We Review Each Others Bikes: Prototype Vs. Boutique Vs. Mainstream 

“It looked like a 7th graders bike” was proper funny.

My pick is def the Raaw Madonna.

Raaw all day. Simple, effective and it looks stunning.

I really like these bike reviews where you rode each others whips! Really cool!

I found that the "how-to" videos were getting a bit stale. This format was entertaining!... has a little "Top-Gear-ish" feel to it. Really good! Lot's of good personal insights which I dig. Good balance of compliments/insults.. Great video, good job, and keep it up. Thanks.

Kaz, Dario and Henry are peak PB for me. (And yes I was around in the “glory days” of double Mike) such ace bike content out of PB these days. 👍🏼

Raaw is better for Squamish but the Occam is better for 90% of trails. (The 20-23 Occam without headset routing)

I am all for the Raaw I love the no nonsense alu approach

The Raaw Madonna is a frame swap away from my 153 (even has the same shock size). Very tempting indeed.

I ride a 2020 occam and it is just nice. It loves climbing, and i'm lazy. It loves descending, and I like descending. It feels fast, responsive, came nicely specced, weighs nothing (M30 model). XT rear mech. Works. Fox performance suspension. Works. MT520 brakes. Work. Love it.

Haven’t ridden an alloy frame in a decade until about a month ago. Made a spontaneous stumpy evo alloy frame purchase (big sale price) and swapped all my components over from my yeti sb160… absolutely in love with the alloy stumpy evo. For reference, I’ve had about every high-end carbon trail/enduro bike.

Frameworks every time

That clip of faffing with the cable tourist headset was like nails on a chalkboard to me. Get these damn headset cable routing off of bikes now. Seriously. Get them gone. Yuck.

Of the 3, the Raaw is the one I would want to ride out of those 3, though I'm also very happy with my RM Altitude which was doing high front ends 3 years ago.

I'd be fine moving the saddle back a bit on that Frameworks, been following along with it since the beginning and it's got to be the most beautiful, most exclusive tool for getting down a mountain. Helps that I'm from the Reading PA area, Neko's old stomping grounds

I love you guys hahahaha laughed several times watching this 😂

FYI in case you're wondering, from some random PB article: Kaz: 5'11" (180cm), 160lb (72.6kg) Dario: 6'3" (191cm), 175lb (79.4kg) Henry: 6' (183cm), 169lb (77kg)

The RAAW Madonna!

Madonna! Just ordered one, can't wait.

Occam LT

Maaaaaa Donna 😍 all the way. I have ridden a friend's Madonna (previous version) just shortly and it feels like a magic carpet in relation to my Ragley Big Wig 😂 Well, it does dull the trails though 😅

no one is going to comment that Dario has a sticker that confesses a disturbing "level of excitement" on his front fender?

Got a Raaw myself and it's awesome. Would definitely recommend to pic a bit longer stem und higher stack. Currently running a 50 mil stem and 35 mil rise bars to keep the str up and it feels awesome.

Don't you be roasting the occam! Fair enough on the new cable routing but the bike itself is incredible. Its good at everything and still a nicely efficient pedaller!

I am with Henry. Just traded a RAAW Madonna V2.2 for a 2022 Giant Trance 2 and I am happy 🥸 Basic Bike for a Basic Boy 👽

The Raaw would be perfect with a rxf fork

The raw Madonna is in my case very sad story because last year model was only available in XL and this year they make XXL (I am 6.6) …. Unfortunately I bought new bike in September 😢

What size stem did Kaz have for you to suggest a 50mm stem

Interested in the Frameworks

When those new SRAM brakes coming out?

The Raaw 100 percent. I love their bikes!

Verdict: Henry is a pretty weird one

Congrats for first comment to the juicy pair below

Henry’s bike looks more or less like every middle school NICA rider’s bike i see in the shop

Funny you should put this on as I was just remembering the slagging off we used to do one one another's BMXs. DP Freestyler = Dick Piece Chopper Copy Snap Machine (had twin top tubes, like a Chopper). Cursnap Spoggy Weld (Curtis Pro. A mate snapped one and Brian Curtis' beautiful brazing looked like chewing gum...according to my stupid mate at least).

Raaw all the way. Wish that the only person I know with one was closer to my size.

It still puzzles me why some brands are so insistent and obsessed with routing cables through the headset. WTF?

Shoulda brought the spire

I wouldn't buy any of these bike with my own money, that's the bubble normal people speak of 😂

OK - since I'm six-foot-six and Tiny Kaz is five-foot-eleven, I'd love to know how tall Dario and Henry are...

RAAW Madonna > literally everything else

How about those new codes on the raaw. how about yall talk about those?

bar roll

Mine

Carbon frames are the dirty little environment destroying secret of the cycling industry, and not worth the ridiculous prices they sell for in any way shape or form. Carbon cranks, bars and rims provide a unique ride feel and that boils down to personal preference, but for every riding discipline other than road racing and XC, alloy frames beat carbon frames. I realized this years ago when I bought a 2016 Scott Genius 710 LT (Long Travel) which was basically the Ransom before the Ransom. I was thoroughly disappointed with it's climbing and handling performance and after only 13 months sold it and got an alloy 2017 Transition Patrol and immediately fell in love. Despite the Genius having a total weight of 30.7lbs and the Patrol coming in at 34.1 lbs, the Patrol climbed SO much better and handled SO much better as well! It required way less body English to initiate a loss of traction and slap the rear tire into corners, or pop off a root and just huck the whole root section. Later I put a Meg Neg air can on the Super Deluxe shock and my favorite Shigura brake setup and it got even better. I'll never buy a carbon full suspension again.

mondraker superfoxy carbon rr

Please don't do that to Top Gear.

I clicked just to say. BUMBLERS. 😂😂😂

i pick orbea all day... ...as the ugliest bike😅

That orbea is set up for bumbling.

The Orbea is King, those other things are going to the metal recycler faster than anything when the company is gone and there are no parts. Have to go with Henry here.

Since when the aluminum is better than the carbon fibre?)))) I think you guys are so tired of looking for a good content that you are trying to invent a wheel here again)))

Isn't this the guy that said the rest of us are just bumbling down the trail. thumbs down always.👎