BTR PINNER FULL
BTR PINNER SERIES

The riding was insane, and the filming/editing did it proud. “A few years ago I saw an edit called “F you, get Pumped” and it blew my mind. Utilizing this strange and quite lengthy dry spell here in the UK, Exmoors trails were rock hard and a perfect testing ground to pinball the Pinner down some of the best tracks around. We set out to try and rip BTR’s new Pinner bike a new one on the sickest cutty turns and sketchiest gaps the South West has to offer. A hugely understated and quiet chap, but his riding does the talking.

BTR PINNER SERIES

When not riding he can be found at the climbing wall, in his garden or cooking up culinary delights.Joel Anderson has become a name you’ll have seen being flung around the internet, in many a video, usually riding the FEST series jumps with the big dogs. He’s also worked out that shaving your legs saves 8 watts, while testing aerodynamics in a wind tunnel. Outside of testing bikes, Tom competes in a wide range of mountain bike races, from multi-day enduros through to 24-hour races in the depths of the Scottish winter – pushing bikes, components and his legs to their limits. With more than twenty years of mountain biking experience, and nearly a decade of testing mountain and gravel bikes, Tom has ridden and tested thousands of bikes and products, from super-light XC race bikes through to the most powerful brakes on the market. He is also a regular presenter on BikeRadar’s YouTube channel and the BikeRadar podcast. Tom has written for BikeRadar, MBUK and Cycling Plus, and was previously technical editor of What Mountain Bike magazine. He has a particular focus on mountain bikes, but spends plenty of time on gravel bikes, too.

Tom Marvin is a technical editor at and MBUK magazine. Some came with standard build kits, while others had custom specs. Also on testĪll of the test bikes have the brands’ stock geometry. Instead, we’ve spent our time putting in the miles on these bikes to get to grips with the way they ride, while also discovering the options available to you and suggesting what we might keep, or change, were we lucky enough to be in the market for such a machine.

However, with three of the four brands offering complete customisation (and the fourth offering a choice of frames and finishing touches), we didn’t think it fair to be too critical of a bike’s shape or smoothness because these are things that you, as the customer, have the option to modify. Normally, we’d give each of them a score based on geometry, kit and ride quality. The UK has a rich heritage of building some of the most beautiful bespoke steel bikes in the world and we wanted to celebrate that history by getting our hands on some of the most lust-worthy British-built boutique hardtails around. I never found the fork’s limited travel slowed me down, and the shorter stroke means there’s less change in the bike’s dynamic geometry as it compresses. It also makes square-edged impacts less demanding on both fork and body, smoothing the ride as much as can be expected. While the reach isn’t the longest we’ve ridden, the 63.5-degree head angle puts the front wheel way ahead of the handlebar, giving the bike incredibly dependable handling in steep chutes and fast, loose corners. Two things were immediately apparent when jumping on the BTR – the slack head angle and the super-short 415mm chainstays. You can also buy the Ranger as a frame kit, including your choice of fork and headset, from £1,810. While the frame is designed around 120 to 130mm of front travel, if you stick on a lightweight XC/trail fork with a flexy chassis, you likely won’t get the most out of the bike. I’d recommend building this bike with a stout fork and wheelset. My build was a Burf edition (from £3,500), with kit that he uses for his regular woodland laps.

BTR PINNER FULL

BTR offers a full build on the Ranger, with a 120 or 130mm air or coil-sprung Cane Creek HELM fork, as well as a Shimano XT drivetrain, Hope-hubbed wheels and Maxxis tyres.

Btr pinner