SILVERBACK SLADE TRAIL:

The Best Trail Bike On A Budget + Commencal Meta HT Junior, Trek Checkpoint ALR

SSome people say that cycling has become too serious, and I tend to agree.

▲specially in South Africa: everyone is so obsessed with speed and performance. ▲ven on the less expensive end of the spectrum, we’ve been conned into believing that we need a race bike when we’re probably never going to enter a race in our lives.

As a result, almost every massproduced hardtail mountain bike is basically the same: a crosscountry 29er with aggressive frame geometry that puts the rider forward over the bars, in a position best suited to guys mixing it up at the sharp end of the Cape ▲pic.

The Silverback Slade Trail, on the other hand, is that mysterious kid at the party who is so sure of himself, he doesn’t care what his peers are doing – Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You. It’s a hardtail mountain bike – with radical, trail-focused geometry, and excellent parts – that’s designed simply for fun.

Remember that feeling when you first rode the dirt track next to the Braamfontein Spruit on your dad’s old Haro? That’s the feeling you’ll get when you point the Slade at a downhill and let go of the brakes.

Silverback calls it POP (Position of Power) geometry, which shifts the rider forward on the bike. Not leaning forward, like on an XC bike, but actually changing the centre of gravity.

The top tube is long, the head tube angle is slack (66°) and the seat tube is steep (76°). You might think that this would make it a slouch on the hills, but thanks to the short chain stays (430mm) and the awesome grip provided by the 29x2.6 Maxxis Rekon tyres, the front wheel doesn’t wander, and traction is consistent.

Those mid-fat tyres come into their own on the downhills, as does the 140mm RockShox Revelation fork and the extra-long dropper post (150mm, on the medium we tested). You can get the seat right out of the way, lean back, let all that plush travel up front take care of the bumps, and go as fast as your courage will allow. This kind of downhill euphoria was previously only achievable on a dual-suspension trail bike, or on a custom-made hardtail.

Other neat features? Internal cable routing; wide rims (29mm internal); a decent 11-speed drivetrain with a Shimano XT derailleur, SLX shifter and Sunrace cassette; boost spacing front and rear – with throughaxles – and a sweet black-and-gold paint scheme. Thanks to the low stand-over height, there are only mounts for a single bottle cage, but the Slade isn’t a marathon bike. One bottle is fine if you’re doing weekend runs at Mankele.

It’s modern, it’s fun and it’s built to last. And your family won’t give you the side-eye when you tell them how much it cost.