Best Mountain Bikes of Interbike 2012
From bikes with 27.5-inch wheels, to 29ers, to a few good old 26-inch options, here are the coolest models we saw at the annual bike industry trade show. —Louis Mazzante
Photo: Monique Spaulding
Yes, 27.5-inch wheels (aka 650b) are invading the downhill category. KHS rider Logan Binggeli has been testing versions of this 27.5 DH bike for several weeks and was so impressed he chose to ride it at last weekend’s Red Bull Rampage. Building around the new mid-size wheels, KHS lowered the bottom bracket .25 inches, reduced the head angle by half a degree to 63.5, shortened the chainstay .5 inches and extended the front center—the effective toptube is 2 inches longer than its existing DH platform. In downhill testing, KHS team manager Quinton Spaulding said the 27.5 bike was five seconds faster than a similar 26-inch version over a four-minute DH course.
