGER £3,699 (frame only)

It’s been a year of downcountry domination for senior tech ed Tom

In the year I’ve been riding the Ranger, the ‘downcountry’ category has truly flourished. New bikes, from brands large and small, have been launched on an almost monthly basis, while the range of components suited to this style of short-travel machine has also expanded.

I started the year wondering how downcountry bikes fit into the grand scheme of things. Are they a ‘quiverkiller’, able to replace an XC bike and a trail bike? Or do they stand alone, as part of an ever-expanding, increasingly niche set of compartmentalised sub-divisions of the ‘mountain bike’?

What’s clear, to me at least, is that the downcountry bike is one that should appeal to the broadest range of riders, as long as it’s done right. Sure, the long-travel rigs raced by the best in the world are machines many of us aspire to own, even if we’ll never challenge their limits. But spending a bit of time on a shortertravel machine that can still tackle some big terrain has opened my eyes to what’s possible.

It’s safe to say my Revel has ended up at the more XC end of the DC spectrum (I could’ve gone harder if I’d wanted to), with the fork, wheels, brakes and drivetrain all being lighter-weight components. And, truth be told, if I wanted to rally round the steepest of my test tracks, there are better bikes for the job. But I’ve come to the realisation that I really like riding around on a bike that doesn’t suck the fun out of any upward incline or soften every track into a blancmange, and makes me really consider where it is my front wheel is pointed, whether I’m going to assist the rear wheel in dodging the bump that’s threatening the structural integrity of my rear tyre and how I’d even do that.

The modern downcountry bike harks back to the old-school definition of what a ‘mountain bike’ really was in the first place. It’s a bike for getting out there into the hills. For riding up them and then back down. It’ll tackle both long and short rides, and, with the ever-growing range of bike, frame and kit options out there, can really be tailored to what you want your ‘mountain bike’ to be. https://cyclorise.com