BH’s all new Lynx 5 Carbon is the latest attempt at building a quiver-killing all-mountain bike. Available in two different configurations with the same frame, it can easily transition from a enduro bike ready to race the EWS to an all-mountain trail bike you can pedal all day on home trails.
BH Lynx 5 Carbon enduro / all-mountain 29er
Just as longer travel all-mountain bikes have become lighter and more efficient climbers, the 29ers that used to be relegated to XC racing have earned their own gravity riding chops. Combine them together and there are a more-and-more mid-travel, 29″ wheeled bikes winning enduro races (even placing well in DH) while still pedaling well enough to make for excellent all-mountain trail bikes.
BH’s new Lynx 5 Carbon was first born out as an aluminum bike (that you can still get and save a bit of cash) with two travel versions. The base bike sticks with 130mm of travel at each end, and is geared towards regular trail riding.
The LT (Long Travel) variants swap in 150mm of travel in the fork, slacken the geometry out and want to get tossed down hill. The new carbon bike build on the technical prowess of the alloy bike, but in a stiffer & lighter platform that can more smoothly switch from enduro racing to trail riding.
Both travel variants adopt the larger 29″ wheels for their improved technical obstacle rollover and efficiency at speed. Suspension is a four-bar design, with a rear pivot around the through axle, effectively delivering a high-single pivot rear axle path for the 130mm of travel shared by both fork travel builds. The shock gets a floating position between the rocker and extended chainstays, which helped tune the suspension for supple early travel with more support through the shock’s stroke.
BH calls the UD construction of the new composite bike a ‘Ballistic Carbon Layup‘ designed to offer the durability needed in the rough life of an enduro race bike, especially on the EWS circuit (where a couple of seasons ago we would see riders break composite bikes or wheels almost every other race.) The carbon tech is actually the same top-level EVO material science seen in BH’s lightest XC bikes, reinforced with an additional, harder external carbon layer more resistant against impacts, especially from rocks on the trail. It also gets similar Hollow Core Internal Moulding (HCIM) manufacturing to BH’s light road & XC bikes to deliver a claimed frame weight of just 2100g for a medium bike.
The BH Lynx 5 Carbon features internal cable guides, integrated chainstay, seatstay & downtube protectors, a tapered headtube, and even a regular bottle cage mount in the main triangle.
Variable Geometry – 130mm or 150mm fork travel![](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 900 600"></svg>)
In either travel setup, the new 1x specific Lynx 5 Carbon gets modern long, low & slack trail geometry. That leaves a 66.5º headtube in the short variant or 65º in the LT version, paired with a 75.5º or 74º seattube, respectively. In either case the bikes end with 435mm chainstays.
Complete Bike Spec
BH offers the BH Lynx 5 in a range of three carbon and five aluminum models, with one LT version in each material. The LT bikes get Fox 36 Factory forks with 150mm of travel and SRAM GX Eagle drivetrains, 4-piston brakes, plus more capable Fox DPX2 Evol Factory shocks still delivering 130mm at the rear wheel.
The standard bikes are offered with a bit more variety, staring with the top end Carbon 8.9 with XX1 Eagle and a Fox 34 Factory 130mm fork, the Carbon 7.9 with GX Eagle & the same fork, down to the entry alloy Alu 3.9 with a Shimano SLX 1×11 and a 130mm Recon RL fork, all with 130mm out back by various single air can shocks.
