Page 21 - MTBSA JAN 2020

THE MOUNTAIN BIKE TECH WE ALL

LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MOST

IN 2020

WITH EVERYONE COMFORTABLY SETTLED INTO THE NEW YEAR, WE ASKED MTBSA STAFFERS FOR THE
BIKES, BITS OR IDEAS THEY ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MOST OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS.
FOR THOSE WHO PREFER THEIR IMAGES NOT TO MOVE, WE’VE SUMMARISED EACH STAFF MEMBER’S
CHOICE IN THE POINTERS BELOW.

1 GEOMETRY’ NO 3 Tom Marvin is hoping that this Shimano’s latest 12-speed SLX
1
Tom wants to see more mountain bikes wearing Shimano 12-speed groups this year. Shimano
EXTREME
THE PROLIFERATION OF SHIMANO
GROUPSETS
LONGER BEING

CONSIDERED
year is the year that Shimano
groupset as his groupset of
EXTREME
that have seen the company’s
the caveat that the double-
mountain bike market share
release equipped XT shifter is
diminish in recent years.
fitted).
As a long-standing geometry 3 sorts out production issues choice for 2020 (although with
extremist, Seb Stott has been Tom specifically calls out
delighted by the extended
reach and wheelbase figures
arriving from large and small
bike manufacturers alike. Seb
also identifies the Privateer 161
as his choice of long-term bike
for 2020, a bike that he feels 4
is leading the way in terms of
stable geometry. Extreme’ geometry is no longer reserved to bikes of the likes of Pole. Russell Burton 4
2 leg over this SARACEN’S
2

MARK is
extremely
SARACEN’S
excited to
swing a
ZENITH ELITE
new Saracen
LSL
LSL
A CONVERGENCE Saracen Bikes ZENITH ELITE
HARDTAIL
HARDTAIL
BETWEEN
GRAVEL AND
MOUNTAIN
BIKES
Bikes such as Niner’s MCR 9 RDO are blurring the lines between MTB and gravel. Ben Duke
Mark Manning loves a rowdy aggressive trail
Matthew Loveridge identifies which can sometimes seem to He’s looking forward to a hardtail and was particularly bikes for long-term
the increasing similarity and be only a handlebar away from time when the disciplines can taken by Saracen’s latest Zenith testing in 2020, so
apparent crossover between one another. converge. Elite LSL: that’s Long, Slack and you’ll be able to follow him and
gravel bikes and mountain bikes, Low, if you were wondering. his antics on the bike over the
Mark has got one of these next year.

20 | MTBSA | MTB TECH 2020 MTB TECH 2020 | MTBSA | 21