Colorado bike manufacturer Guerrilla Gravity has just pulled back the curtain on their 2020 carbon mountain bike range, updating the Megatrail, Shred Dogg, Smash & Trail Pistol. And while there aren’t any all-new models, each of their uniquely tough & affordable American-made carbon frames brings updates & more flexibility, with solid spec upgrades & the same low prices – just $2200 for frames and complete bikes from $3800.
Guerrilla Gravity affordable Made in USA carbon mountain bikes
Why mess with a good thing, right? Guerrilla Gravity (GG) really just got their accelerated Revved carbon manufacturing tech running in full swing in 2019, so their core line of four bikes hasn’t significantly changed since we broke it down last January. But for the new year, they’ve boosted capacity to build even more US-made frames in their own factory to keep up with demand.
American-made carbon at alloy manufacturing prices
For a quick refresher, GG developed a modular mountain bike range, with each bike from the 165mm travel 27.5″ Megatrail to the 120mm 29er Trail Pistol sharing the same carbon front triangle. Each 6061 aluminum rear end (also made in CO) is different, adapted to each riding style with either adjustable travel or adjustable shock curves.
GG’s unique Revved carbon manufacturing keeps prices low. By working with a mysterious automated layup & resin process that is resistant to high & rapid temperature changes, Guerrilla Gravity says they can produce carbon frames much more quickly than conventional methods with less human labor, keeping costs down. Besides being more affordable to build, GG says their production tech adapted from aerospace yields carbon frames “3x more impact resistance than traditional carbon at the same weight and strength targets”.
Guerrilla Gravity gave us a tour of their Denver factory last summer, although they wouldn’t let us (and our cameras) into the most sensitive carbon production areas just yet. But just as important the part of the shop that builds the alloy stays as well.
So what’s new in 2020?
Besides the ability to just build more, the biggest updates to the bikes come in upgraded suspension and new custom frame protectors. A new set of molded plastic chainstay & downtube protectors build in hollow cavities to help better absorb & damp impacts, with the added benefit of quieting your ride.
On the suspension front, Guerrilla Gravity now is offering Fox DPS rear shocks with custom tuning and the added benefit of shedding a few grams. The standard Trail Pistol & Shred Dogg Ride builds now get updated with new Marzocchi Z2 forks for improved trail performance. Plus, now Trust Shout & Message linkage forks join their suspension options alongside DVO forks & shock which come off the secret menu into the growing list of regular upgrade choices.
Other spec updates include a new metallic blue decal kit that perfectly matches Industry Nine blue ano, of course more custom wheel options like those from i9 and Stan’s, and more XT M8100 groupset choices for Shimano 12-speed setups on the Rally & Race builds.
Guerrilla Gravity 2020 Bike Builds
The 29″ Trail Pistol 120mm travel trail bike has two ride modes; CRUSH gives strong mid-stroke support for flow trails while PLUSH mode offers a softer top stroke for rougher terrain. As with all GG bikes, the Trail Pistol is available in three build options for 2020, Ride, Rally and Race. The frameset alone will set you back $2,195 while you can spend up to $5,995 on the full monty Race build, featuring Fox Factory suspension, Industry Nine Trail 270 wheelset, X01 Eagle Drivetrain and SRAM G2 RSC brakes.
The Shred Dog is Guerrilla Gravity’s short travel 27.5″ bike. A 150mm fork up front is paired with 130-140mm of rear wheel travel, dependent on the ride mode. The two shock mounting positions on the seat stay vary the rear wheel travel by 10mm, adjusting the ride mode from Trail at 130mm, and Gravity at 140mm, tuned for rougher terrain. Build options and pricing for the Shred Dogg are identical to those of the Trail Pistol. Both bikes utilize a 210mm eye-to-eye shock so when swapping from a Shred Dogg to a Trail Pistol, all you need is the Pistol seat stay kit and a shock service to change the stroke length, rather than an entirely new shock (and smaller wheels and fork, of course).
The Guerrilla Gravity MegaTrail is their long travel beastie with 27.5″ wheels, 170mm fork travel and 155-165mm rear wheel travel, dependent on the ride mode. As with the Shred Dogg, the two shock mounting positions on the MegaTrail seatstay allow the rider to switch between Trail mode at 155mm and Gravity mode at 165mm, concomitantly altering the geometry; slackening the head angle half a degree and dropping the BB by 8mm. The frameset price remains at $2,195 but you will pay a little extra for these long travel builds; the top-end Race build will set you back $6,395, fetching you a Fox Factory 36 fork with GRIP 2 damper, a Factory X2 shock, X01 Eagle Drivetrain, Industry Nine Enduro Wheelset and SRAM Code RSC brakes.
Turn your 27.5″ MegaTrail into a 29″ wheeled Smash with the Smash seat stay kit and a shock service. These two long travel bikes share the same 230mm eye-to-eye length shock so you don’t need to replace the shock when switching between bikes, you’ll just need to adjust the stroke length. The Smash has a 150mm travel fork up front and 145mm travel out back. The Race build will set you back $6,195, differing from the MegaTrail Race build only in shock selection with a Fox Factory DPX2.
And what carries over into the new year?
Guerrilla Gravity is still all about deep customization (beyond the any color you want as long as it is dark gray powder coating), and their modular frame concept carries that over into 2020. Available for just $445 you can buy an aftermarket seatstay tuning kit to reshape your ride. And of course the standard adjustable headset setup makes it simple to further tweak geometry. As before you still get to pick short or long reach out of each bike, in each of four frame sizes. And there’s still the option for secret menu options that open up even more possibilities.
All the bikes still come with GG’s “Lifetime Frame Support Guarantee” so you shouldn’t have to worry about trying something new. And they even do a 30 day money back guarantee so you get to try it out and be sure the Guerrilla Gravity ride is right for you.
