Blackthorn C SLX

It's more about stability and usefulness than feeling fast. For mountain riding, it captures how the bike carries speed when you're pushing the pedals on less technical surfaces. A few practical factors stand out: a heavier build, wheel momentum that helps it carry speed between pedal strokes, typical trail-width tires, and a solid drivetrain that supports efficient riding.

Overall on climbs: 9.1/10. Within Mountain bikes, this comes out near the top. On climbs, the lowest gear feels very easy. Your easiest gear lands around 17.1 gear inches. In its peer group, it lands around the easier ~69% for low-gear climbing. We use “gear inches” as a shortcut for climbing gearing. Lower numbers mean you can spin more easily when it gets steep. Weight is around 15.2 kg, which you notice more on longer or slower climbs. It’s set up so climbs feel controlled rather than a grind. Build kits can differ by size and spec level, and not every detail is published by every brand, so use this as a practical guideline.

Suspension performance: 8/10. It’s grouped into “High-impact ready”. This level is aimed at repeated impacts and rougher terrain, keeping the bike more settled at speed. Both ends absorb impacts, improving how consistently the tires can follow rough terrain. Rough trails should feel more controlled, especially when hits stack up. On rough trails, this level aims to keep the bike settled under braking and cornering through repeated hits.

Sporty fit - you'll lean forward more and feel ready to push the pace. Because you get a moderate drop: roughly 54 mm from saddle to bar, plus about 656 mm of stretch forward (extreme). Plan for roughly 29 degrees of lean. Estimated spacers: ~14 mm.

What drives the fit flexibility here: A modular front-end gives more freedom to change stem length or bar width, A more service-friendly routing setup makes changes easier. Plus, Seatpost info looks fairly neutral, so most fit change comes from cockpit choices. Overall, it is Moderately Adjustable. Put simply, it describes how practical it is to reconfigure your position later.

Ride comfort is 8.3/10 — on a real ride it feels plush. It’s tagged Balanced for Enduro — it feels plush overall, but it’s on the firmer end compared with the plushest Enduro builds. The posture is forward, attacking (posture 7/10), which loads the front wheel, which feels great for control but a bit more direct through the bars.

The price feels a touch strong for the parts listed. Value is scored 1–10: higher is better value, lower means you’re paying more than similar bikes. Uses MSRP as a baseline; real-world prices can be lower (discounts can change the value). Based on the spec estimate, it’s about 16% above the typical level for similar builds. Among comparable bikes, it sits around the middle on price (cheaper than about 49% of listings). Quick reference: €4.999 listed versus about €4.315 for a comparable build. Put simply: it’s a bit pricey for what you get.

This setup suits steeper, rockier terrain and harder hits. It has about 160 mm of suspension travel (how much it absorbs bumps), which helps on rough, technical trails. Suspension type (Full) fits this kind of terrain.