Jan. 23, 2018, 10:34 a.m. -  Andrew Major

Hi Martin, I won't be writing a review of the Rift Zone. It is my personal bike and as a rule, we don't review our own stuff on NSMB. The bike just shows up a lot in my content as I use it to test mule for a lot of product I am reviewing. A few reasons that it ticked all the boxes for me: -Aggressive geometry in a shorter travel package. -Works with all three wheel setups I like: 27+, 29" and 29"/29+ mix. -Steep enough (barely) STA even with 29+ front wheel and 120mm 29+ fork. -'Standard' ZS44/ZS56 headset -Threaded BB -Long reach that is not achieved by running a short stack height (the large is almost too long for me). -Tuned anti-squat/anti-rise so pedals aggressively out of the saddle -Progressive rear suspension is very coil shock upgrade friendly (my next purchase). -Company with a great reputation for supporting their products. -I knew I would like the bike as it is essentially the Hawk Hill I tested + 29" wheels. And of course, the key feature is that I get all of that at a price point that works for a fulltime dad/part-time bike industry hack such as myself.  The Rift Zone/B17 is not light. The frame isn't a sexy example of the furthest extents of aluminum manufacturing like say a Trek Fuel and doesn't have the small-scale industrial beauty of say a Guerilla Gravity bike but it's also a platform that is available starting at $1500 US for a complete bike.  I think the RF is an excellent example of how frame and suspension geometry is irrelevant to the price point of a bike.  I'm happy to discuss further or to answer any specific questions. You can hit me on the Instagram messenger (link at the top of the article) or fire me an e-mail: andrew.major(at)nsmb(dot)com