This past year brought us the opportunity to ride on and write about an abundance of bikes. From Sea Otter to Interbike, Outerbike, and beyond, we tested over 70 bikes from 4-inch fatties to drop bar bikepackers. In this recap, however, you will only find the 13 bikes we had the pleasure of punishing. These weren’t two hour shakedowns during a weekend demo, but bikes we rode for hundreds of miles while we interrogated, scrutinized, raced, launched, schlepped, and for some, fell in love with in an effort to reveal their strengths and expose their weaknesses, making your life easier when the time comes to weigh the decision (and your wallet) on a new rig. Starting with the cross country category, you can follow each bike to its full, final review to learn more about our long term bike tests from 2015.
Cross Country
Niner Jet 9 Alloy
Despite its intentions of being a more than capable XC race bike, before hauling it off to the Trans-Sylvania Epic, Aaron made some choice component changes, unlocking the Jet 9’s potential as an East Coast rock-and-root stage racer, showing us how versatile this bike really is. While a 120mm, 34 stanchion fork was much preferred over the RockShox SiD for taming the Pennsylvanian terrain over seven days, the Monarch RT HV shock paired with Niner’s CVA platform proved to be one of the best suspension designs Aaron’s ever ridden.
Read Aaron’s full review: Niner Jet 9 Alloy Review
MSRP: $3300, (frame and shock: $1849)
