It’s a good time to be a mountain biker. Every year bike brands push the envelope of what is possible leaving us in awe of their newest releases.
This progress is happening quickly. In North America alone there are numerous companies leading the way when it comes to bike design and their impact on the industry. So to help you stay up-to-date here are, in my opinion, the 10 best mountain bike brands in North America for 2020, in no particular order..
10 Best Mountain Bike Brands in North America
Forbidden Bikes
Forbidden Bikes hails from Vancouver, British Columbia. Established in 2019 this company produces high idler pivot bikes. Their main bike, The Druid, a 130/150mm 29er trail bike, has a rearward axle path. This lengthens the chainstays during deep compression events giving you a stable bike when you need it the most. Currently, they only produce The Druid, but their sponsored athlete, Lewis Buchanan, recently unveiled a long travel prototype. I love this brand’s innovation, this is definitely one to keep your eyes on.
Norco Bikes
Norco bikes is another British Columbia-based bike company. Their newest innovation is the ride aligned system. This system uses your height, weight, and skill level to give you the ideal set up for your Norco bike. It covers everything from tire pressures to bar rise to suspension settings. Part of getting the most from your bike is knowing how to set it up, and this system by Norco helps in the process.
Guerilla Gravity
Guerilla Gravity is a mountain bike manufacturer based out of Colorado, known for their Revved Carbon made in their Colorado factory. This carbon is 300% more impact-resistant than traditional carbon fiber and they have some great video demonstrations to back it up.
If that’s not enough Guerilla Gravity has five bikes that use the same front triangle. By switching out the shock mount and rear end they can change geometry characteristics and suspension travel to offer five different types of bikes. This company is paving the way for US innovation.
Reeb Cycles
Headquartered and manufactured in Lyons, Colorado USA, Reeb Cycles makes hand-welded aluminum bikes that scream quality and have top-notch craftsmanship. Their Sqweeb comes with an adjustable shock mount giving you the option to change between 130 mm and 150 mm of travel. This essentially gives you two bikes in one. In addition, they also weld up dirt jump, klunker, and adventure bikes. This is a great brand if you are looking for something made in America
Salsa Cycles
Salsa Cycles are known for their adventure and gravel biking frames. For 2020 they are jumping back into the mountain bike game. Their new Cassidy and Blackthorne have aggressive modern geometry and bring new life to the brand. These frames include multiple mounts making carrying supplies a breeze. This is something I really look for in a modern bike and I’m excited to see more from Salsa in the coming years.
Revel Bikes
Revel Bikes is a new US-based company. They make full suspension mountain bikes using the canfield balance formula (CBF) suspension design. Their are extremely efficient and provide gobs of traction in the rough stuff. Further, I like this mountain bike brand because of their commitment to sustainability. Recently they began producing carbon rims which are 100% recyclable and tire levers made from recycled carbon. If you’re looking for a high-end, small USA based bike brand, Revel might be your ticket.
Santa Cruz Bikes
You can’t talk about North American bike companies without bringing up Santa Cruz Bikes. Known for their superior quality frames and attention to detail these Californian natives drive progress in the industry. They have slowly redesigned their whole lineup to include their new lower linkage driven VPP suspension design. Their attention to detail with their lifetime bearing replacement policy and their trail advocacy makes them an easy brand to love. Santa Cruz is the Porsche of the mountain bike industry and rightly so.
Rocky Mountain Bikes
Rocky Mountain Bikes hail from Vancouver Canada and make aggressive mountain bikes for the North Shore. What makes them one of the best mountain bike brands in North America is their tunability. Their Ride-9 adjustment system gives you nine different geometry positions to choose from. Their newer models also include adjustable chainstays (tall guy appreciated) giving you even more to fiddle with. Further, Rocky and the Rocky Mountain Race Face Enduro Team are heavy hitters in the Enduro World Series. You can keep up-to-date with the team via their YouTube series The Jank Files.
Specialized Bikes
Next, Specialized is another California brand that continues to push the industry. They are one of the biggest bike brands in the world and I give them grief for their high price tags. However, I will tip my hat to their innovation. The Specialized SWAT (Storage, Water, Air, and Tools) system is an ingenious method to store spares the crevices of your bike. I hope this is something more companies will adopt. Specialized continues to push the market and I applaud them for that.
Transition Bikes
My favorite bike brand in North America is Transition Bikes. They have contributed a lot to the modern mountain bike with the introduction of their SBG (speed balance geometry) system. They were the first company in the US to do a longer reach bike with a shorter fork offset. I love how this company markets its products via quality video production and contributes to its local community. This brand has great customer service and I highly recommend them.
These are in my opinion the 10 Best Mountain Bike Brands in North America for 2020. Each of them has contributed in their own way to the progression of the sport and should be applauded. I am excited to see what each of these companies do in the coming years. Did I miss your favorite brand? Let me know I would love to hear from you.
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