DOWNCOUNTRY UPS & DOWNS

What does ‘downcountry’ even mean? Imagine a bike that can tackle all-day epics with speed and efficiency, covering the ground with an ease that even a well-put-together trail bike would struggle to muster. What’s more, not only can it eat up the miles, but it’s designed in such a way and has the right mix of parts to handle rugged natural singletrack or the odd flowing jump trail with more stability and composure than its limited travel might suggest.

Many of these bikes started life as thoroughbred cross-country (XC) race machines, before the engineers started making little tweaks to make them more fun to ride – a shorter stem, grippier tyres, a dropper seatpost and maybe even a stiffer, longer-travel fork to cap things off. As the rest of the industry caught on and the popularity of these bikes began to build, riders’ expectations ballooned and it wasn’t enough just to beef up an XC rig – they wanted a dedicated bike built for just this type of riding.

Downcountry is now a burgeoning category, which we think is pretty exciting. So what should you expect? To keep these bikes sprightly and efficient, suspension travel generally sits between 110 and 125mm, and they’re fitted with relatively light, fast-rolling tyres on 29in wheels. All the bikes here sport dropper posts, which are a must for maximum trail flow, and don’t do too much damage on the scales compared to the rigid posts you’ll find on XC counterparts.

Due to current availability issues, the bikes in this test are top-end builds, or close to it. Pricing still varies quite a bit, even though all of them have carbon fibre frames and high-end forks, shocks and transmissions. If you can’t stretch to these lofty price tags, don’t worry – there are cheaper models in most cases, although you may face quite a lengthy wait for one.

CANNONDALE SCALPEL CARBON SE LTD LEFTY

£7,000 Does top dollar mean top performance?

This is Cannondale’s top-tier lightweight-trail/downcountry bike and it comes with some seriously high-end kit, including the latest, beefed-up Lefty Ocho fork.

The frame

The Scalpel SE shares the same full-carbon frame as the XC-focused Scalpel but has a longer-stroke shock to boost travel from 100mm to 120mm. It uses Cannondale’s FlexPivot system, which relies on flex