Bike Review: Leopard 26" Hardtail Mountain Bike

I'll start off by saying that I'm a roadie. I enjoy road cycling a lot. I especially love crits; the more technical the crit, the better for me. Road riding is definitely my favorite cycling discipline. However, I also like variety, so I go on the dirt every once in a while. It scares the ever-loving hell out of me but I also enjoy it. I don't enjoy racing mountain bikes as much as I enjoy racing road bikes, but it's fun to get dirty every now and then.

Point is that rocks and trees jump out at you on the trails. I have the same problem when I endurance/trail ride my horse. Damn trees just... jump. Add the fact that I have no depth perception due to a terrible polo accident and it's pretty much game over. However, I've been hanging out with some really dirty people (well, dirt-loving mountain bikers) who told me to stop being a wuss, so I started riding the mountain bike again.

Isn't this Little Kitty cute!?

This time I'm riding a Leopard hard tail 26", except there's the extra level of making it a fully rigid bike. That's right. This newbie is riding this kitty with style. At first I was extremely concerned that I wouldn't be able to ride the bike. One, I'm not a mountain biker. I hadn't been on a mountain bike in months. Two, there are absolutely no shocks on the bike. Three, I'm not a mountain biker. Naturally I went out with experienced people who were probably half asleep on the bike while I was in the back, squeaking (that's what I do when I get scared of something), getting laughed at by all those dirty mountain bikers.

Warming up for PCRS

To be fair, the bikes that I have ridden in the past have not fit me. They were too big and one of them was a full suspension bike whose (large) owner was not willing to adjust. I felt like the bike was going to buck me off. This Leopard is a small frame, which fits me perfectly because I'm not a very tall person. Even though I hadn't been mountain biking in months, it only took me a few minutes to get used to the Leopard. I felt extremely comfortable on it. As we got to the rockier sections of the trail, I was concerned that I may have to walk a lot. Nope. Rode right though it. Granted, the fact that I have no shock made it a bit rough, but it wasn't uncomfortable at all.

I kept riding through the trails. I got off the bike on some of the more technical sections, but I rode through most of it. Parts of the trail that I had never felt comfortable riding came a bit easier with the bike. The fact that the bike fits me is a huge plus, but the bike handles very well. It's responsive but not too much. It gives room for error.

Lost my number, but this was at one of the races at PCRS

So, I did the next most logical thing and I started racing it. I started racing in the Prairie City Mountain Bike Series and have been having a blast. Two of the three races that I've done have been a complete muddy mess. I've already had to change the pads on the bike. Hopefully I won't have to do it this week because the race was horribly (in every sense of the word) muddy and slippery. I've actually tried to go at faster speeds out in these weekly races. Like I said, the bike handles well. Prairie City is known for all of the baby heads, and while it's really rough without a shock, I don't feel unsafe. The bike is extremely impressive at how manageable it is even in really rough conditions. I've already ridden it in dry weather, semi-rainy weather (I rode it in Cool as well), deep sand at Folsom Lake (there's a video a few entries below), and twice in an absolutely slick mud-fest, and it has been fine. Like any bike on slick or sandy conditions, it will try to slide from underneath you, but it's easy to correct. At least it seems so comparing it to the Specialized bikes that I've ridden. Not raggin' on Specialized, just saying it's different... and I've crashed way less on the Leopard. Sooo...

C'mon! You can't say this doesn't look like fun!

One thing I'd like to try is riding this bike with a front shock. I don't like full suspensions; I like the hardtails (keep those jokes to yourself), so this bike is nearly perfect. It would be interesting to see how compatible this bike and I are with a front shock. I also need to try it out on the pump track.

What I'm trying to say is that if a strict roadie like me can hop on this bike, ride it, and win a couple of races with it (so far I've gotten two firsts and a second at Prairie City), then anyone can ride it. I mean, c'mon! It's a 26" with no shocks and I feel extremely comfortable riding it. I recommend a test ride on it; you won't be disappointed!