Bikes & Big Ideas
Bikes & Big Ideas
BLISTER
The Current State of XC Bikes
1 hour 9 minutes Posted Aug 18, 2026 at 1:00 pm.
XC Bikes are Hot
Bikes We’ve Been On
XC Bike Design
Twangers or Non-Twangers
Racing vs. Trail Riding
XC Tires
Favorite Components
How to Choose an XC Bike
OneSkin AD*
Category Predictions
0:00
1:09:24
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Show notes
With XC bikes gaining popularity, there is a sea of similar-looking offerings from a bunch of brands — with a wider range of performance attributes than first meets the eye. So today, Blister reviewers Xan Marshland and Simon Stewart dig into the broader XC bike category and weigh in on why they think there’s commonality in XC bike design; their thoughts on XC geometry; and whether having baked-in Trail bike versatility is a must-have. Plus things to consider when buying one, and their predictions on where the category is heading. 
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TOPICS & TIMES:
XC Bikes are Hot (
0:59)
Bikes We’ve Been On (
2:10)
XC Bike Design (
4:43)
Twangers or Non-Twangers (
8:01)
Racing vs. Trail Riding (
15:51)
XC Tires (
22:21)
Favorite Components (
33:45)
How to Choose an XC Bike (
42:29)
OneSkin AD* (
51:46)
Category Predictions (
52:56)
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