- Hey everybody. I'm Mike Levy.
I'm here with Sarah Moore
and it's time for the big one,
Pinkbikes 2020 mountain bike of the year award.
Now we've put together a short list
that includes everything from big travel aluminum
to short travel carbon.
And to be considered,
the bikes either have to be completely new
or vastly improved
over the previous model that came before it.
Now importantly, the bike also has to be available
to the public, has to be released by December 15th.
- Nominees will be judged on their ultimate performance,
their technical aspects,
how relevant they are to their category
and that component package.
And of course the value proposition will be considered
but that's not the end all in this category.
Okay. Enough with the boring stuff.
Our first nominee is Transitions 120 millimeters.
- Yeah. So the Spur is actually a bit of a departure
for transition and keep in mind,
this is the brand that made the dirt bag
and the bottle rocket.
Some pretty heavy aluminum frames
made of some rough and tumble riding.
The spur though, well that is 120-millimeter travel 29'r
with a carbon frame that could weigh right around
under 25 pounds, pretty impressive.
- Transition didn't forget their gravity roots
on this bike though.
And that's what really makes it shine.
Its light and quick nature allows you to go a lot further
than you would with a more gravity oriented bike.
But on the descent, you can still have a lot of fun.
- Way more than you would usually have
on a bike with such limited travel.
- Exactly.
- So does that make it
the free-riders cross country bike Sarah?
- Something like that.
- I don't know. Call it whatever you want
but there's no doubting
how much versatility and capability transition has put
into this short travel bike.
And that's why it's on our short list
for mountain bike of the year.
The next bike on our short list is the Stumpjumper EVO.
Now the new Stumpy EVO is available in six sizes
and it's based around a lightweight carbon frame
that's ultra adjustable.
Has 150 millimeters of rear wheel travel
and it comes with a 160mm fork.
But you could run the head angle anywhere between
63 degrees and 65 and a half degrees
making the EVO an incredibly versatile package.
- This is a bike that could fit into that
one bike does it all for a lot of people
in a lot of different places.
And the way that we described it in the review was
the handling was effortless
and that's why it's gonna be on our list for
mountain bike of the year.
- Next up we've got the RAAW Madonna V2.
And is there even a question
as to why this thing is on our list?
Just look at it. What are you eating?
- Donuts(laughs)
- The Madonna was designed to survive
an entire season of abuse and a whole bunch more
whereas other bikes they can wilt
after just a summer of shredding in the bike park.
Has 160 millimeters of travel
and the geometry, while thats designed
to excel the descents,
the steep seat angle means that it's
reasonably comfortable on the climbs.
So you could still pedal this thing
up to the top of your favorite downhill.
Out on the trail, this bike is a solid bump sucking brute.
Drop your heels, let off the brakes.
- That sounds like something Kazimer would have written.
- Oh well, he might've helped with the scripts
a little bit(laughs).
But we could also read a little bit more of his reviews.
So can we do that?
- Okay. So he says, hands down,
this is one of the best cornering bikes
I've ridden in recent memory.
The low bottom bracket deserves the bulk of the credit here.
And while that might cause a few extra pedal strikes
on the climbs, on the descents that low slung stance
makes the RAAW an absolute riot when it comes to cornering
or carving down the steeps.
There you have it.
Where are the contender?
- The last bike on our list is Commencal Meta TR.
And the previous version,
it definitely impressed us at the value field test
earlier this year.
But the new model, well, it dials everything to 11.
It's a longer, slacker
and they've made changes to the suspension
to make the bike even more capable.
At this point, the thing is just ready for anything.
So Kazimer reviewed this bike earlier in the year.
Sarah, what did he have to say about it?
- He said that the Meta's 140 millimeters of rear travel.
Helps it stand out from the longer travel Enduro bikes
in a good way.
There's plenty of travel
for dealing with chunky sections of trail,
but there's a level of support and snappiness
that makes it an absolute blast
when it's time to get Airborne.
- Factoring Commencal's consumer direct business model
and that they only do aluminum frames.
And you'll see that the price to performance ratio,
well, it's pretty hard to beat
and it's exactly why the Meta TR is on our list.
So before we get to the winners
we have to talk about a couple of notables that,
they weren't on our short list
but they definitely impressed us.
Including Santa Cruz's new 5010, the new Altitude
and the new Stumpjumper, Trek's updated slash
and the bike that will always take first place in my heart,
the Grim Donut.
But the winner specialized Stumpjumper EVO,
it's our mountain bike of the year for 2020.
Sarah tell me why the EVO won bike of the year.
- Okay. So the reason it won mountain bike of the year,
Stumpjumper EVO is because of the level of refinement
and adjustability.
Basically with a hex key a little bit of time,
you can turn that bike from a trail bike 150 millimeter
into like an ultra slack gravity machine.
- Of course it takes more than geometry options
to come out ahead in this highly competitive category.
Now lucky for the EVO even in its slackest setting
it's still a relatively all-round capable bike
that we think is ready for anything
and that's why it's won
our mountain bike of the year top honor.
Specialized, you got one of these coming your way.
- And he's yearning to get this.
(laughs)
- I just poo there sometime.