BIKE TEST: AMERICAN TRAIL BIKES
A pair of down-country rigs straight out of Washington State; they may be short on travel, but how long can they make us smile?
They’d call this a ‘down-country’ bike test in the States, over here we’ll just call it a short-travel trail bike test. The Transition Spur goes head to head with Evil’s Following. These bikes are designed to tear up singletrack at pace, but which is best?
Both bikes were developed on near identical trails
Certain debates have rumbled on in mountain biking for so long they feel like permanent fixtures. And two that are key to this month’s test are the merits (or drawbacks) of ever progressive geometry, and that old chestnut of being overbiked in terms of travel.
Or, to put it another way, does stability detract from playfulness, and are we all guilty of rocking too much travel and wasting energy with extra weight and reduced pedal efficiency?
Well, our bike tests continually prove that modern geometry doesn’t have to mean a total loss of manoeuvrability. But, at the same time, you don’t see 50:01-style riders jibbing on Geometrons. As for too much travel, that really is just a compromise between weight, cushioning and power transfer.
Have we gone too far? Possibly, and it’s clear that as the pendulum swings in the opposite direction a category of more capable Xc-leaning trail bikes has emerged. Dubbed ‘down-country’, the name might suck, but the intention, born out of blending downhill characteristics with cross-country weight saving, is exactly the recipe needed for a versatile UK all-rounder.
Transition’s latest short-travel trail bike, the Spur, is a perfect candidate, whereas the other bike here, Evil’s Following, kind of fits, but predates the genre by five years and is more difficult to box into a corner. Both share 29in wheels, carbon frames and 120mm rear travel, but also big differences in approach.
This final part is especially interesting, as the US brands share tight geographical roots, to the extent that both bikes may even have been developed on, if not the exact same, then near identical trails in the loamy woods surrounding Bellingham in Washington State.
Transition’s high-octane formula targets maximum weight saving with Xc-orientated kit including Rockshox’s lightweight SID fork and shock, and then stretches geometry to maximise capability at speed. Evil has more of a pure trail bike brief, with a 130mm Rockshox Pike fork and Deluxe shock, where handling is tuned for maximum agility and snappiness. The finishing kits on both bikes emphasise the different philosophies too, like Transition’s skinnier rims and faster rubber compared to the Evil’s enduro-rated wheels and meatier Maxxis Minion tyres.
The Spur is brand new, but Evil’s distinctive Following, now in its third iteration, has been toprated before. The latest chassis packages a Super Boost 157mm rear axle into a more sculpted, slinky and sharp shape and tackles old niggles with extra mud clearance, a slightly steeper seat angle, and an even lower-slung frame.
Speaking of standover clearance, the Spur is so low at the top tube it morphs seamlessly into the rear triangle. The boxy, sharp lines match Transition’s latest design focus and are as suave as any GQ model. But this isn’t a beauty contest, it’s a bike test. Will Evil’s evolved approach to design win the day or has Transition nailed the down-country design remit on its very first try?