We had a great time at the New England Mountain Bike Association Fest sponsored by NEMBA. We shared a booth with our friends from Rossignol and Felt Bikes. Our Demo fleet consisting of Rossignol, Norco and Devinci bicycles was tuned and primed to take on the world renowned Kingdom Trails at Burke Mountain Resort.
After setting up in the morning and getting a lay of the land, we started to work up an appetite. Plenty of awesome local vendors set up shop to feed and hydrate the crowd. There were tacos, pizza & beer in abundance which kept all the mountain bikers and festival goers fueled up. After lunch, volunteers led the group rides through some of the best trails in Vermont. In the evening, music, more food and revelry all throughout the venue and campsites kept the festival atmosphere well into the night.
We were able to get out for a couple rides over the weekend. I took out the Devinci Troy for a spin. The Troy has 29” wheels, Sram Eagle 12 speed drivetrain, and 140mm of travel. The Devinci Troy has an unbeatable combination of pedaling capabilities and descending prowess. When pointing the Troy down 'Troll Stroll', a popular trail at Kingdom, the bike really came to life. Practically floating over rocks and roots, the Troy felt glued to the ground carrying speed through corners. The Troy has slightly more peddle-bob than its competitors, but during a technical climb it performed just as well as its competitors with a more complex suspension design. The split pivot system is the main feature of this bike, which helps maintain traction in gnarly root and rock sections of trail. You are able to bottom this bike out and never feel out of control. No matter what Kingdom Trails threw at this bike it kept charging and floating over rougher terrain.
I took out the Norco Sight on one of the afternoon tours. Like the Devinci Troy, the Norco Sight is a mid travel 29inch trail bike. With an unassuming 130mm of rear travel and 150mm travel in the front, the Norco descends like the best of them. Stiffness was the name of the game for the Norco Sight, it tracked through rough trail with ease and held its ground where many bikes would lose stability. This bike is built and designed for stability and control at speed and that's exactly what it delivered. On 'Cat Box Hill', a flowy trail at Kingdom Trail's, the Sight was so stable, I was eager to take flight off any poppy trail features. The Sight feels better going fast, pinned on wide open trails, it's not as adept with techy, slower descents. On the way back up the trail the Norco kept me with the faster paced groups due to its stiff back end, increasing traction and minimizing skip bounces.
We both took out the Rossignol All Track 29er, This is Rossignol’s entry level mountain bike offering with quality components including; a raceface crankset, Sram drivetrain, and shimano hydraulic disc brakes. The All Track 29 was a blast on the trails, with characteristics one would expect from a cross country mountain bike. It has tons of traction on climbs and descents boosting confidence to tackle difficult lines. The aluminum frame provides a stiff ride when putting power down to the ground and 29" inch wheels keep the momentum going over any obstacle. The 100mm of travel in the Suntour XCM fork smooths out the trail.
What a fantastic weekend of Mountain biking at NEMBA Fest! A great atmosphere, some of the best bikes to demo, and some of the most spectacular trails anywhere has us really looking forward to next year.
