FRAME AND SUSPENSION:

With a custom 6061 aluminium frame and swingarm, there’s no sign of carbon anywhere. Like the Orange Alpine 6, we’re talking tough and well built as a priority. DMR teamed up with David Earle from Sotto design (who worked on Yeti’s Switch system) for the Sled’s dual-link suspension system, which dishes out 160mm of rear travel. It’s a virtual pivot design, with the lower link rotating around the bottom bracket shell. Fork travel is either matched at 160mm with a 170mm Lyrik option when buying the built bike. Stiffness and durability is increased with collet style main pivot hardware. Boost 148mm dropout spacing is standard with a Syntace X12 axle and hanger system. The Sled frame carries a two year warranty.

GEOMETRY AND SIZING:

DMR are no stranger to bikes that are fun to ride. Messin’ about in the woods, dirt jumps and flat pedals have been their territory for many years. The Sled steps out of this world a touch and into the broader mainstream market and dare we say, the world of enduro racing. It’s refreshing to see four sizes from the start with this frame, an area often lacking with many brands. Take a size large Sled – here we see a 462mm reach and a pleasingly low 115mm head tube length. A good wheelbase of just over 1209mm and a chainstay length of 430mm (on all sizes) show that the DMR is bang up to date and comparable to similar travel 2017 production bikes. We have two sizes on test (L and XL) – we’ll report back on how these shape up on the trail and what they weigh in at.