Go Outdoors' in-house brand Calibre has announced a limited run of its 130mm trail bike, the Triple B Pro, with a spec list that looks like it will transform the bike into a short-travel shredder.
The aluminium frame, which holds 27.5in wheels, still has its 130mm of travel, controlled by an actuated single-pivot system, but Calibre has added a RockShox Monarch Plus Debonair RC3 shock with its piggyback design to its latest version to give additional descending capability.
This is paired at the front with a 140mm RockShox Revelation RC fork, which has a Pike derived 35mm chassis that should offer plenty of stout front-end control to the bike.
Jargon buster
Piggyback shock
A piggyback shock is a rear shock that comes with a distinctive small canister attached to the main body of the shock. The idea is that this gives the shock additional hydraulic oil volume.
When a shock is cycled through its travel quickly, internal friction causes the shock (and its component parts) to warm up. Warmer oil temperatures reduce the viscocity of the oil, so it flows through the shock's damping curcuit easier. This, then, changes the feel of the shock.
A piggyback shock, with its additional volume, is more resistant to heat build up (because there's more fluid to warm up, and more volume and surface area of the shock to aid cooling), and thus will maintain its damping characteristics better on long and rough descents.
Complementing the more capable suspension are Schwalbe tyres mounted to WTB i29 rims.
Calibre has opted for a Magic Mary in a 2.6in width with the Addix Soft compound on the front, and a 2.35in Hans Dampf on the rear, again in the soft compound – neither tyre's casing type is specified.
The Magic Mary is Schwalbe's aggressive trail/enduro tyre, which we've found to be a great performer when conditions get wet, muddy, slippery and gnarly, while the Hans Dampf is a slightly faster rolling trail tyre that's often found on the rear of trail bikes.
Mounting them to a wide rim, such as the i29, means there's a lot of air volume on offer. This adds grip and comfort to the ride.
Calibre has stuck with RockShox' parent company SRAM for the drivetrain and brakes. The limited-edition bike comes with a SRAM NX and GX mix Eagle groupset, which provides 12 gears across its cassette (at the time of writing we're not sure whether it'll be an 11-50t NX Eagle cassette or a pricier and lighter 10-50t GX Eagle cassette).
Stopping the bike is a pair of SRAM Guide RE brakes, a great sight on a bike like this thanks to their trail-orientated lever paired to an enduro-spec caliper, for a decent mix of weight, price, feel and power.
Finishing off the bike is a KS Rage-I dropper post with 125mm of travel, and Calibre branded finishing kit.
The geometry is decent, with a size large having a fairly slack 65.5-degree head angle, a 460mm reach, 436mm chainstays and a 74-degree seat tube angle. Read our tech writer Seb's ultimate guide to geometry for more information on these figures.
The Calibre Triple B Pro will cost £1,900 (with Go Outdoors' £5 GO Discount Card) and be on sale online or in-store until stocks are sold out. More information will also be available on Calibre's website.
