But I was shocked to see the seat tube angle at 76.5º when I was sure it had to be at least 78º. I was confirmed in my head tube angle assessment of 63.5º, which I “felt” was around 64º after a few rides. With a wave of a magic wand, Rocky Mountain engineered the same head and seat angles, rear center, and bottom bracket drop across all sizes of the Instinct (29er).
These first rides of the season are always physically and mentally demanding for me. I try to take the winter months easy and allow space for my body to heal from hyper bike aggressive riding patterns in warmer seasons. Instead, I focus on core-building exercises at home. But that means that come springtime, I am out of riding shape.
Plenty of carbon bikes feel lifeless or utilitarian, and in this way, they lack artistry. I grew tired of them resonating on a similar vapid wavelength. Then in April 2019, the Starling Murmur was the first full suspension hyper mountain bike bike that I rode that felt like artistry. A lot of our backcountry riding is on narrow, bench-cut trails. This makes for an abrupt sidehill, and on bikes with lower bottom brackets, an increase in pedal strikes.
This machine truly embodies its CORNER ROCKET title. The 2024 KTM 1390 SUPER DUKE R EVO is exactly that, THE BEAST evolved. With next-level WP suspension, this bike aims to reclaim the SUPER DUKE’s place at the top of the Hyper Naked segment. Get the latest Offers, Outdoor News, Stories, and Reviews delivered to your inbox.
Lithium-ion batteries can experience performance issues once they get to a state of having no charge, so a quick charge every so often will keep your battery healthy long term. Out of the box the manufacturer recommends that you charge the Ebike for a minimum of 4 hours before use, which I started before assembling the bike. True to the manual, after the 4 hour charge time was complete, I was ready to roll with full power available to me. I’d say that you can comfortably expect the ride time of your hyper Ebike to live up to the manufacturers description. Hyper states that the MTB Ebike has a battery life of 1 hour or 20 miles and I tested this out to see how my bike fared in the wild.
The new Instinct claimed to be a “quiver killer,” offering an even better ride experience than its predecessor. The rental or sharing bike, which may be the focus of the company as it targets the B2B sphere, have the same specs as their siblings, but with the addition of a front basket for goods and object storage. A single water tank, which is believed to be able to absorb more than 500 times its own volume, is hidden in each of these models’ cases, just below the rider’s seat, and the full specs of all the models are yet to be revealed.
And although the YouTube review could have been clearer, the bike’s features and benefits make it worth considering. Hyper Bicycles, Inc. was established in 1990 by former BMX Pro Clay Goldsmid. Initially the company produced high end BMX Racing frames and components. Hyper Bicycles also established an ongoing commitment to supporting riders and the sport through sponsorships of individuals and teams.
I swapped on my 2.6″ rubber of choice to the Instinct and found it to be less than ideal, losing some of the above-described qualities, and it felt like too much tire. I lost the ability to slice through lines and course correct with minimum input. Climbing also felt “heavy-legged” – I ought to note that these same sensations were mentioned in my Cotic FlareMAX review. My thoughts while riding the Instinct had been very damning to my riding ego, and perhaps the lowest hanging fruit of this realization to speak to first came down to tire size. Like Moses and the Burning Bush, I had a number of personal revelations that were perhaps only possible through the vulnerability found on big, hard solo outings.