BTR RANGER
£1,350 A rad trail bike that’s still no bruiser when covering miles
Hailing from Frome in Somerset, BTR’s first bike back in 2011, the downhill-focused Belter, came with a bonkers (certainly for the time!) 61-degree head angle, a superlow 295mm bottom bracket (BB) height and a 1,270mm wheelbase. These days the range of bikes that Paul ‘Burf’ Burford will build you has expanded and includes the full-sus Pinner, the DH-ready Ripper and this slightly more trail-focused Ranger. BTR say the Ranger is designed to take you “up hill, down dale, through the jumps and probably to the pub too” – pretty much everything a trail bike should be good at, then.
The frame
The Ranger is designed around a 120mm to 130mm-travel fork, but don’t assume from this that it’s an upright, nervous cross-countrystyle trail hardtail. We tested the stock 650b build (frames designed around 26in and 29in wheels are also available), which has a superslack 63.5-degree head angle, along with a long 1,210mm wheelbase on the large size. These are paired with a 75-degree seat angle and 460mm reach as standard, but BTR can adjust the geometry to suit your preferences, for a fee (which depends on what it is that you want to change).
You can also specify frame details you’d like, such as internal cable routing for the rear brake, rear mech and/or a stealth dropper seatpost; bottle cage bosses; and ISCG-05 mounts, with the pricing clearly indicated. There’s a broad selection of RAL paint colours to choose from included in the price, as well as special paint finishes (such as fluorescent) for a little extra too.
The frame is largely constructed from Reynolds steel, with 853 and 631 used for the front triangle. Dedacciai steel takes care of the stays, which are ovalised towards the top. A brace joins the top tube to the down tube and head tube junction, and there’s a chainstay bridge plate, as well as a brace supporting the non-driveside seatstay near the bottom. The head tube is finished with a customisable head badge that leaves space for your own text.
The kit
BTR offer a full build on the Ranger, with a 120 or 130mm, air or coilsprung Cane Creek HELM fork, as well as a Shimano XT drivetrain,
Hope-hubbed wheels and Maxxis tyres. Our build was a Burf edition (from £3,500), with kit that he uses for his regular woodland laps. We’d recommend building this bike with a stout fork and wheelset. While the frame is designed around 120130mm of front travel, if you stick on a lightweight XC/trail fork with a flexy chassis, you likely won’t get the most out of the bike. You can also buy the Ranger as a frame kit, including your choice of fork and headset, from £1,810.
The ride
Two things were immediately apparent when jumping on the BTR – the slack head angle and the super-short 415mm chainstays. While the reach isn’t the longest we’ve ridden, the 63.5-degree head angle puts the front wheel way ahead of the handlebar, giving the bike incredibly dependable handling in steep chutes and fast, loose corners. It also makes square-edged impacts less demanding on both fork and body, smoothing the ride as much as can be expected. We never found the fork’s limited travel slowed us down, and the shorter stroke means there’s less change in the bike’s dynamic geometry as it compresses.
Back to those super-short chainstays, they ensure that the front wheel pops up into the air the moment you shift your weight back. This gives the Ranger, in its standard geometry, a radically playful feel. The BTR bike actively wants to change direction, and snaps from side to side with absolute tenacity.
The frame’s two halves play off each other nicely, with the rakedout front end providing stability and steadfast cornering confidence, while the rear gives the Ranger an unmistakably flickable feel. Ideas about slack bikes not climbing well are pushed into the long grass. While we wouldn’t mind a slightly longer reach, which we think would boost high-speed performance a touch, we never found ourselves cramped on long climbs nor unable to control the front wheel on steep ascents.
BTR strike the right balance with the Ranger’s frame feel, too. While it’s not the most forgiving of steel chassis we’ve ridden, it manages to not feel too harsh. We happily spent many hours tearing up the woods on the Ranger.