The freeride is not for me. I cant see it being any better than an enduro bike and no way it can come close to being as nimble as a trials bike. Too pricey aswell. I dont know if it will sell well here. The dealers are taking deposits so arent confident enough to stock it, my guess only!
The reason it will be huge is that most riders are way over biked. They are not rocketing through the trails in 4th pinned, the freeride is lighter, lower and better traction like a trials bike. This means it is easier to ride and easier on the trails. The problem with a trials bike is that the suspension is the cause that it does not compete with an endure bike but also look at most guys forks on their enduro bikes and they are not even using their full travel. The freeride will be an amazing bike for new riders, old riders and riders in between, it basically is not an xc bike or a dh bike but an all mountain endure bike(to make a bike analogy) and those are pretty hot right now. The only reason they are taking deposits is that the bike is not arriving at dealers until late september/october when it is released. The Freeride is priced right at an xcw 200 ktm and will be offered as a 250 2 stroke only, the 350 four stroke will not be sold here due to cost, but hopefully it will in the future.