Seven top cross country and trail bikes from 2023
Easy speed and good times on trails
2023 was an exciting year for the cross country and trail bike side of the sport. Among our favourite bikes this year are some with innovative new designs, a few new brands entering the market and a some simple, straight forward desings offering a fast track to fun.
Here are our top picks of the best cross country and trail bikes that arrived in, or we tested over 2023.
Top cross country and trail bikes from 2023
Revel Ranger V2
Colorado’s relatively new Revel Bikes updated its Revel cross country bike for 2023, butressing the bottom bracket and linkage area for a more efficient ride while also making the frame UDH compatible. We took advantage of that update to slap a new SRAM GX Transmission on the frame and were thoroughly impressed with how capable the V2 Revel is for an XC bike. Smooth over rough trails, via the CBF (Canfield Balance Formula) suspension, the Ranger shows you can have both efficiency and a smooth ride in an XC bike.
Trek Supercaliber Gen. 2
Trek turned heads with the original Supercaliber and its unique IsoStrut design. Designed to mimic the efficiency of a hardtail without the hard bit, the Supercaliber originally sported a minimalist 60mm of rear wheel travel with a 100mm fork. For the Gen. 2 Supercaliber, Trek adds more travel, boosting it to a 80mm rear and 110mm fork. But that’s not the only change. There’s now a super-light SLR edition, with a claimed wieght of just 9.3kg in its lightest configuration, a floating rear brake and slacker and longer geometry. Climbs like a hardtail, but with less compromise on the descents. Sounds pretty good.
Cervélo ZFS-5 120
Tried and true flex stay suspension design applied to a 120mm/120mm platform and Cervélo’s eye for detail produce a sharp tool for cutting through race courses or flying around your local singletrack. Raw carbon finish shows off some clean work, but its the confidence on trail that makes this XC whip stand out. Read our full review here.
Specialized Epic World Cup
Teased in the spring and finally breaking cover over the summer, Specialized’s Epic World Cup is its answer to the minimalist full-suspension trend. The RockShox SID WCID shock tucked neatly into the top tube gives the Epic World Cup 75-mm of rear wheel travel. That’s matched with a 110mm SID SL Brain shock. Both are designed to feel as supportive as a hardtail while on the pedals, but open and plush when descending without the need for a lockout. With a 1,765-grame frame (9.27kg weight for the lightest build in a size medium), Specialized pushes the Epic World Cup to near-hardtail weights, not just performance.
Norco Fluid FS Carbon
After rolling out the new Fluid Alloy model last year, Norco elevated the budget-friendly trail bike with a carbon fibre front triangle. That shaves a full 600g off the frame weight without a huge spike in the Fluid’s price. The result is a 140mm-travel trail bike that is snappy and spry enough to make low-angle trails all kinds of fun, but still tough enough to feel at home on more demainding trails.
Scott Genius ST 910
Tired of chosing between efficiency on climbs, fun on rolling trails and having a good time on technical descents? Maybe its time to work smarter, not harder. There’s more to the Scott Genius ST 910 than its clean, cableless look. That integrated shock compartment hides a Fox Float X Nude with three settings: traction, trail and open. Close the shock off for efficient climbing. Open the shock part way for a peppy, short travel ripper for rolling trails and technical climbing. Then let loose on the way back down with the full, open 150mm of travel. ST stands for the more aggressive “Super Trail” model of Genius, but it could stand for Smart Trail instead.
YT Jeffsy MK III
Jeffsy was the first trail bike and first 29er that YT released. The third iteration, Jeffsy MKIII is more progressive, UDH compatible, and a balanced 150mm of suspension travel front and rear. Oh, and there’s a new downtube storage comapartment. YT keeps it simple, focusing on making the Jeffsy fun in the widest range of trail conditions. There’s no wild geo or techy tricks. Just a well-balanced machine that proves you don’t have to get crazy to make a quality bike.
