Not quite light enough to be called downcountry, but capable 130mm-travel trail bikes with a keen eye on weight and speed
As with so many things in life, the pendulum always swings back to the centre. Trail bikes are no different. And with the line between trail and enduro becoming increasingly blurred, it makes sense that there’s an emerging category of shortertravel 29ers. Not quite light enough to be called down-country, but capable 130mm-travel trail bikes with a keen eye on weight and speed.
Probably the easiest way to define this category is to look at what they are NOT designed for: basically steep ups and downs. The focus here is what lies in between. Literally, the middle ground. And if we’re being perfectly honest, that’s the type of riding most of us are doing, most of the time. We’ve always said that you should get the bike that fits 90% of the riding you do, not the 10% you aspire to, and the bikes in this test capture the essence of the statement perfectly.
So, if you’re a trail rider at your very core, we have four bikes that should be on your radar.
The Bold Linkin 135 is a unique design, where the shock and linkage are concealed inside the frame. In keeping with the ultra-clean look, the Bold also has integrated storage in the down tube. Canyon’s new Spectral 125 looks very similar to the 150mm Spectral, but it’s very much a standalone design, built for the hard-charging rider that wants less travel and more interaction with the terrain. Mondraker’s new Raze comes with built-in suspension telemetry to maximise the performance of this short-travel shredder, while Specialized’s Stumpjumper Expert strips the platform back to its bare bones, even eliminating the signature Horst-link suspension, in pursuit of reduced weight.
And it’s not simply trail riding that unites these four full-suspension bikes. All have
29in wheels, all have Fox suspension, all have bottle cage mounts and all have progressive geometry. And while the numbers on the Bold and Canyon are largely indistinguishable from modern enduro bikes, the Specialized and Mondaker have slightly steeper head angles to help differentiate them from longer-travel trail bikes. All of the bikes use full carbon frames to keep the weight in check, where Mondraker and Specialized push right up against the limits, both bikes easily weighing in under 14kg.
In terms of travel, the Bold has the most at 135mm, the Canyon the least at 125mm. In the middle are Specialized and Mondraker, with both opting for 130mm out back. Up front, the bikes all have more suspension firepower, where Bold and Mondraker opt for 150mm-travel forks, Specialized and Canyon running 10mm less.
And only Specialized has broken rank, fitting a lighter Fox 34 fork instead of the burlier 36.
The brands in this test all have slightly different business models too. Canyon is direct to consumer, Mondraker is direct to dealer. Bold bikes are available through select dealers and Specialized is available online and in dealers. Each approach has pros and cons, the most obvious differences reflected in the pricing.
So we have four 29er trail bikes that are designed for the broadest range of riding while skirting around the fringes. And while all four brands take slightly different approaches to covering the centre of the bell curve, they shouldn’t be considered middle of the road.