Are XC bikes getting too boring?

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Perhaps that’s why more and more cross country bikes are looking strikingly similar these days. Looking at a World Cup start line, the vast majority of bikes use some version of flex pivot in the rear triangle. Most of those are a slight variation on a single pivot design. Sure, the shock might mount in a slightly different location, or attached to slightly differently shaped tubes. But there’s more minor tweaks between brands than there are major design rifts.

This conservative approach is leading to a convergence, bordering on singularity, in cross country bike design. This may be fast, and/or cost efficient to design, but it is not always the most exciting for those of us that are fans of cross country racing. XC bikes used to be a vanguard of experimentation and new technology in mountain biking. Where brands tried to prove their chops by creating a newer, faster bikes. That seems to have faded in favour of supplying something familiar that riders, both on teams and amateurs buying their own machines, recognize and know what to expect from. Which is, in my opinion, less fun.

How bad is it? Well, We went through the top end of last year’s World Cups to see what different teams were riding. There were a few outliers but the majority follow a very similar silhouette. Of those that don’t, some still use the same design just packaged slightly differently. Here’s what we found.