- Test the abilities.
It's wet though, man, I hope I don't look stupid.
(scoffs) I'm definitely gonna look stupid.
(upbeat music)
Hey everyone.
I'm Mike Levy and we're standing here
at the bottom of the Field Test Impossible Climb.
And I know, I know, I'm tired of trying to get up these things too.
But here we are,
with 10 of the latest trail and Enduro bikes
to test the limits of their technical climbing abilities
and maybe my patience.
Why?
Well, because stuff like this still matters
and many of us face this kind of stuff
on every single ride we do.
Okay, maybe not the beer cans switchbacks in the course tape
but you get the idea.
Okay, let's go over the rules.
Just like all the other field tests.
Each bike is gonna get a couple attempts to set a high mark.
And they're all wearing matching rubber as well.
The Enduro bikes have DHRs and Assegai's,
while the trail bikes have DHFs and dissectors.
Now because my unpaid intern Mike Kazimer,
is trapped in the States for some reason,
I've had to actually pump all the tires myself
to make sure they're all at matching pressures.
And all the suspension is set up correctly as well.
The idea here, to give the bikes a level playing field.
So we're testing the traction and the handling
and that's all.
Okay, let's go for a walk to see where I'll be falling over.
(upbeat music)
Alright, here we are at the bottom of the Impossible Climb
and this is the start chute.
The first challenge,
we're gonna go up and over these roots,
pretty simple stuff.
We're gonna go straight through here
and into a fairly easy right-hand corner.
We gotta give those Enduro bikes a chance
to at least get to here, right?
And that's when they're gonna see their first challenge.
Now this isn't an overly big rock
but I'm not gonna be able to just jump up over it.
And it's super slippery with this wet moss
and lichen on it and wet roots everywhere.
So that'll test the bikes traction.
And then up here,
if you look down,
this is just full of loose rocks and wet roots
So here I'll need to be seated.
I can't just stand up and power up through this stuff
like I might be able to in the dry.
Traction is gonna be pretty questionable.
We're gonna go up here to the next challenge.
This is a double step right here,
where the bikes are barely gonna fit in.
So especially for the longer Enduro bikes,
I think timing is gonna be pretty tricky
cause I'm gonna be going
about zero mile an hour right there
and probably zero mile an hour right here
to a big crux move.
This is a ledge.
It's not all that tall, but again
I'm gonna be going really slow.
So it's gonna be a challenge
on some of these longer Enduro bikes to get the front end up
and then hump that back end up to the top of that ledge,
all at about zero miles an hour again.
So let's go up a little higher.
Now we have an open spot here
where I was originally planning to just catch my breath
and relax a bit,
but instead we put these boxes of Sierra Nevada
and I'm gonna do a loop around these this way,
which sounds pretty easy.
You know how to turn left I bet, me too.
Well again, if you look down,
it's just covered in loose rocks and roots,
and I think there's a good chance
I'm gonna fall over here actually.
And if I don't, we're gonna go up here like so
into the final stretch.
And that brings us to the top of the Impossible Climb.
(dramatic upbeat music)
Crushes the downs.
Let's see if we can crush the climbs too.
(beep)
(huffs) So what happened there with the P-Train?
I came up over that rock and got up over just fine.
But my speed went from one mile an hour to zero.
I tried to keep it going but it was just spinning out.
Again, that lack of traction.
I was standing up, you gotta stay seated.
So, let's try the next bike.
Alright, Rocky Mountain Altitude.
Let's see how much altitude we get before we dab here.
(Mike huffing and puffing)
(groans) Man, this part here is trouble.
Alright Ibis,
(dramatic music)
(Mike huffing and puffing)
Oh no!
(laughs) okay, double whammy there.
So I had a bit more momentum and I came up
but I'm just getting stopped right here by these steps.
Maybe it's the small wheels.
We'll see.
But I feel like my timing,
the bike is just basically coming to a stop right here
and then cause it's so wet, and the traction is so low
having a real hard time starting again.
So that's it for the Ibis.
We've got the Nomad, the other 27.5 inch wheel bike.
(dramatic music)
(Mike huffing and puffing)
(groans) Man!
Alright Barney,
are you my friend on this climb?
You're awfully big.
(Mike huffing and puffing)
That felt good.
(dramatic music)
Barney felt good.
The big travel, like you just sit at it and go whoaarrr!
We've got the 38 pound Norco Shore next.
This thing is a bit of a beast.
I've been in the fourth or fifth cog from the top.
I think I'm gonna go a number three for the old Shore
but we'll see what happens.
There's no skinnies on this uphill.
No wheelie drops
So I'm not sure if it's gonna do very good.
Okay, Norco Shore.
We're on the Shore.
This is it's home.
Don't you know were your home is?
Go home! (groans)
(laughing) Not so much.
(Mike laughing)
Let's just do this.
I feel like this is appropriate.
Hey, do you guys know where ladies only is?
(panting) Where are all the skinnies?
Can you point me towards the nearest wheelie drop to flat.
Okay, Propain and Propain accessories.
Let's see the Hank Hill bike.
(dramatic music)
(Mike huffs)
Oh!
(dramatic music)
So again, I just came up here.
I thought I would come up right through here
and the rear tire just slid right out.
We're on the new Stumpy now.
(dramatic music)
(Mike panting)
(Mike huffs)
Oh boy, does it count if I hop?
Am I good?
(laughing) Okay.
(panting) Oh now I'm tired.
How do I get up here?
(Mike panting)
(groans) Okay.
(Mike panting)
Specialized Stumpy sets the high mark so far.
Okay, we've got the Trance X with live valve suspension.
Let's see what it does for me here.
(dramatic music)
(Mike panting)
I feel like this is cheating boys.
(dramatic music)
(Mike panting)
Oh, (beep) I pulled out of my pedal.
(dramatic music)
We're on the Trek Slash,
I'm gonna stay nice and calm.
(dramatic music)
(groans) I knocked over the beer.
(dramatic music)
That's it for the Slash and me.
So there you have it.
After 20 something attempts,
that's it for the Impossible Climb that remains impossible.
I think this was probably
the hardest Impossible Climb we've done yet.
Thanks to the rain and all of these wet roots
both the Specialized and the Giant
made it up to this big step
where they were stopped dead in their tracks.
Now, so while there was no winner for this Impossible Climb
it's these two bikes that ended up getting the highest.
There you go.
The fourth Impossible Climb.
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We'll see you next time around.
(upbeat music)