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MTB
Red Bull Rampage bike check: These are 2025's ultimate freeride machines
Find out what the athletes of Red Bull Rampage will be riding this year, and what their bikes need to be able to stand up to mountain biking’s gnarliest event.
The bikes of Red Bull Rampage are on another level to your usual downhill machines. While they might share the same basic parts found on your conventional mountain bike - wheels, suspension, tyres etc are a given - every detail's tailored to the cliffs and chutes of Virgin, Utah. Here’s a closer look at all the elements - the suspension, the psi, the bike frame and more - behind these freeride monsters.
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Red Bull Rampage bikes
Men's bikes
Carson Storch's Propain bike features art by Chris Benchetler
© Bartek Woliński
Emil Johansson rides a Trek Sesh with a Utah dust-inspired paintjob
© Bartek Woliński
Jaxson Riddle with his custom Transition Bottlerocket
© Bartek Woliński
Tom Isted has a custom Giant Reign SX
© Bartek Woliński
Women's bikes
Hannah Bergemann's Transition Bottlerocket features her sister's artwork
© Bartek Woliński
Robin Goomes brought a Yeti SB165 to Red Bull Rampage 2025
© Bartek Woliński/Red Bull Content Pool
Janelle Soukup's Marin Quake bears the words "it is my first rodeo"
© Bartek Woliński
Vinny Armstrong and her Forbidden Dreadnought
© Bartek Woliński
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Type of bike
Downhill mountain bikes (DH bikes) dominate at Red Bull Rampage because they’re adept at descending. The geometry - slack head angle, longer wheelbase and lower bottom bracket - creates stability for riding at high speeds.
But a stock downhill bike doesn’t compare to the bikes of Red Bull Rampage. Some brands will custom-make the frames, beefed up to handle the high-intensity impacts. Emil Johansson’s bike is an example of a custom build. “There are only six of these bikes in existence, and everything - the kinematics and suspension - is unique and designed [for Red Bull Rampage] ” explains Sean Murphy of Fluid Function, who’s previously helped freeriders like Brandon Semenuk with bike set-up.
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Suspension
Suspension is a critical at Red Bull Rampage. “The average person wants their bike to be comfortable. Out here, it’s about being controlled in extreme conditions,” says SRAM RockShox tech race tech JT Evans. When you’re soaring 40-60 feet [12-18m] in the air, you need a set-up that can handle the impact of the landings. Dialling in the right suspension for this terrain can be a puzzle. Supple suspension creates more traction in steep, loose terrain. However, stiffer suspension helps with hitting jumps and having consistency when going off the lip of a feature.
At Red Bull Rampage, riders face both steep terrain and jumps, so finding the sweet spot is key. "Each suspension set-up is individual to the athletes,” Murphy explains, and their riding style determines it. Through his years of working with freeride athletes, Murphy has observed two distinct trends when it comes to setting up suspension. Some riders prefer to keep their bikes playful so they’re still lively, but when they land hard, it’s still nice and controlled. The other set-up focuses more on popping off jump lines, which requires more low-speed compression.
The design on Carson Storch's bike originally featured on skis
© Bartek Woliński
Talus Turk, a three-time Red Bull Rampage competitor, prefers to run his suspension a bit stiffer for the event. “I’m not riding roots or steep, bumpy terrain, and even if you’re riding chutes, they’re mostly packed and grooved in, so you want to keep your bike stiff,” Turk explains. “Ideally, you keep it consistent and more focused on jumps and drops, since that’s where you’re doing most of your bike moves.”
Before 2021, it was rare to see anything but a dual-crown suspension fork at Red Bull Rampage. These burly forks are the preferred choice for their stiffness and long travel. But thanks to recent advancements in suspension technology, single-crown forks are capable of handling the terrain. When Semeunk competed in 2021 with a single crown fork, it ushered in a new era of complex tricks: bar spins, tail whips and flip whips. Now it’s common to see a few single crowns in the sea of Rampage bikes.
Everything you need to know about Red Bull Rampage
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Brakes
Braking control can make or break a successful run. Subtle speed changes can make all the difference in setting up properly for a jump or drop. Riders need to be able to stop within seconds and reset for the next feature. To stay dialled, riders keep close tabs on their brake pads and routinely bleed their brakes to eliminate unpredictability. It's normal to see 200mm brake rotors on these bikes, as they provide additional stopping power.
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Wheels and tyres
Detail of Harriet Burbidge-Smith's front-wheel set-up
© Bartek Woliński
Everyday cyclists prefer 29 or 27.5in wheels, but Red Bull Rampage athletes opt for smaller wheelsets, as they are easier to manoeuvre in the air. Most run full 27.5in wheels or 26in wheels. Occasionally, a rider will run a mullet: 27.5in the front and 26 in the back. Rotating or flipping a downhill bike is easier with smaller wheels, and this subtle change helps make a beefy DH rig more nimble.
While most mountain bikes run 18 to 28 PSI, competitors here run their tyres at 35-45 PSI. These higher pressures are another trick for preventing a tyre from exploding off the rim when impacting on a landing. The last thing they want is a run to be thwarted by a tyre malfunction - as Reed Boggs experienced in 2021.
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Personal style
One of the most anticipated aspects of the bikes is the custom-painted designs and riding kits. Given that the event is mountain biking’s Super Bowl, the athletes go all out, integrating their personal style into their riding attire and mountain bikes. The artwork often carries a deeper meaning - Carson Storch’s frame incorporates artwork from the legendary freeskier Chris Benchetler, originally appearing on ski graphics.
Hannah Bergemann’s white bike frame was hand-painted by her sister with intricate blue illustrations. “My talented sister, Abby Bergemann, hand-painted this frame for me, inspired by some of her work as a tattoo artist. I’m stoked to have some of her art with me as I’m competing in Red Bull Rampage,” says Bergemann, and she even integrated the colours and designs into her kit. Riders will also sneak in small details on the frames, like song lyrics or phrases. Newcomer Janelle Soukup has “It’s actually my first rodeo” written along her rear triangle, playfully hinting at her first year of competing.
Hannah Bergemann’s bike features intricate hand-painted details…
© Bartek Woliński
…created by her tattoo-artist sister, Abby
© Bartek Woliński
The stage is set to see these athletes and the bikes in action. The 2025 Red Bull Rampage is set for Friday, October 17, for the women, and Sunday, October 19 for the men.
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How to watch Red Bull Rampage
Due to weather conditions, the Red Bull Rampage schedule has been updated.
- Women’s broadcast: Friday, October 17 at 10.30am MT (4.30pm UTC / 6.30pm CEST) live on Red Bull TV and the Red Bull Bike YouTube channel.
- Men’s broadcast: Sunday, October 19 at 10.30am MT (4.30pm UTC / 6.30pm CEST) live on Red Bull TV and the Red Bull Bike YouTube channel.
