Mountain bike riding is an excellent form of training for dirtbike riding — plus, it’s bucket loads of fun. I knew KTM made mountain bikes, but to be honest I thought they had a couple of bicycle models for the true KTM fan to match with the rest of their orange wardrobe rather than a serious bicycle brand with a complete range.
How wrong I was. KTM has a complete range of mountain bikes and road cycles from entry-level to the very serious bicycle. I was lucky enough to take the full-carbon KTM Myroon 29er over the summer break and racked up some kilometres on it to see how much fun pedalling a KTM can be. The KTM Myroon 29er, as mentioned, has a monocoque carbon frame which makes it as light as a feather. This is not just a gimmick; it doesn’t just feel light when lifting it into the van. On the trail, the bike floats nicely along, ducking and weaving through the trees. Combine the 29-inch wheels and the carbon-fibre frame and you have a bike that handles dirt trails and the odd downhill with ease.
I spent a lot of time on both cycleways and also on the trails and found the bike to be at home on both. It’s not a one-disciple machine. The bike is built for cross-country and performs well on both the tar and the dirt. The hydraulic disc brakes are very impressive. Brakes of this quality would have been stopping a 100kg motorbike 25 years ago; now, it’s pulling a featherweight mountain bike up in the shortest amount of time humanly possible. The KTM bike turned some serious heads while I was riding it around. Like me, a lot of people weren’t aware that KTM made pushbikes, so that alone gets attention. Throw in the impressive quality and paint job on the KTM Myroon 29er and there’s no wonder it attracts passers-by.
The KTM features Rock Shox Reba 19 RL forks which are lockable for hitting the cycleways and cruisey trails. The headset, seat post, stem and handlebars are all Ritchey brand and, adding to its impressive list of componentry, Shimano products are used throughout the KTM.
I had an absolute blast on the KTM Myroon 29er. The KTM brand is taking Australia by storm and dealers are popping up each and every day. The product is of the absolute highest quality and I’m looking forward to the next time I get the chance to pedal around on a KTM bicycle. — Matt Bernard
Price: $2990
Contact: www.ktmbike.com.au
SPECS
Frame Monocoque carbon frame
Fork Rock Shox Reba 29 RL 100 15-T
Headset Ritchey Pro Logic Zero drop-in tapered
Stem Ritchey Comp 4-axis Ahead 6 degree
Handlebar Ritchey Comp 5D Flat 720
Brake Shimano SLX
Shifter Shimano SLX
Rear Derailleur Shimano Deore XT M786 shadow plus
Front Derailleur Shimano SLX, direct mount
Crankset Shimano SLX 38–24
Bottom Bracket Shimano BB-Set press fit
Cassette Shimano HG62–10 11–36
Chain Shimano HG74–10
Pedal Shimano M505
Wheelset Alexrims SX44 29″
Tyre Schwalbe Racing Ralph 29×2.25 Evo, folding
Saddle Prologo Zero KTM Edition
Seat Post Ritchey Comp 350/27.2
