Kinesis Maxlight 130 - just in

Light, long-travel hardtail from UK designer Dom Mason

Simon Greenacre/Future Publishing

Published: June 7, 2013 at 7:07 am

This is the Maxlight 130 from British company Kinesis. It's similar to their XC3 hardtail frame, the difference being that the 130 has tweaked geometry designed to work in perfect harmony with a 100-130mm fork.

The XC130 is a light aluminium frame, with a non-tapered head tube and chainstays that have an evolving shape along their length. It's available as a frame-only (£349.99), or if you ask Kinesis nicely they'll build you a complete bike with an X5 or X9 transmission.

This is the X9 build, coming in at £1049.99 and featuring SRAM X9 derailleurs and shifters with a Truvativ crankset and bottom bracket. At the front, it's equipped with an X-Fusion Velvet RL2 fork with 120mm of travel and a 15mm axle. The cockpit is made up of an FSA V-Drive bar and an FSA stem.

The 26in wheels are a combination of several parts: WTB Speed Disc rims with a DMR hub at the front and WTB hub at the rear. WTB Bronson tyres are tasked with providing grip.

When things need slowing down, there's a set of Tektro Orion hydraulic disc brakes on to reign the speed in. The rest of the finishing kit is taken care of by a WTB Volt Sport saddle and an FSA seatpost.

For more information on Kinesis bikes see www.kinesisbikes.co.uk.

There's a full review of the Kinesis Maxlight 130 coming up in issue 292 of Mountain Biking UK magazine, available on Apple Newsstand and Zinio.