Trail Bike vs Trail Bike- How Can Both Of These MTBs Be In The Same Category?

This is a trail bike, and this is a trail bike. Hang on a minute. How can these both be trail bikes? The industry has gone mad. They're offering anything from 120 up to 160 miles of travel under the same category. What is a trail bike? Well, come on a journey with me to find out. This is my Canyon Lux LT. It's 150 mils of rear suspension with 120 mil forks up front. It's got a 67-degree head angle, and the frame weight is sub two kilos. What a trail bike. This is also a trail bike. This is my Canyon Spectral. It's 125 mils in the rear, and it's got 140 mil forks up front, although you can get the Spectral in 150 front and rear. It's got a slack 64-degree head angle. Why is Canyon having two trail bikes? You know what? They're not the only brand. Orbea have just launched the Occam, which is their trail bike, and it's coming in an SL version with 140 front and rear, and an LT version, which is 150 in the rear and 160 up front. It leaves me wondering, is the industry confused? What is a trail bike anyway? How can these two different bikes be under the same category? Well, I'm betting that they are for different trail riding purposes. Today, I'm going to put them to the test on a descent and a climb, and see what they're really all about, and maybe, hopefully, help you decide what trail bike's right for you. For some riders, trail riding is all about big, epic rides with a healthy dose of climbing. For those people, short-travel trail bikes with steep head angles and light components would be the bike of choice. Let's head over to future me with the results. I've coughed up my lung, and I've got the results. The Spectral did it in 6 minutes and 30 seconds, and the Canyon Luxe LT did it in 5.48 seconds. Almost, well, over 40 seconds quicker on that very short climb. Now, I suppose that should be obvious because this bike is definitely more XC. It has smaller, lighter suspension forks. It has lighter XC wheels, faster rolling tires, smaller brakes, and all of those things add up to a really confident climber. I definitely felt more to attack the climb than I did on this bike, but I'm guessing the tables might turn when we do the descending challenge. Let's get on with it. Oh, that is a tough gear. Oh, my saddle's not even down. While light, shorter-travel bikes munch the miles with ease, they can feel a bit skittish on a descent. Skitty. Riders who spend more time going downhill may want bigger brakes, burlier tires, and slacker geometry on their trail bikes. Let's get the numbers off the Garmin and see who won. I've picked the mud out of my eyes, and I have the results. The Spectral did the descent in 3 minutes and 56 seconds, and the Luxe LT did it in 4 minutes and 4 seconds. Only 8 seconds slower. Bear in mind, that was quite a short descent, but I would expect the Spectral to pick it up a bit more on a longer descent. Anyway, let's roll to the conclusion as I have a few things to say about the two. There you have it. Two bikes that are in the same category. They're not a million miles away from each other, but they are definitely on a spectrum. Even though trail is between full XC and full enduro, you still have a bit of a variety in that trail category. I think the industry is right to keep that slightly vague and have two different types trail bikes because no one person's idea of trail is the same. I think there is a gradient in people's ideas of trail riding. It could be long-distance mile munching and climbing, or it could be descending hard or going to the trail center. I like the fact that it's a bit of a rainbow, but what do you guys think? What do you think trail riding actually is? What sort of bike do you think it should be done on? Should it be mile munching on a short travel 120 mil bike with forward geometry, or should it be descending and trail center smashing on something a bit slacker with 140 plus? Let me know down in the comments below.