American flyers high-flying short-travel trail bikes
Mountain Bike Rider|April 2023
Do short-travel rippers still make sense with ever-more capable XC rigs snapping at their wheels? We test three of the best from across the pond
By Guy Kesteven
American flyers high-flying short-travel trail bikes

Here at mbr, we've always been big fans of shorter-travel trail bikes. Bikes capable enough to ride everything on, but still tight enough, and light enough, to let you interact with the trail. Bikes that will showcase your skills on your best days, and hide your lack of fitness on your worst days.

They bring trails dulled by ever-increasing suspension travel back to life, where pedalling efforts are rewarded in spades too. Flowing sections don’t get sucked into a soft mid-stroke, as these short-travel shredders accelerate forward rather than simply tracking the contours of the trail.

That’s the theory, at least. To put it to the best, we’ve rounded up three premium shortravel trail bikes from three boutique brands: Pivot, Santa Cruz and Yeti.

All three bikes boast 120mm travel, but as we found out they don’t all deliver on hat travel promise. Most strikingly, subtle differences in geometry, frame stiffness and he suspension response, meant that the test results were as surprising as they were diverse in terms of approach.

Two months of testing our trio on every sort of trail imaginable definitively proved that 120 is plenty’ whatever vibe you're after. So it’s clear to us that the best short-travel bikes are better than ever; the trouble is, what’s happening to the bikes either side of the short-travel category?

Obviously, mid-travel super trail’ bikes are getting more capable, more controlled and tough enough to tackle full-on enduro trails and occasional park days. They still pedal really well though, so why wouldn’t you want more just-in-case’ travel for bad days? Taken to its logical conclusion, why not go all in and get an enduro bike?

Esta historia es de la edición April 2023 de Mountain Bike Rider.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición April 2023 de Mountain Bike Rider.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDERVer todo
Best places to ride with your kids
Mountain Bike Rider

Best places to ride with your kids

Five top venues to keep the nippers entertained this summer

time-read
3 minutos  |
August 2023
CANNONDALE MOTERRA NEO CARBON 2
Mountain Bike Rider

CANNONDALE MOTERRA NEO CARBON 2

It’s got more suspension tunes than a Hitchcock movie, but will this Moterra thrill us or chill us?

time-read
5 minutos  |
September 2023
100% GLENDALE GLASSES
Mountain Bike Rider

100% GLENDALE GLASSES

When it comes to eyewear, having a large lens not only offers a lot more protection from trail splatter, it puts the frames further out from your field of view, allowing you to focus on the terrain in front of you. The Glendale is absolutely vast, and actually has a lens size akin to a full downhill goggle, so you literally can’t see the top or sides of the frame.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2023
DMR STAGE 2 MTB RAIL SADDLE
Mountain Bike Rider

DMR STAGE 2 MTB RAIL SADDLE

DMR's new Stage 2 MTB Rail is one of those new/old products. The shape and construction are identical to the existing Oi Oi saddle, but the company has wrapped it in a new skin and added some harder-wearing reinforcement to the edges. It's also toned down the lairy graphics; this saddle only comes in plain black.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2023
STRAIGHT TORQUING - GUY KESTEVEN
Mountain Bike Rider

STRAIGHT TORQUING - GUY KESTEVEN

Has tech taken the hard work and fun out of mountain biking, or should we embrace evolution and roll with it?

time-read
3 minutos  |
September 2023
STORM FORCE
Mountain Bike Rider

STORM FORCE

Manon Carpenter may have retired from downhill competition, but her new role as a trail advocate is achieving results far beyond the race track

time-read
8 minutos  |
September 2023
SWEAT AND SLATE
Mountain Bike Rider

SWEAT AND SLATE

We ride 140 miles through Snowdonia on Cycling UK's newest and gnarliest long-distance trail

time-read
9 minutos  |
September 2023
HEAD SPACE
Mountain Bike Rider

HEAD SPACE

New guidance reveals how to spot concussion, and how best to treat it

time-read
4 minutos  |
September 2023
LATE SUMMER LOVIN'
Mountain Bike Rider

LATE SUMMER LOVIN'

Classic UK holiday hotspots that really shine when the crowds have gone

time-read
2 minutos  |
September 2023
HOT STUFF
Mountain Bike Rider

HOT STUFF

WHAT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS MONTH

time-read
3 minutos  |
September 2023