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SKIDS + WHEELIES + JUMPS: STUNTING ON THE STUNTMAN

Posted June 22, 2017 @ 11:10pm | by Hurl

 

What do you get the stuntman who has everything? The Raleigh Stuntman would be a good place to start. This drop-bar adventure bike, (no slight homage to the lifted GMC truck driven by Colt Seavers on 1980’s ABC action show “The Fall Guy,” starring Lee Majors,) straddles a blurred line between off road dirt touring and singletrack mountain biking, thanks to its wider than category 700c x 50mm tires, flared drop bars, and the usually unheard of (for bikes of this ilk) dropper seat post.

At first glance, I wasn’t quite sure what riding situation would have me reaching for the black and tan Stuntman, But a trip to our newly opened local single track at Brownie Lake, a technical hobgoblin of rocks, roots, aspiring climbing, and plunging descents left me dazzled (and a little dazed) at this monster truck’s capabilities, thanks largely to the dropper post.

A thumb-activated lever on the wide, drop handlebars moves the saddle out of the way on the ledgy drops and returns to its preset position for powering up the climbs. A simple Sram Rival 1x drivetrain, combined with hydraulic disc brakes kept the action in check whenever I was getting in over my head, which was more often than not, natch.

The Clement X’PLOR MSO tires are tubeless-ready and gave the Stuntman a robust, mountain bike feel, barging through rocks and chunder alike. I did feel the obese tires and wheels a wee bit too heavy for pure performance, but as a grundelbruising™ gravel workhorse or bike-packing adventure rig, the Stuntman would be equally at home, $2299 from RaleighUSA.com

 
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