The question we’re posing on this month’s MBR Show is whether expensive analogue bikes are dead? This comes in the wake, if you’ll excuse the pun, of the Trek Slash+ launch. Effectively a Slash high-pivot enduro bike with a TQ motor and upgraded 580Wh battery, this new e-bike actually undercuts its analogue stablemate by a massive £750. So who on earth is going to buy the version without the motor and battery?
While the Slash situation may be caused by over-optimistic pricing at its launch, and reflect the state of the market currently, other brands have been pondering this question for some years. When we attended the launch of the new Enduro in 2019, Specialized was wondering who would be buying these premium unassisted bikes in five years time. Fast forward to the present day and the Enduro is conspicuous by its absence on the Specialized UK website, with only a couple of old and discounted models listed in the US.
As much as the big mainstream brands may be considering streamlining their analogue offerings, there will always be companies stepping into the breach. Brands like Arc8, Acto5, and Raaw to name but a few.
Specialist models designed for racing will always have a place too, whether XC, DH, or Enduro, where chasing marginal gains means placing budgetary constraints to one side.
So maybe the expensive analogue bike is not dead, but we’ll see the range of options shrink over the next few years.
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Also on the show we have a look at Schwalbe’s new radial tyre technology. Or is it? Maybe not as radial as the marketing headlines make out, nevertheless, the claims surrounding this new construction are impressive. And the fact that Amaury Pierron has ridden the tyres to a couple of dominant wins has helped build the hype.
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Finally we discuss the new Santa Cruz Bronson. A tweak here, a nip and tuck there, the new bike slides closer to the Nomad in character, while sacrificing some of its peppy, responsive nature. Guy Kesteven has been riding it for us, and we run through some of his feedback on the bike. But the real story here perhaps underlines our original argument – that high-end analogue bikes are on borrowed time, with innovation stalling and brands finding it harder and harder to persuade riders to upgrade to the latest model.
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Time stamps:
0:15 Are expensive analogue bikes dead?
6:06 Schwalbe radial tyre tech
10:23 Santa Cruz Bronson
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