{"id":122714,"date":"2016-03-07T08:00:06","date_gmt":"2016-03-07T07:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mtb-mag.com\/?p=122714"},"modified":"2016-03-14T08:49:20","modified_gmt":"2016-03-14T07:49:20","slug":"comparative-test-seven-27-5-trail-bikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mtb-mag.com\/en\/comparative-test-seven-27-5-trail-bikes\/","title":{"rendered":"[Comparative test] Seven 27.5 Trail Bikes"},"content":{"rendered":"

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After the success of our big enduro comparative test<\/a>, that received more than 200.000 views, we decided to focus our attention on a bike category that has become increasingly\u00a0popular during the last few years: trail bikes with travel ranging from\u00a0120-140mm. These are the bikes most people get along with\u00a0: they can be used for the lunch ride as well as for the epic alpine tour during summertime. If you are not racing but you simply enjoy riding all kinds of terrain, this review is for you.<\/p>\n

\"La<\/a>
Trail location: Punta Ala, Tuscany. Plenty of sun and dry trails during the northern hemisphere wintertime.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We divided this comparative in two groups: 27.5″ and 29″ wheels (with one 27.5+), in order to be able to get as deep as possible in our evaluation. We had 7 testers, 4 days of riding and plenty of time to understand each bike. The 29er review will be published a few days after this article.<\/p>\n

Basically, the two groups differentiate from each other by the\u00a0more agile handling of the 27.5 bikes, the better traction of the 29ers and the higher weight of the complete 29″ bikes. Their “spirit” and intended usage is exactly the same: have fun on the trails, without fighting against a stopwatch.<\/p>\n

\"Davide<\/a>
The Punta Ala trail center’s mechanic, Davide Brugnoli, takes care of the bikes during the testing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The brands we requested bikes from sent us what they had on\u00a0hand: we set no price limitation. Therefore, our review focuses on the bike’s frame and handling characteristics more than on the specs. Basically we had one rule: imagine that we’re\u00a0a customer who buys a trail bike\u00a0to\u00a0get in the saddle and hit his favourite trail, without having to pimp his ride.<\/p>\n

We use 6 parameters for our review, which you can find in the table at the bottom of the article. The most important \u00a0is the “Allround features”: this parameter indicates\u00a0how good a bike is in handling uphills AND downhills. The perfect trail bike stands exactly in the middle between an enduro and a XC race rig: it climbs well, and it descends well. An allrounder.<\/p>\n

Every parameter has been weighted for its importance in the trail segment (look at the enduro comparative<\/a> to check the different importance of each factor) and multiplied by each tester’s score. For the complete rankings, scroll down.<\/p>\n

\"Davide<\/a>
Enduro Pro Davide Sottocornola\u00a0was one of the testers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As far as the\u00a0quality of the frame, with this we parameter take into account water bottle cage mount, the cable routing, the fit of brake levers\/shifters\/dropper post remote on the bar, and some special features like Specialized’s SWAT system. For this reason, our 10\/10 note goes to the brand from Morgan Hill, and we start from that unrivalled feature.<\/p>\n

Geometries<\/h3>\n

\"Screen<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cannondale Habit Carbon SE 27.5<\/h3>\n

\"F75R7163\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Between all the bikes we tested, the Habit is the one with the least amount of travel and the steepest head\u00a0angle (68\u00b0), therefore it\u00a0has a rather\u00a0“racey” nature. No, it’s not \u00a0a cross country bike, but it’s a really good climber that needs quite a few skills to be ridden fast downhill, because on the techy stuff it gets nervous and harder to control than other bikes in the testing group. Perfect if your riding terrain has a lot of flowy trails.<\/p>\n

The Lefty is as stiff and precise as it gets, and it’s very progressive towards the end of the travel, keeping some in the tank for the\u00a0scary situations.<\/p>\n

\"cannondale\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Canyon Spectral CF 9.0 27.5<\/h3>\n

\"F75R7263\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Out of the box, ready for the trail. That’s the first thought\u00a0that all testers confirmed the first time they\u00a0threw a leg over\u00a0the Spectral. And because\u00a0Canyon follows a consumer direct model, the box is the only way the customer can receive\u00a0the bike, so we had also a look on how easy the set up is:<\/p>\n