Longer, slacker, and boasting more travel, the new crop of XC bikes are more capable than ever.
While the term cross country may bring to mind grueling fire road climbs and spandex, modern cross country races now feature technical descents and challenging obstacles. As a result, we’ve seen a number of the world’s best migrate over to full suspension bikes and use dropper posts at selective events. Bike manufacturers have also taken notice and to help their racers maintain a competitive edge, this year there has been a shift towards more travel and slacker geometry. This new trend has created a category that’s wicked quick on the climbs, yet extremely capable on the descents. To capitalize on these traits, a number of brands are also offering these frames with non-traditional builds. The ultra-light weight XC build remains king, but there are also trail-worthy bikes with wide bars, burly parts and droppers. A few renegades are also offering plus sized compatibility.
Whatever flavor you prefer, there’s something for everyone in this new crop of XC bikes.
Meet reigning XC world champion Nino Schurter’s Scott Spark RC 29er race bike, complete with SRAM Eagle drivetrain.
Scott Spark
Nino Schurter is arguably the best cross country racer in the world and his bike of choice is the Scott Spark (bike check here). We can’t guarantee this bike will elevate your game to the same level as the 5x world champion, but we dig the new suspension linkage, lighter frame weights, and increased travel (on some models).
Wheel size: 29″ or Plus
Rear travel: 29″ has 100mm, 27.5+ has 120mm
To learn more, check out Jason’s first ride impressions here.
Rear travel on the XC oriented Anthem has been boosted by 10mm.
Giant Anthem
Like several brands on this list, Giant has bumped the travel on its XC race bike by 20mm up front and 10mm out back. They’ve also embraced the longer and slacker philosophy. So what sets the Anthem apart in this crowded field? Unlike the majority of the bikes in this roundup, this XC race bike rolls exclusively on 27.5” wheels.
Wheel size: 27.5″
Rear travel: 110mm
To learn more, check out our first look here.
Mtbr riding the Scalpel.
Cannondale Scalpel Si
The Scalpel is Cannondale’s #1 best selling bike. It’s always been deadly efficient, but for 2017, it also received the slacked out treatment. The headtube angle is now two degrees slacker, the front end is 10mm longer, and the rear end received a nip tuck. Somehow Cannondale achieved all that, while still coming in lighter than the majority of the competition. Cannondale even coined the term XXC to pay homage to this new style of Extreme XC!
Wheel size: Women’s XS/S/M, Men’s S 27.5″, Men’s M/L/XL 29″
Rear travel: 100mm
To learn more, check out Francis’s first ride impressions here.
No bikes from Yeti?
This list covers the best new XC bikes released this year. The SB4.5 was launched last year and we included it in our roundup of the best new bikes of 2015:
http://reviews.mtbr.com/best-new-mountain-bikes-of-2015
Need some 27.5+ hardtails.
I don’t see anything exciting about the Giant Anthem. Same old stand over height, no 29er and no 27.5+ bike and on top of that the bike was slackened out to take it further away from a XC bike I’d want.
Ugly color schemes can’t hide the failure.
Giant still has a 29er anthem, it just hasnt been “modernized” like every thing else. Also, the full suspension bikes can run up to a 2.6″ tire, and the new Xtc Advanced 27.5+ comes stock with 3.0″/2.8″ and can convert to 29er wheels and tires if you want
Here in South Africa we still get Anthem 29’ers. I don’t know about 2017 bikes but I hope they also receive the longer travel of the 27.5’s.
And… New Ibis Ripley or Ripley LS!
You post an article puportedly about XC bikes, then describe shorter chain stays in combination with longer wheelbase and increased slack, and include only full suspension bicycles, not even one hardtail. This is your idea of XC? Not sure I would agree with that.