The Evolution of Bikes at Red Bull Rampage: Two Decades of Progression – Red Bull

The venue isnt the only thing that has changed over the last 20 years of RedBull Rampage. This awe-inspiring event has an illustrious reputation and has been tested by both man and machine since 2001. The event has evolved from a ragtag group of freeriders gathering in the desert with customized bikes, to a world-class event that hosts athletes who spend the entire year training for this one competition. Although the crowds and coverage have grown like the features that riders take on, much has remained the same here in the Utah desert. Great leaps have been made in bike design thanks to technological advances and more acceptance of this extreme style of riding. Riders can now tackle bigger obstacles at higher speeds, ride more safely, and have faith that things will stay spinning round when they touch back to Earth on the backside of these monstrous drops.

Kyle Strait, two-time RedBull Rampage winner.

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Crashes still happen but riders are calculated thanks to better equipment.

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The early years saw a wide array of unique suspension designs & technology.

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The Trek Session has been piloted by some of the most talented riders

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In the middle years downhill bikes were replaced with more trickable bikes

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Early freeriders helped push the limits of what was possible in MTB.

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Carson Storch knows his equipment will hold up to massive G-forces.

Garth Milan / RedBull Content Pool

Modern-day bikes are helping riders send it farther than imagined.

John Gibson / RedBull Content Pool

Trek bikes are on podiums of riders like Brandon Semenuk & Brett Rheeder.

Paris Gore/RedBull Content Pool

This image of Cedric Gracia shows how short and compact the frames were

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When looking at bicycle technology and equipment improvements there are a few major areas that allow riders to go bigger and faster than ever before. We asked Kyle Strait, two-time winner and the only athlete to have competed in every RedBull Rampage since 2001 what the biggest changes in bike technology have been. Without hesitation Strait replied, Geometry and suspension.

When looking at a profile image of a bike, geometry is one of the most notable changes. When riders and engineers discuss bike geometry, or geo, theyre referring to the points, length between points, and angles of the frame. Two of the biggest geometrical gains in the last 20 years come at the front half of the bike. The head tube angle and reach. Reach is the intersection point measuring the distance from a vertical line drawn up from the center of the bottom bracket to the top center of the head tube. Twenty years ago, mountain bikes still pulled much of their sizing, geometry and dimensions from road or cross-country mountain bikes.

Frame numbers have changed in every dimension from front to back, but one of, if not the most important angles is the head tube angle. The head tube is the large front tube that the fork slides through, and they have gotten drastically slacker in the last 20 years. A slacker head tube angle gives the bike a longer wheelbase, slows down the steering and puts the front wheel out in front of the rider further. A welcome feeling when dropping vertical pitches or trying to make smooth turns at speed.

Since much of the geometry theory and design carried over from decades of road or cross-country bike experience, freeriders and downhillers were limited by the 67-degree head tube angles found on some bikes. Modern day bikes are often running head tube angles as slack as 62-63 degrees, which is a huge difference over the length of the fork.

As head tube angles got slacker and reach dimensions grew longer, riders found increased confidence and stability. This progression in stability and confidence have helped evolve the size of features and terrain thats possible to navigate at RedBull Rampage. Looking at a side-by-side of a bike from 2001 to 2021 and youll see a much longer bike overall, with very few overlapping points of contact.

The early freeriders helped push the limits of mountain bike development

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Another major improvement in bike technology comes from the suspension. Bikes have gone from having six inches of poorly damped travel to over eight inches of highly tunable and compliant suspension. Like many of the bike brands you see in the early photo galleries from RedBull Rampage, suspension companies and trends have faded. Early RedBull Rampage athletes rode coil-sprung shocks, and many competed on inverted forks from brands like 5th Element and Avalanche. The trend has definitely changed and most athletes these days are seen on air shocks with Fox or Rock Shox equipment found under the majority of the riders.

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2004: A portly Specialized Big Hit with a Marzocchi Monster T fork

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Thanks to the last two decades of riders pushing the envelope, engineers have worked to do the same on the design front. Computer animated design programs, finite element analysis, and lots of other high-tech steps are used to develop and check strength, life cycles and durability of products. This has resulted in bikes getting lighter, stronger, and more reliable.

Back in the day it wasnt uncommon for an aluminum or chromoly downhill bike to weight over 50 pounds. Todays downhill bikes can be made from thinner aluminum or carbon fiber and easily hit 34 pounds. With 15 less pounds of mass underneath them, riders can now spin, flip and maneuver much easier than they could before.

The bikes look raw & industrial compared to the modern works of today

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Working in unison with the frame improvements are a number of new industry standards that have helped components evolve to be much stronger and longer lasting. For example, early mountain bikes carried over axle standards from road and cross-country mountain bikes, which were ill-equipped for the demands of off-road riding. In 2001 many of the riders were on thinner axles that were also narrower at 135mm spacing. Todays axles go up to 20mm thick, while rear end axle spacing is 150mm or even 158mm on some bikes. This wider spacing allows hubs to be much stronger, with better triangulation for the spokes to help keep wheels spinning true despite huge side loads from landing 360s or massive whips.

Other components like tires, handlebars, and brakes have also seen massive gains. New rubber compounds and sidewall stiffness increases have helped improve traction and reduce the chances of flat tires while more powerful 4-piston brakes have replaced unreliable 2-piston brakes found on early 2000s bikes. Handlebars have also increased in thickness to 35mm from 31.8mm or 25.4mm thick bars originally found on mountain bikes. This means a more precise steering feel and the ability to run much wider bars for increased leverage and a more powerful riding position.

The result of all these changes is a completely different mountain bike that is leaps ahead of what early competitors took to the slopes of the first RedBull Rampage with. To some they may look just like another bike, but to the discerning eye these modern freeride machines share little with their predecessors beyond the two wheels that keep them rolling down the mountain. Changes in geometry, suspension technology and better components all work together to help these riders push the limits of what is possible on the worlds most demanding stage. Its impossible to talk about bike development and technology without acknowledging the limits early riders pushed on their modified and sometimes homemade freeride machines at the early RedBull Rampage events. They helped create a new discipline of riding, pushed bike development and entertained viewers around the world for two decades. Cheers to the riders and bikes of Rampage.

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The Evolution of Bikes at Red Bull Rampage: Two Decades of Progression - Red Bull