Have a gander at the new trail-friendly Hope HB.130 29er

James Bracey

A shorter travel, UK made carbon 29er to join the HB.160

hope hb-130

The Hope HB.160 was extremely well received and on the back of that success Hope now reveal the next evolutionary step: the  Hope HB.130 29er.

Hope HB.160 – First ride impressions

Hope HB.130 need to know

  • 100% UK manufactured carbon/aluminium frame. Carbon front triangle. Machined and bonded aluminium rear triangle and shock linkage.
  • Based around 130mm rear travel
  • Designed around 29″ wheels
  • Geometry that promises to be less conservative and more up to date than the HB.160
  • Geometry altering Flip-Chip shock mounting.
  • Expected production: June 2019

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The previous 160mm travel 27.5in wheel enduro bike Hope HB.160 was more than a little bit groundbreaking for the Barnoldswick based company best known for its brakes and other components.

It signalled a big turning point and an even bigger leap of faith whilst allowing Hope to take a step closer to creating a mountain bike almost completely manufactured in the UK.

HOPE HB.130

The HB.130 uses the same style lower shock mounting as the longer travel HB.160…

hope hb.130

…but the upper mount is now below the top tube.

Currently the bike revealed at Core Bike 2019 is the second prototype version of the bike so the production versions are still a little way off yet.

Hope has revealed that the third prototype is in production to iron out some of the kinks, namely to steepen the seat angle a touch to bring it in line with modern thinking and to allow the fitting of a metric shock.

Read: Hope Tech 3 V4 Brake review

hope hb.130

Check out that made in UK carbon weave.

As these changes hint to, the HB.130 is focussed at being a touch more progressive in its design and geometry than the existing HB.160; a bike that many (including ourselves) love but feel that the geometry is very much on the conservative side.

But the HB.130 isn’t going to be a mega long and slack beast, it still is very much a bike that the riders at Hope themselves want to ride on the trails around its Lancashire base.

hope hb.130

Check out the detail in the dropout/brake mount area.

One read of Hope’s statement about the HB.130 tells you a lot about the type of riding (and rider) the HB.130 is aimed at:

At Hope we’ve always made products to fulfil our own needs, to enable us to experience maximum enjoyment from our favourite trails. Right from our first mechanical disc brake thirty years ago we’ve never lost this passion for riding bikes.

The new HB.130 continues this ideology. It’s a bike for ourselves. Some might call it selfish, but if you had the opportunity to create your own bike to suit how you ride who wouldn’t jump at the chance.

We’re still trying a few final tweaks on the frame geometry and since we’re actually producing the frame in our own factory in Barnoldswick, we can keep testing alternative ideas. The final piece in the jigsaw is the rear shock. The early designs didn’t allow for a metric shock, but to futureproof the frame a little we’re currently working on a design to allow this to happen.

hope hb.130

Unmistakably Hope.

The HB.130 has been designed with UK trails at its heart, whether we’re riding our local Gisburn Forest trails or travelling a little further afield to the mystical riding in Torridon, the HB.130 is a willing companion. We’ve created a bike that will give you confidence on the descents, yet still make you feel like you’re an XC champ on the climbs.

The current longer, lower, slacker mantra has been followed, but not so far as to compromise the bike’s handling on tighter trails and climbs.

Finished bikes are hopefully going to be available from HB dealers in early summer 2019.