Our Favorite 2022 Downcountry Bikes: Round Table Discussion | 2021 Fall Field Test

Our six 2022 downcountry bikes have been ridden, tested, timed, and scrutinized for individual reviews, but now it's time to cast the votes for our favorite bike of the bunch.

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[pinkbike]

Now that you know our favorites, what are yours? Let us know! 👇

[andrejoneill]

Love the dynamic of Henry and Mike together with Kaz being a voice of reason. Great format.

[DullBoyJack]

Mike's face at 6:36 after he said "double downcountry"... That was totally an "oh no did I just do it again" look. Priceless!

[elearning]

*I'm very happy with my **Latest.Bike** . I have put a lot of miles on it, paved trails, gravel, sand, and it rides great. Thank you for a quality product.*

[billk]

I have owned the Blur TR for 3 months now, it is an absolutely fantastic everyday bike, light, fast and playful, with great pedaling efficiency. I am coming off of a Yeti SB100 for 2.5 years.

[rmnstr]

I would love to have seen the new Scott spark in this test.

[HiggiSIX]

I wish they could have tested the 2022 Spark 900 to compare.

[EnduroFuss]

I would love a comparison between the Spur, Element, Revel Ranger, and the Top Fuel.

[andrewgardner]

I think Levy has a great point. I personally ride a hardtail (Nukeproof Scout) which I love to push to limit and ride gnarlier and gnarlier stuff to find that edge because that is what is exciting. I do think most people are over biked. I followed a guy up a local trail that I did easily on my hardtail but he was on a YT Capra. To me that feels considerably less fun to ride a trail that is far beneath the capability of the bike.

[hightower]

interested in how they stack up to the epic evo!

[andrewjackson]

I have the 2021 Giant Trance x 2 and I'll be the first to say it's not crazy great at the climbs, but boy does it smash down a hill with accuracy. I see yall did a review for the topend of the Trance but never did one for their middle line up( Aka Trance 2 or x 2). I think ya'll would appreciate that bike more than live valve.

[TheAncientScholar]

As someone who has an enduro bike (overforked Transition Sentinel) I was looking for something more xc oriented that can be ridden all day with big climbs but would still afford reasonable technical prowess. I had been waiting many months for a Spur and by serendipity, came across a new Blur TR that came into my LBS just over a month ago. The Blur TR has honestly been the bike I never knew I needed. I love the more conventional geometry and light weigh. Additionally, it is an insanely capable technical climber that offers tons of traction. Finally, the Santa Cruz bushings/bearings for life deal is a big money saver in the long term. If I didn’t have an enduro bike in my fleet and could only choose one bike however, the Rocky Mountain or Trek would be incredibly appealing options.

[larsleeson]

I have the Element C50. It is exactly what I was looking for. I loved my altitude, but our trails in Ontario locally are not that hilly. They have features, but it's not BC or Quebec. My enduro bike was slow and had too much travel. This Element is amazing! so light and feels kinda the same as my enduro with none of the downfalls. Now I haven't taken it to Quebec yet, so we'll see how it goes. I agree 4 piston brakes would be a good first upgrade. So impressed.

[SprSonik]

XT 2 piston rear, 4 piston front does my 190lbs fine on aggressive descending. Rear is just for scrubbing, but need that extra power up front. I run that on both of my bikes and haven't had brake concerns (power or fade) on Cannel Plunge or Snow Summit

[chasepalpatine]

I love the banter and humor from these guys. It’s great to see. Thanks for a cool field test.

[brandoningersoll]

Is it just me, or is Rocky Mtn one of the most innovative, forward thinking, overlooked, underrated bike brands out there?

[timjacobsen]

I am an Epic Evo owner, would have been interested in that comparison. Also what about the Spark, Spur or Exie?

[jonathanmatthews]

Love these discussions where they can hash out/summarize the conclusions. You get a good feeling of what bikes really rise to the top.

[ODOTGreen]

I haven't been watching or following pinkbike for years, but came across this review while looking at some of the longer travel XC bikes. The pinkbike I remember denounced 29ers and was "downhill or nothing", I'd just like to say that I really enjoyed these reviewer's comments on how even though they live in a beautiful part of BC, some, if not most, places where mountain bikes get ridden actually are served so well by these shorter travel bikes. From Wisconsin, I need something that's blinding fast and efficient for marathons on rolling terrain with punchy climbs, but I'd love to have a bike I can take to Copper Harbor, Moab, Bentonville, etc, and I can only justify ONE fancy new high tech bike. I'm fortunate to be around at a time when A) these bikes exist at all and B) that I am in a place in my life where I can go about spending thousands on said bike. Great video, watched the individual reviews of these bikes. I've got the bike I chose on order.

[GFClocked]

Still think the canyon cf6 is great, for that price there simply isn't anything close to it. It's a modem xc bike, and I'm fine with that.