The Specialized Stumpjumper 15, DJI's Avinox, the Merida Big.Trail and more
While we've already touched down on home soil, Eurobike 2024 and the show has been huge for tech news. Not only has Specialized brought an all-new Stumpjumper to the fray but Merida has unveiled the latest iteration of the Big.Trail, DJI has dipped its toe into the world of e-MTB. There's a lot more to cover, so let's dive in.
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Specialized unveiled the 15th Stumpjumper
Specialized has been on fire with its bike releases this year having overhauled the Epic with the Epic 8 and its Evo variant. It also unveiled the new Chisel FS and a super lightweight alloy gravel bike, the Crux DSW. This week, the brand has marked its 50th anniversary with the 15th version of the Stumpjumper.
The new bike gets some novel tech including 'Genie' which lies within that slightly oversized shock. Essentially, it takes the form of two positive air chambers, one of which gets blocked at and after 70 per cent of travel. The idea is that the shock offers that lovely linear feel and grip in that first 70 per cent and after that secondary air chamber gets blocked, progression ramps up significantly to fend off bottom-outs.
Elsewhere, the 145mm travelled trail bike gets tonnes of geometry adjustment and can be changed to run a 650b wheel at the rear, rather than the full 29-inch setup that comes out of the box.
We managed to get some time on the bike before the launch, so check out our Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper 15 first ride review for some early impressions.
For even more details, here's the news story – All-new Stumpjumper trail bike gets proprietary Genie shock and adjustable geometry
Merida updated the Big.Trail
The Big.Trail from Merida is a bike that's always gone down well with our reviewers and this week, the brand brought updates to its beloved hardtail. While the bike is packed with changes, Merida has maintained its ethos in providing top performance at an accessible price.
The Big.Trail welcomes an updated geometry that follows Merida's Agilometer sizing concept. So now, each size is 20mm longer in reach but the stacks and seat tube heights are shorter. Combined with long travel dropper posts, tall riders can fit on small bikes and small riders on long bikes, allowing riders to choose a size for the ride they want.
The best part? The range-topping 600 model costs £2,000.
Make sure you read the Merida Big.Trail 600 first ride review. For a deeper look, here's the news story – Merida's new Big.Trail hardtail mountain bike hits geometry and value marks.
DJI entered the e-MTB market with a motor and a bike
The brand behind some of the most well-known camera drones and gimbals has shocked the industry by moving into e-mountain biking. While we don't know all of the details of the Amflow bike, we know that it comes in three models and with 600wh and 800wh battery options, and that it's claimed to weigh 19.2kg.
We know a lot more about the Avinox motor though, as it's slated to deliver 105Nm of torque while outputting 850W of peak power. There's a Boost mode which ups that power to 120Nm and 1000W.
A lot is going on here so we'll leave the story to do all the talking – DJI enters the e-MTB space with Avinox motor and Amflow bike.
There's a new Giant Revolt
Giant's new Revolt is built to add compliance and comfort to the riding experience. The new Revolt frame is draped with components designed to suit gravel riding and racing.
There's a geometry-adjusting flip-chip that tweaks the wheelbase and rear tyre clearance. As for compliance, the Revolt employs dropped seat stays and small-diameter tubing to absorb vibrations. Giant's new Contact D-Fuse bar and seatpost also aid the cause.
For more information, check out the story – Giant launches faster Revolt gravel bike with adjustable wheelbase.
Goodyear's Wrangler comes in a new e-MTB-specific casing
Goodyear has brought another tyre to the market, this time it's intended to grip in hard and dry conditions and it's directed at mid- to long-travel mountain bikes and e-MTBs. Coming with two casing options, Enduro and ElectricDrive, each gets rubber compounds chosen for their intended use. So the Wrangler MTF ElectricDrive gets the softest rubber compound for all-out grip whereas the rear-specific Wrangler MTR gets a slightly firmer compound for durability and rolling resistance.
In a move that might be seen a little strange, both Enduro variants benefit from the firmer rubber, so grip may not be as plentiful but the tyres should roll rather well.
For more details, have a look at our news coverage – Goodyear's new Wrangler tyre is set to please enduro and e-mountain bikers.