List of the best 29er All Mountain Bikes up to 150mm travel
29er All Mountain Bikes Test: Test field
all mountain? Less than ten years ago there were all-mountain mountain bikes Lahore All-rounder par excellence. Suitable for an alpine cross with countless meters of altitude, but also potent enough for difficult trails. In the enduro trend and the resulting trail bikes, the former top dogs in the world of studded tires disappeared a short time later. But just because the category has disappeared from manufacturers' websites doesn't mean that the demands on such bikes have changed. Bikes that are suitable for touring and that can also cope with difficult trails are still in vogue. Since modern enduro bikes are increasingly developing into pure race bikes, there is now a gap to the pure touring fullies. The all-mountains of yesteryear are able to close this gap perfectly; And indeed: if you look at the manufacturers' portfolios, you may miss the term all-mountain, but you will usually find one or more bikes that fit exactly into this category.
A lot has happened on the MTB market since the all-mountains slowly disappeared: 29-inch wheels have meanwhile established themselves in almost all areas and are increasingly outstripping their smaller counterparts. The better rollover behavior and the resulting smooth running makes up for the slightly higher weight, modern geometries conceal the increased wheelbase and you sit more im as on the bike.
29er All Mountain Bikes Test: Travel
Perhaps the most important finding from our test concerns the suspension travel – especially that in the rear triangle. In our test field, there was a wide range from 115mm to 150mm, but anyone who concludes trail and climbing performance from the spring travel alone could be disappointed after the purchase. While a few short-travel bikes were able to completely convince us on the trail, we had to put on the proverbial handbrake on one or the other test candidate with a lot of suspension travel off-road. A similar picture emerged during the climb: We tested rear triangles that, despite ample suspension travel, remained completely free of bobbing, even with an open shock absorber, and quickly pushed the bike up, while other bikes with less travel sagged in the suspension travel. What does that mean in practice? You shouldn't let the technical data guide you too much and rather invest your time in a detailed test drive.
29er All Mountain Bikes Test: Frame Material
In a high-end test field like ours, carbon is the standard frame material. In this respect, it is not surprising that with the exception of the Last Glen, all test candidates rely on a carbon fiber main frame. There are various reasons for this: Sometimes they can be used to create special frame constructions, such as on the Specialized Stumpjumper or the Orbea Rallon, sometimes they reduce the weight compared to the aluminum counterpart - but bikes like the Last also show that you can also use the apparently long-serving frame material Aluminum can build high-quality, lightweight and visually appealing bicycle frames.
29er All Mountain Bikes Test: Weight
What role does the weight play in an all-rounder that should be able to do everything from trail-heavy alpine crossings to weekend tours to the occasional bike park ride? Here too, as with the spring deflection, theoretical considerations only play a limited role in practice. Some of the heavier test candidates with a total weight of over 13kg were willing climbers, while one or the other lightweight felt much more sluggish. Why is that? On the one hand, where the weight is hiding plays a role. While almost every gram is felt on wheels and tires, 100g on the frame or cockpit are usually less relevant in practice. On the other hand, other factors such as chassis performance, rolling resistance of the tires and seating position have a much greater impact on the driving experience than the sheer weight.
