Trailish

Our Hillibikes conspicuously lack the technology and features of modern mountains bikes, and it's not because we’re tying to be “retro” (we are NOT!) or that we reject modern do-dads on principle—which we kind of do. The real reason, though, is that we don’t make bikes for racing or stunt riders; we make them for travelers. Your trip can last a half-hour or a year, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that when you travel on a bicycle you approach terrain the way a runner does; you slow down and are more careful when it’s really rough, slippery, or steep. You cruise casually when it’s the trail allows it, and dismount and walk up the steepest, rockiest, or slipperiest descents and climbs. As many of you already know, a mediocre middle-school cross-country runner can beat any rider up the steepest or bumpiest hills (and you can walk your bike up theses hills faster than you can pedal up). If you ride the hills that runners run, you know this. If only they wouldn’t feel so smug when they pass.

 

 A bicycle for traveling over rough ground needs only fat, soft tires, a long wheelbase, high handlebars, and low gears. It’s not limiting or boring. You can still “test yourself” if you feel like it, ride beyond your comfort level as a way to hone your skills and get more comfortable on any terrain. But you don’t get the feeling, as you might on a technical bike, that your bike is prodding you to live up to it. On a normal bicycle, there’s no “man with a hammer” thing going on. Riding traveler-runner style on one of our bikes or any bike with minimal to zero modern terrain-taming technology, will teach you to be a better ride, because you’ll depend less on technology. It’s safer, less stressful, and more fun, immediately.