- Dude trophies didn't arrive in time.
- What?
And you don't even have a (beep) suit on.
Henry, go to the thrift store,
get some trophies and get yourself a (beep) suit.
- Yeah, I'll be back in like half an hour, half an hour.
- That guy it's just so looking unprofessional.
I just...
Ughh!
Hey everybody, I'm Mike Levy
here with Henry Quinny,
and today we're gonna talk about
Value Mountain Bike Of The Year.
Now we all know that those fancy mountain bikes,
those $10,000 mountain bikes that we see in the field test,
they work great, but you know what else?
Well, we all know that you definitely don't need a bike
that expensive to have fun.
- Just the opposite, actually,
with more and more bikes offering 95% of the performance,
for maybe just a third of the price.
- All right, let's take a look at our five nominees
starting with the Devinci Marshall.
- So the Devinci Marshall 29 Deore, is a $2,300 bike
that's amazingly enough, engineered and made in Canada.
Now the 130 mil platform features 140 mil fork,
which should be just enough to get you up
and down just about anything.
- [Mike] Right. But that Canadian DNA doesn't matter
if the bike doesn't perform.
Now, thankfully it does.
We had the Marshall at the field test,
and we found it to be a pretty versatile
and forgiving machine.
Very well-rounded.
- Now interestingly enough,
the Marshall wasn't the quickest on our test,
and that's not why it's in here.
It's in here for its versatility.
Another bike to offer lots of versatility
is our next nomination,
the Ibis Ripley.
Now the Ripley has long been popular with people
who favor a fleet footed bike,
that offers lots of punch going up and down.
- [Mike] Now the new aluminum AF version
costs less while weighing more.
With the idea being that it still holds on
to that efficient, precise handling nature,
that the more expensive carbon bike had.
- Now Ibis are a brand
that has been known for it's a longterm
relationship with the DW link.
And this bike is no different.
However, it's a more refined version,
and it aims to give more frame stiffness
at a lower frame weight.
- Right?
And the result on the trail
is a bike that rewards your pedaling.
If you peddle hard, this bike is gonna answer
and you're gonna go a whole lot quicker.
Now our next bike on the list is Polygon's Siskiu.
Is that how you-
- Sisk you? Sisk me! (laughs)
- Sisk you. I don't know how to say that.
- No that doesn't make sense, it was another way around,
and my brain couldn't think fast enough.
- I need to wipe the sweat off my face.
(beep) Now this next bike
that gonna talk about,
well it's Polygon's Siskiu T8
that we also had at the Value Bike field trip.
- Now this bike had
perfectly reasonable geometry
that was in the right ballpark.
However, it was its suspension feel
that really separated it from the ground.
- Exactly. Once you get that climb behind you,
the Polygon suspension did an amazing job
of smoothing out in the roots and rocks.
You know, it's not the best peddler,
but anybody looking at this bike,
that's not what they're going for.
I'm gonna do my tie a little bit,
some progression through the video.
- Now another bike on our list, and the next nomination,
is a shade more expensive than the others.
And that is the Vitus Escarpe.
At $4,200, it is more expensive,
but it still manages to cram in a lot of value.
- No doubt, aided by their consumer direct sales model,
we should mention.
But for that money,
you're getting Fox factory suspension,
an XT 12-speed drivetrain,
and a set of DT Swiss XM1700 wheels.
Now all that,
along with that carbon front triangle,
should add up to a whole lot more performance
than what VITAS are asking for the price tag.
- Absolutely.
And our review at Mike Kazimer
expressed that even though this bike is more expensive
than some of the other nominees,
it manages to have a value that few bikes can come close to.
Our last nomination is a new value hardtail from BMC.
- Now, one of the best ways
to save a few bucks on your new mountain bike
is to find one that changes that rear shock
for a lower price tag.
Much like BMCs new two-stroke aluminum hardtails do.
The new two-stroke is designed to be an entry point
into cross country riding and racing.
But that frame sports a whole bunch of interesting features,
and that bike, well it looks fast just standing still.
- Absolutely.
Now, whilst it may not be carbon,
it shows that you don't need carbon
to make a great XC race bike.
And it's more than light enough
to be worthy of some upgrades.
Now it's geometry might pale in significance
to some of the more aggressive trail bikes,
but you've got to remember
that it is amply suitable
and slack for anything on an XC racecourse.
- And now obviously the two stroke is not for trail riders
who like to get themselves into sketchy places.
This is more for a mountain biker
who just wants to go for a mountain bike ride.
And if that happens to include a cross country race too,
well then the two-stroke is gonna handle it well.
- And without further ado,
it's time to announce the winner of the 2021 Pink Bike
Value Mountain Bike Of The Year Awards.
- That's the trophy, you got hey?
- They'll get a nice trophy,
but this is what I could get at such short notice.
- Are we gonna take the price tag off?
- What difference at this point?
I think in for a penny in for a pound.
But the winner is, the IBS Ripley AF,
for managing to pack in all the performance
from the carbon version, into an aluminum frame
and a far lower price point.
- [Mike] Exactly.
And sure it's heavier,
but that's not gonna matter out in the real world
when you're out there riding the bike
and having a ton of fun.
So there you go, our value mountain bike of the year,
Ibis' new Ripley AF.
- Thank you very much for watching
the 2021 Pink Bike Value Mountain Bike Of The Year.
Now we've got plenty more awards to give out.
So stay tuned for the bad suits-
- We have to do more? - And weird porcelain dolls.
Thanks for watching, and we'll catch you next time.
(groovy instrumental music)