VOLUME 58 ISSUE 28 JULY 13, 2021 P97
think is out of place on a bike ride is a
bit of chainring chatter when the motor
isn't engaged through choppy stuff.
I didn't play with the phone connec-
tivity of the Shimano control unit, but
I did love the Di2 integration into the
E-bike world. If there's a world of MTB
where shifting is often done poorly, it's
with E-bikes, and the Di2 speed and
solidity is a welcome cloak to my con-
stant not-shifting-in-time tricks. Big tires
front and rear, deep suspension travel,
better brakes, and Di2 shifting. What's
not to like on the Hard Cross 9?
2021 HUSQVARNA
MOUNTAIN CROSS 7 TEST
My second loop of the day was on
the Mountain Cross 7. I actually prefer
shorter travel bikes in my non-E-bike
riding over the lethargic deep-stroke
and slack-angled options. I'm perfectly
happy on 120-140mm (4.7-5.5-inch)
trail bikes at enduro speeds and over
enduro terrain. I'd rather ride to that
limit as fast as I can than pretend I'm
going to bomb bigger stuff because
I have a little better geometry and
travel to do so. So, I expected to like
the Mountain Cross better than the
Hard Cross. But I didn't. The Mountain
Cross is a great trail bike with the same
premium-level specs as the upper-
level Hard Cross we tested. It blurs the
enduro line so much I can't really say
it's a better trail or enduro bike. So, it's
not a build preference. It seems to me
the Trail segment is probably overshad-
owed on E-bikes by enduro-spec'd
bikes because, well, you have a motor
to make up the difference. Plus, the
Mountain Cross enduros pretty damn
hard, so is it a mellower trail bike in
reality? I don't think so. I would prefer
to see a bigger gap to the shorter travel
