Episode 11 of the MBR Show has just gone live and the main topic for discussion this time is the future of expensive analogue bikes – is anyone going to spend big bucks on a bike without a motor and battery going forward? The spark for this debate comes from the launch of Trek’s latest Slash+ e-bike, with the compact, lightweight TQ HPR50 motor and 580Wh battery. And despite this latest high-pivot e-enduro bike coming with all that extra tech, Trek has priced the top end model £750 less than the unassisted version. Which immediately begs the question, who’s going to pay more for less?

The Trek Slash+ gains a motor and battery and saves you nearly £1,000!

This is just one example, however, and the demands of racing (be it downhill, XC, or enduro) will always feed a market for ultra high-end analogue exotica, but we can see a near future where trail riders seeking fun and thrills, rather than race results, will start to turn their backs on premium mtbs lacking a motor.

Schwalbe adopts radial tyre tech for its latest rubber.

Also on the show, we take a look at Schwalbe’s hot new tyre tech, bringing radial construction to the mountain bike market with its Albert and Shredda models. Claims range from the ability to run lower pressures to better grip from an increased footprint. And it doesn’t harm Schwalbe’s claims that Amaury Pierron has been trouncing the opposition recently on tyres using this construction. But are they really radial? And what does radial construction even mean? The answers are not as simple as they might seem at first. So we dig into the carcass looking for the truth.

The latest Santa Cruz Bronson rides more like a mini-Nomad than a pumped-up 5010.

To end the show we look at the latest Santa Cruz Bronson – a much-loved model that seems to have been repositioned towards the more aggressive end of the riding spectrum with this latest update. Launched with the tag line ‘millimetres matter’, this is very much a case of Santa Cruz messing about in the margins. Which reinforces the argument that high-end analogue bikes are going to be a tougher sell going forward. Guy Kesteven has tested the new Bronson for us, and his riding impressions are fairly mixed. We run through some of his key takeaways in the show.

As ever, thanks for watching! And we’d appreciate a like and a comment on the YouTube video if you enjoy watching them or have any suggestions for future shows. You can also listen to it in podcast form via YouTube Music, Apple Podcasts, Audible, or Soundcloud.