Bike
Downhill racing is all about rampaging down a mountain at breakneck speeds and bulldozing through the roughest, most gnarled terrain thinkable. The victor is he or she who manages to remain calm and composed, mind on the goal of achieving the fastest possible time from A to B no matter how technical, steep or fast the going gets.
The best downhill bikes are built to hit a set of criteria: strong, light, stable, forgiving and fast. They achieve this using different frame layouts, materials, wheel sizes and components; in fact, in the 2019 Mercedes Benz UCI Downhill World Cup series, races were won on 27.5" wheels, 29" wheels, 27.5"/29" rear/front-wheel combinations, aluminium frames, carbon frames and even 3D-printed frames.
So whether you're just searching for some bike porn to pore over, or are thinking of taking your rig pro, here's a selection of 10 of the best, most successful downhill bikes money can buy.
1. Commencal Supreme DH
Frame sizes: S, M, L, XL
Wheel sizes: 27.5” (S, M, L) or 29” (S, M, L, XL)
Material: Aluminium
Credentials: Second, 2019 World Cup series overall (Amaury Pierron); Winner, 2019 World Championships (Myriam Nicole)
Commencal’s Supreme DH is available in 27.5"- or 29"-wheeled versions and is laden with components packages that are hard to beat for the money. The Supreme also has several feathers in its hat: namely the successes of more or less everyone who races on it. In 2019, Amaury Pierron battled for the men’s World Cup series title all season, Myriam Nicole took the women’s World Championships win, and Thibaut Daprela crushed the competition in juniors.
The bike’s high pivot, idler-pulley design and progressive sizing and angles (read: long and slack) help the Supreme eat up everything in its path.
2. YT Industries Tues
Frame sizes: S, M, L, XL
Wheel sizes: 27.5” or 29”
Material: Aluminium or carbon fibre
Credentials: Winner, 2019 junior women’s World Cup series and World Championships (Vali Höll)
YT Industries revolutionised the image of direct-sales-only brands when it signed Aaron Gwin in 2016. Could such a great value bike really take on the behemoths of World Cup racing? Absolutely: Gwin won his first World Cup aboard the bike and then went on to win the 2016 and '17 World Cup titles. Another top DH athlete, Vali Höll, also flies the YT flag with style – Höll took the junior women’s World Cup and World Championships titles in 2018 and 2019. Quite the CV.
Beyond the highest ranks of racing, the Tues is a very rideable bike that is as suited to everyday enthusiasts and bike park riders as it is world champs. For the well-equipped Tues AL (aluminium), it is one of the most affordable downhill bikes around.
3. Atherton Bikes DH Prototype
Frame size: Infinite
Wheel size: 29”
Material: Titanium and carbon
Credentials: 2x 2019 World Cup wins (Rachel Atherton); Second, 2019 Red Bull Hardline (Gee Atherton)
The Atherton family like to do things their own way, and when they announced they’d be making their own line of bikes, no one could have imagined they would be using such an innovative process to create their race rigs. Atherton Bikes use additive manufacturing technology (sort of like 3D printing, but don’t let them hear you say that) to produce the titanium frame junction lugs, with carbon tubes cut to length and glued in place (with some very, very permanent glue). This allows them to rapidly prototype new bikes, meaning they can turn up at each race with a different frame. The downhill bikes aren’t yet for public consumption but watch this space...
4. Mondraker Summum
Frame sizes: S, M, L
Wheel size: 27.5”
Material: Aluminium or carbon fibre
Credentials: Winner, 2019 Val di Sole World Cup (Laurie Greenland)
Mondraker’s Summum can be credited with starting the modern geometry revolution in downhill racing: when the Spanish brand released Forward Geometry the long, low and super slack frames were ground-breaking. While the Summum’s design hasn’t changed drastically in a handful of years, it continues to be relevant with World Cup podiums aplenty in recent seasons, not least under Laurie Greenland, who took his first World Cup win in Val di Sole in 2019.
Carbon fibre or aluminium models are available, both incorporating solid components packages and the same race-proven geometry and suspension design. The Summum’s only failing comes at its high price tag.
5. Canyon Sender
Frame sizes: S, M, L, XL
Wheelsize: 27.5”
Material: Aluminium or carbon fibre
Credentials: Podium at most 2019 World Cup rounds (Troy Brosnan); Winner, 2019 junior men’s World Championships (Kye A’Hern)
Like fellow direct-sales-only brand YT, Canyon’s Sender offers unbelievable value – fantastic components hang off this race-winning bike at all its price points. Its two lower-end aluminium models match the same proven geometry and refined lines as their higher-end carbon siblings, making the Sender one of the most accessible race bikes on the market. It is also one of the fastest – Troy Brosnan managed an unfathomable run of consistency and finished nearly every 2019 World Cup and Championships race in the top five, while his junior teammate Kye A’Hern took gold at the World Championships.
6. Specialized Demo 29
Frame sizes: S, M, L
Wheel size: 29”
Material: Aluminium
Credentials: Winner, 2019 World Cup series and World Championships (Loïc Bruni)
Specialized’s latest incarnation of its long-running Demo series of downhill bikes appeared with a bang at its first World Cup outing in Maribor, 2019, winning the race under Loïc Bruni. That’s more-or-less how the rest of the season went too, with Bruni taking the series title for the first time and also his fourth elite World Championships win. The bike builds on the years of Demo designs and, Specialized says, it features improved kinematics and suspension design to help it carry momentum – something Bruni certainly didn’t struggle with in 2019 (although it is worth noting that he and his teammate, Finn Iles, used a smaller 27.5" rear wheel).
7. Polygon Xquarone DH
Frame sizes: S, M, L, XL
Wheel size: 27.5”
Material: Carbon
Credentials: Winner, 2019 women’s World Cup series
Polygon’s unique-looking downhill bike incorporates a boundary-pushing suspension design that, the brand says, makes it pedal extremely efficiently while soaking up just about every size or shape hit. It appears to work: Tracey Hannah rode to two World Cup race wins in 2019 and took the series title.
8. Santa Cruz V10
Frame sizes: S, M, L (27.5”)/M, L, XL (29”)
Wheel sizes: 27.5” or 29”
Material: Carbon fibre
Credentials: Top-five finishes in men’s and women’s 2019 World Cup races (Greg Minnaar, Loris Vergier, Nina Hoffmann)
Santa Cruz’s V10 is so much a staple of the downhill race scene that it should probably be described as legendary. And with good reason: the world’s very best have piloted various incarnations of this bike to World Cup and Championships victories, including Steve Peat, Greg Minnaar and Loris Vergier. It’s a bike that has changed shape over the years, but the most recent iteration is perhaps its most radical – the Santa Cruz Syndicate burst onto the 2017 season as the first team on 29" wheels, and from then on the prototype has developed into this well-refined beast, ready to be raced at the very top level, as Vergier and Minnaar proved during the 2019 season. SC has also produced a 27.5”-wheeled version for riders who prefer that wheel size.
9. Saracen Myst
Frame sizes: S, M, L (small only available in aluminium)
Wheel sizes: 27.5" or 29”
Material: Aluminium or carbon
Credentials: Winner, 2019 Snowshoe World Cup (Danny Hart)
UK brand Saracen has been on the scene for decades, but it has recently had a resurgence thanks to its successful downhill team. In 2019, Matt Walker and Danny Hart both piloted the Myst downhill bike to top World Cup results, culminating in Hart’s return to the top step of the podium at the final round of the season in Snowshoe, USA. There are several versions of the bike available to the public with 27.5"- and 29"-wheeled options. While Walker rode the full-29" bike for the World Cup race season, Hart was on a custom 27.5"/29" rear/front wheel combo.
10. Scott Gambler
Frame sizes: S, M, L, XL
Wheel sizes: 27.5" or 29”
Credentials: 3x race winner, women’s World Cup (Marine Cabirou); 4th, Red Bull Rampage (Brendan Fairclough)
Marine Cabirou’s dominant first World Cup win in Val di Sole 2019 was a sign of things to come. The young French rider went on to win two more rounds in style, flicking her Scott Gambler bike around with ease and monster-trucking through the roughest, fastest terrain. The bike didn’t miss a beat. Back that up with Brendan Fairclough’s sixth place at the Les Gets World Cup round and his fourth at Red Bull Rampage and it is clear this latest Gambler is on the money. Talking of cash, it isn’t cheap. Both Cabirou and Fairclough experimented with full-29" and custom 27.5"/29" wheel size combinations during the 2019 season.