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Bike check at Red Bull Rampage 2025
Learn why the bikes of Red Bull Rampage are in a league of their own and what makes a bike capable of mountain biking’s gnarliest event.
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What does a Red Bull Rampage mountain bike have in common with an F1 race car? Both machines are built for precision and peak performance for the pinnacle of their sport. These bikes can soar the lengths of multi-story buildings, stomp massive backflips and complex tailwhips, and stop on a dime while traversing knife-edge exposure.
While these bikes share the same parts found on your conventional mountain bike - wheels, suspension, tires, and more - every detail is tailored for the cliffs and chutes of Virgin, Utah. Here’s a closer look at all the details—the suspension, the psi, the bike frame, and more - behind these freeride machines.
Learn more about Red Bull Rampage 2025:
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Red Bull Rampage bikes
Men's bikes
Carson Storch, Propain Rage.
© Bartek Wolinski
Emil Johansson, Trek Sesh.
© Bartek Wolinski
Jaxson Riddle, Transition Bottlerocket.
© Bartek Wolinski
Tom Isted, Giant Reign.
© Bartek Wolinski
Women's Bikes
Hannah Bergemann, Transition Bottlerocket
© Bartek Wolinski
Casey Brown, Trek Session
© Bartek Wolinski
Robin Goomes, Yeti SB 165
© Bartek Wolinski
Vaea Verbeeck, Scott Gambler
© Bartek Wolinski
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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 helped freeriders like Brandon Semenuk with bike setup.
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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 in the air, you need a setup that can handle the impact of the landings. Dialing 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.“ Each suspension setup 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 setup focuses more on popping off jump lines, which requires more low-speed compression.
Carson Storch at Red Bull Rampage.
© Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool
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 Red Bull Rampage terrain. When Brandon 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 Red Bull Rampage bikes.
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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 dialed, riders keep close tabs on their brake pads and routinely bleed their brakes to eliminate unpredictability. 200mm brake rotors are the norm on these bikes, as they provide additional stopping power.
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Wheels and Tires
Harriet Burbidge-Smith bike.
© Bartek Wolinski
Everyday cyclists prefer 29 or 27.5-inch wheels, but Red Bull Rampage athletes opt for smaller wheelsets, as they are easier to maneuver in the air. Most run full 27.5-inch wheels or 26-inch wheels. Occasionally, a rider will run a mullet: 27.5 in 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, Red Bull Rampage competitors run their tires at 35-45 PSI. These higher tire pressures are another trick for preventing a tire from exploding off the rim when impacting on a landing. The last thing they want is a run to be thwarted by a tire 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 colors 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, hand-painted by her sister.
© Bartek Wolinski
Hannah Bergemann’s hand-painted bike frame.
© Bartek Wolinski
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.
2 min
Red Bull Rampage: Against the Wind
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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 17th at 12:30pm ET/9:30am PT live on Red Bull TV, Red Bull Bike YouTube channel, and available on the ESPN app.
- Men’s Broadcast: Sunday, October 19th at 12:30pm ET/9:30am PT live on Red Bull TV, Red Bull Bike YouTube channel, and available on the ESPN app.
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