Early last year when all was somewhat normal in the world, Denver, Colorado based bike manufacturers Guerrilla Gravity shocked mountain bikers by announcing that they were moving their full-suspension line to carbon fiber. Guerrilla Gravity started as an aluminum-only brand, complimenting their metal-inspired model names.
Later on, they added a steel hardtail, the Pedalhead. After Guerrilla Gravity revised the first edition Megatrail, they followed by adding the short-travel Trail Pistol, and then a 140/140mm bike called The Smash.
In January of 2019, they revised the Megatrail, Trail Pistol, Shred Dogg, and The Smash, making them all carbon fiber, but produced and built in the US. The ‘Revved’ carbon fiber technology is said to be more impact resistant than traditional carbon fiber, sourced from US materials, and recyclable.
It seemed like an odd move for the brand with metal in their DNA, who did things a little bit different than most of the bike industry, but they haven’t slowed down a tick. By using one front triangle for all their full suspension models, any bike can be turned into another model by swapping the seat stays.
So with the Guerrilla Gravity The Smash I have in my hands now, by swapping out the seat stays, and a different shock (and then a different fork), the bike can be transformed into a Trail Pistol.
For The Smash, the rear suspension is Horst-link controlled with 145mm of travel and up front the bike features a 150mm fork. Guerrilla Gravity prides itself on customization and options aplenty, so with The Smash, there are two suspension modes — Plush and Crush — and an adjustable headset which adds 10mm of length to the effective top tube, reach, and the wheelbase when it’s in the long setting.
The two suspension modes, which have always been a feature on Guerrilla Gravity bikes, are still dubbed Plush and Crush. Plush is made for traction, and has a sensitive top stroke, a softer mid-stroke, and a still ramped up end stroke. Crush mode firms up the pedaling platform and the mid-support.
With the headset in the long setting, The Smash in a size medium has a 64.7° head angle, and a 77.1° effective seat tube angle. Reach measures 456mm, and the wheelbase is a lengthy 1216mm. Standover sits pretty low at 732mm for the big 29er, and the chainstays are a tight 434mm.
The build kit I have been riding is the Rally build, selling for $4,800. The Rally build of The Smash comes with a RockShox Lyrik Ultimate fork, a Fox DPX2 Performance rear shock, SRAM Code R brakes, and a SRAM GX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain.
So far, I’ve taken The Smash on a handful of rides. The trails around Colorado are slowly drying, and we’re legally allowed to ride — for now — so it’s been refreshing to get some time in on the bike and Smash some quarantine stress. The longest-travel 29er that is currently in the GG line hasn’t been cumbersome to climb on, and is confident and agile on descents.
Look out for the full review on The Smash soon.
