Today, Radon is introducing the Slide Trail AL and Skeen Trail AL, more affordable aluminum versions of their 140mm and 120mm carbon full suspension mountain bikes. With frame and component prices soaring across the industry, it’s kind of refreshing (and incredible) that Radon are able to sell these complete bikes starting at 2,199 €. For example, that money will fetch you the Radon Slide Trail AL with a RockShox Pike Select Fork, Super Deluxe Select+ Shock, a 12 Speed Shimano Deore/SLX drivetrain and Radon’s own dropper post. It’s hard to argue with, really.
Let’s take a closer look at the German brand’s latest aluminum offerings.
Radon Skeen Trail AL
Both the Radon Skeen Trail AL and Slide Trail AL run the same four-bar linkage shared by their carbon counterparts, each respectively delivering 120mm and 140mm of rear wheel travel. Both roll on a 29″ wheelset, and again, share the geometry of the carbon bikes from which they are descended.
For the Skeen Trail AL, that means a 67° head tube angle in its slackest position, a 76.4° effective seat tube angle, a 474mm reach for the 20″ frame, and a chainstay length of 435mm. That rear-center is consistent across the four frame sizes, and the bottom bracket drop is -32mm in the lowest position.
| Frame Size | 16″ | 18″ | 20″ | 22″ |
| Seat Tube Length [mm] | 392 | 425 | 455 | 490 |
| Effective Top Tube [mm] | 567 | 588.6 | 611.5 | 633.5 |
| Effective Seat Tube Angle | 76.4 | |||
| Head Tube Angle | 67 | |||
| Chainstay Length [mm] | 435 | |||
| Head Tube Length [mm] | 100 | 110 | 120 | 135 |
| Wheelbase [mm] | 1172.5 | 1194.17 | 1217.81 | 1240.76 |
| Front Center Length [mm] | 738.7 | 760.3 | 783.95 | 806.89 |
| Bottom Bracket Drop [mm] | -32 | |||
| Standover Height [mm] | 717 | 744 | 759 | 788 |
| Reach [mm] | 437 | 454 | 474 | 490 |
| Stack [mm] | 605 | 614 | 623 | 636 |
| Wheel radius [mm] | 373 | |||
| Rear Wheel travel [mm] | 121 | |||
Radon Slide Trail AL
The Slide Trail AL is Radon’s burlier trail bike with 140mm of rear wheel travel. It slots into the line-up between the 120mm Skeen AL and the 170mm Swoop AL enduro bike. It shares the very same geometry as its carbon counterpart; that’s a 65.6°, a 75.5° seat tube angle and a BB drop of 25mm in its lowest slackest position. Reach comes in at 428mm, 445mm, 464mm and 481mm for the 16″, 18″ 20″ and 22″ frame sizes, respectively.
| Frame Size | 16″ | 18″ | 20″ | 22″ |
| Seat Tube Length [mm] | 392 | 425 | 455 | 490 |
| Effective Top Tube [mm] | 571 | 592 | 615 | 637 |
| Effective Seat Tube Angle | 75.5° or 76.5° | |||
| Head Tube Angle | 65.6° or 66.6° | |||
| Chainstay Length [mm] | 435 | |||
| Head Tube Length [mm] | 100 | 110 | 120 | 135 |
| Wheelbase [mm] | 1180 | 1202 | 1226 | 1248 |
| Front Center Length [mm] | 746.4 | 768 | 791.6 | 814.6 |
| Bottom Bracket Drop [mm] | -25 (-11) | |||
| Standover Height [mm] | 728.2 | 755 | 770 | 798.6 |
| Reach [mm] | 428 | 445 | 464 | 481 |
| Stack [mm] | 605 | 614 | 623 | 636 |
| Wheel radius [mm] | 373 | |||
| Rear Wheel travel [mm] | 140 | |||
And, like that carbon bike, the Slide Trail AL also gets adjustable geometry by virtue of a flip-chip at the rocker-seat stay interface. Switching from the low to the high position reduced BB drop to 11mm, concomitantly bringing the head angle in to 66.6° and the seat angle in to 76.5°. That higher position may be preferred for undulating trails that are littered with technical sections of climbing, as it will offer improved ground clearance.
Radon Trail AL Models’ Parts & Pricing
Both the Radon Slide AL and the Radon Skeen AL full suspension mountain bikes are available in two build options; AL 7.0 and AL 8.0, retailing at 2,199 € and 2,699 €, respectively. Highlight components of the AL 7.0 build include a RockShox Pike Select Fork, Super Deluxe Select+ Shock, a 12 Speed Shimano Deore/SLX drivetrain, Radon’s own dropper post, an SDG Bel Air V3 saddle and Schwalbe Nobby Nic tires.
The AL 8.0 models are upgraded with a Rockshox Pike Ultimate fork and a 12 Speed SRAM NX/GX drivetrain. The Skeen Trail AL 8.0 gets Maxxis Forekaster tires while the Slide Trail AL 8.0 benefits from a Schwalbe Magic Mary/Big Betty combo with the Addix Soft compound.
