THE TEN BEST PARK AND FREERIDE BIKES OF 2024

Freeride and park-style bikes are slighly more nimble versions of downhill bikes with the same big-hit capability. These are the bikes you’ll see in the Red Bull Rampage or take to the deserts of Utah as you navigate steep chutes and send it on big jumps. These are also often the most effective lift-assist bike-park rigs because of the versatility and playfulness they have over DH bikes. In the end, these bikes are made to have fun and send it on.

YETI SB165

You’ve probably seen riders like Robin Goomes and Reed Boggs shredding the deserts of Utah aboard their modified SB165 freeride rigs. This bike is a dedicated 27.5-inch park bike with 165mm of rear wheel travel courtesy of Yeti’s Switch Infinity suspension system, which they claim makes it very pedal-friendly. This beast boasts a 63.5-degree head angle, a 77-degree seat angle, 433mm-long chainstays, and a 480.1mm reach on the large. When you buy the SB165, it comes with a 180mm-travel single-crown fork but is compatible with 180mm-travel dual-crown forks just as readily. Check out our first ride review here.

Price: $4,900 – $7,900
Contact: www.yeticycles.com

PROPAIN SPINDRIFT 5

If you were paying attention to the RedBull Rampage last year, you’d have seen Clemens Kaudela and Carson Storch absolutely sending it on their custom Spindrift ALs. Propain has redesigned the Spindrift for a fifth time offering both alloy and carbon versions of this 180mm-travel frame that uses their PRO10 suspension system. You can choose to run it as a full 29er, with mixed wheels, or with 27.5-inch wheels. It’s compatible with 190mm-travel single or dual crown forks and now has cleaner looking headset cable routing but traditional ports also exist for those wanting a more traditional and easier to service setup. Also new for the 5th generation design are internal frame storage on the carbon frames, a degree slacker head angle now coming in at 63.5 degrees, and longer reaches across the size range. Aluminum models have a slightly steeper 63.9 degree head angle and slightly shorter reach. All models are available in four standard builds with numerous upgrade and even full custom build options as well.
Price: $3,699 – $8,769
Contact: www.propain-bikes.com

 

MARIN QUAKE

Marin’s new Quake is designed specifically for bike park laps, freeride, and downhill racing. Proven by Marin’s elite riders like Matt Jones, Martha Gill, Mark Matthews, and Vinnie Moonen at demanding events such as Crankworx, Darkfest, and Hardline, the Quake has been tested on some of the steepest and most challenging tracks worldwide. The all-new Quake features Marin’s Series 4 Aluminum MultiTrac 2 LT frame with 180mm of travel, along with adjustable geometry for bottom bracket height and chainstay length. It comes with mixed 29” front and 27.5” rear wheel sizes, with the option to run a 29” rear or a 27.5” front when used with a 10-15mm external lower cup. Built for aggressive riding, the Quake is built with 200mm travel forks, 4-piston brakes with 200mm rotors, and is offered as one complete model and one frame kit.

 

Price: $4,799
Contact: www.marinbikes.com

 

TRANSITION PATROL

This is Transition’s self-proclaimed “purebred party animal.” It’s available with an alloy or a carbon frame and has 150mm of rear suspension travel paired with a 160mm fork. It has a flip chip that allows its rider to choose between a 63.5- and 63-degree head angle, an effective seat angle between 79.6 and 79.1 degrees, and size-specific chainstay lengths between 434mm and 442mm. This bike is built to be fun, playful, and ready to throw around at will. The Patrol is compatible with 170mm forks of any kind and uses Transition’s GiddyUp suspension design to take any hit that comes at you.
Price: $4,200 – $6,500
Contact: www.transitionbikes.com

 

CANYON TORQUE

This is a bike that riders like Fabio Wibmer use to torque up the fun (pun intended) on trails all over the world. This bike is available in two carbon CF models with a mixed wheel setup and an aluminum Torque 5 version with a mullet setup. The Torque has 170mm of front and rear travel, a 63.5-degree head angle, and 435mm- or 441mm-long chainstays depending on rear wheel size.
Price: $2,899 – $4,299
Contact: www.canyon.com

 

EVIL INSURGENT LS

Evil labels this bike as their “Bike Park Battering Ram,” with 168mm of rear wheel travel and 170 or 180mm of fork travel, depending on the wheel size. As you may have guessed, this bike is available as either a full 27.5-inch-wheeled plaything or a mixed-wheel shredder. It has a flip chip in the rear linkage that brings the head angle to 64.7 degrees in the X-Low setting or 65.3 degrees in the Low setting. It has 430mm chainstays and progressive reach numbers, with the large coming in at between 486mm and 492mm, depending on the flip-chip setting. The Insurgent LS has a carbon frame with Evil’s Delta System, which is a linkage-driven single-pivot design. It also features internal cable routing and a SRAM UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger).
Price: $5,839 – $7,759
Contact: www.evil-bikes.com

 

CANFIELD ONE.2

Canfield is one of those brands that has stayed true to the core of mountain biking. The ONE.2 is a testament to that and is a true freeride bike available in a couple of alloy-only configurations: the Super Enduro and the DH. The Super Enduro build has 190mm of suspension travel front and rear and is available with either 27.5- or 29-inch wheels. The DH version has the same wheel size options except that it has 200mm of rear wheel travel with a 203mm-travel dual-crown fork in the front. Canfield uses its patented CBF suspension platform on these bikes, and both bikes feature a 63-degree head angle and 440mm long chainstays.
Price: $5,200 – $7,900
Contact: www.canfieldbikes.com

 

NORCO SHORE A PARK

This 190mm-travel aluminum park bike is Canadian-born and bred. It’s a dedicated 27.5-inch-wheeled park bike with a 200mm dual-crown fork, a DH drivetrain, and an elevated Horst-link suspension design meant to keep the hits from knocking its rider off course. All the amenities you’d expect on a modern bike are there, including internal cable routing and mounts for a bottle and accessories inside the front triangle. The Shore A Park has a 63-degree head angle, size-specific chainstay lengths, and a 480mm reach on the large frame. It is offered in three different builds with Rockshox Boxxer, Zeb, or Fox 38 forks.
Price: $4,499 – $4,999
Contact: www.norco.com

 

SANTA CRUZ NOMAD

The Nomad has always been the party-animal of the Santa Cruz lineup, and with the Nomad 6 it’s no different. Equipped with the Santa Cruz signature VPP suspension, giving it 170mm of rear wheel travel, a 170mm fork, and a mixed-wheel setup, this thing is ready to rip. It has a flip chip in the rear suspension, giving you the option of either a 63.8- or 63.5-degree head angle. It has size-specific chainstay lengths and seat tube angles and a 475mm reach on the large. Depending on what you’re willing to spend, the bike comes in one of two carbon frame options: the cheaper C option or the higher-end CC version, both of which have internal cable routing and the Glovebox internal frame storage. Check out our long term review here.
Price: $5,649 – $9,299
Contact: www.santacruzbicycles.com

 

PIVOT MACH 6

If freeride means 27.5-inch wheels, then the Pivot Mach 6 fits that description perfectly. Pivot has added a mixed wheel option for this bike, extending its capabilities even further. This beautiful carbon beast boasts 158mm of DW-link rear suspension travel that is paired with a 160mm-travel fork, which gives it a 65- or 65.5-degree head angle, depending on the position of the rear flip chip. It’s air- and coil-shock compatible, has 431mm-long chainstays, and a 485mm reach on the size large.
Price: $5,199 – $13,999
Contact: www.pivotcycles.com