![\"Chromag](\"https:\/\/bikerumor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Chromag-Throwdown-front-angle.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nFor complete details on the new Throwdown<\/a><\/strong> lineup, check out my recent launch article. Here\u2019s a quick look at the bike\u2019s key specs:<\/p>\n Throwdown frames are constructed from 6066 aluminum, and they run MX wheels only. The bike provides 170mm\u2019s of rear travel, via a rocker-driven Horst Link linkage. Up front you\u2019ll find 170mm forks on the enduro (Eagle 90) build, while the park build comes with a 190mm dual-crown fork. The Throwdown keeps things simple with fixed geometry and suspension kinematics.<\/p>\n One thing I noticed right away is how short the Throwdown\u2019s seat tube is. Even with 180mm travel, the dropper post on my demo bike sticks out of frame more than any bike I\u2019ve tested. The mast was kept very short to ensure riders (especially park riders) can slam their seats nice and low. Chromag says even with the Throwdown park build\u2019s static seat post, there should be no issues with seat\/wheel contact.<\/p>\n For easy maintenance the Throwdown features external cable routing. This bike does not offer in-frame storage, but it does include a SRAM UDH derailleur hanger. Chromag gave the Throwdown one water bottle mount and an accessory mount.<\/p>\n The complete Throwdown (with pedals) is the heaviest enduro bike I have yet tested on trails, hitting the scale at 38.32 lbs. Considering this bike is intended for bike park riding or enduro I\u2019m not surprised by the weight. It\u2019s only a smidge heavier than the current Devinci Spartan<\/a><\/strong> I tested earlier this year, which also topped 38 lbs.<\/p>\n Typically with test bikes I start by checking the suspension manufacturer\u2019s recommended settings online. Most often this info leaves me at a good starting point, but I\u2019ll also make a few adjustments that I\u2019ve found work for me. When I went to set up the Throwdown\u2019s suspension, I wasn\u2019t able to get much info from SRAM\u2019s website. At first, I couldn’t find any info on the fork at all, but I later found it higher up the fork leg than at the bottom where I\u2019ve found them previously. I set up the bike and hit the trails, but it was obvious some tweaks were needed as the suspension wasn\u2019t performing well.<\/p>\n Thankfully, a friend who happens to service MTB suspension came to town! He confirmed my hunches that I needed the rear end rebounding a fair bit faster than recommended, and that I had too much air in the fork. With a few adjustments, the Throwdown was immediately offering not only proper, but impressive suspension performance. Given my short time with the Throwdown I\u2019m stoked my friend helped speed up the process of getting the bike dialed in. Thanks Brad!<\/p>\n Given that this big bike is intended for enduro or bike park riding, I suspected the linkage may have been tuned on the softer side, favoring sheer bump-eating capabilities over efficient pedalling. I\u2019m happy to say Chromag proved me wrong, and this bike\u2019s linkage actually climbs quite well!<\/p>\n On any non-assisted bike, I generally use the rear shock\u2019s Firm mode for climbing. The Throwdown\u2019s RockShox Vivid Ultimate shock has a very supportive Firm mode, and when in use the bike pedalled along eagerly and resisted wallowing into it\u2019s travel really well. After many singletrack climbs, I never forced more than about 45-50% travel out of the rear end. Between pedalling efforts and bumps on the trail, the Throwdown with the shock firmed up offers a surprisingly supportive ride.<\/p>\n As for ride qualities, the Throwdown behaved like most of today\u2019s trail\/enduro bikes do. With the shock in Firm mode, you won\u2019t get a buttery smooth climb; you can feel the bumps from the trail, and the rear end lifting over rocks and roots. In Firm mode the Throwdown was very resistant to pedal bob and particularly bob in the saddle as you roll over humps while seated. I made a point of standing up and cranking hard on several climbs, but the rear end refused to wallow.<\/p>\n I found traction in Firm mode was easily sufficient for technical singletrack climbs. Even in Firm this long-travel bike still uses enough squish to offer reliable traction over rocks and roots.<\/p>\n When climbing in Open mode, the Throwdown\u2019s ride gets much more comfortable and the rear end absorbs impacts much better. This bike doesn\u2019t numb out or erase all trail chatter even when wide open, but it softens each impact considerably. Slight pedal bob is detectable in Open mode, and the Throwdown would now dip to around 70% travel after my climbs, but it was still impressively resistant to saddle bobbing. The one detrimental effect of climbing in Open is body position: As soon as you open up the shock, you sink into the bike\u2019s lengthy travel and your body leans back a little. <\/p>\n Although I prefer the added efficiency from Firm mode, I did find the Throwdown still rolls along nicely when you\u2019re pedalling in Open. I tried a few sprints on paved roads, and while sitting the linkage held me high in the travel. Only when I stood up and cranked hard would the rear end dive much deeper.<\/p>\n Knowing this bike was built for smashing rowdy descents, I was impressed by how well it carried itself uphill. However, it can\u2019t be ignored that the Throwdown\u2019s weight puts it in a class some riders would consider out of the question for a bike you\u2019ll be doing a lot of climbing with. <\/p>\n Once I got the Throwdown\u2019s suspension dialed in, it was clear this bike\u2019s linkage was fine-tuned into something I found pretty impressive. Chromag hasn\u2019t been making full suspension bikes for all that long, but it seems their engineers have learned quickly!<\/p>\n The Throwdown\u2019s rear end isn\u2019t too picky about impacts, it deals with just about anything quite well. It never felt quite as plowy as a high-pivot, rearward axle path bike, as it doesn\u2019t totally numb out the trail in any situation, even smaller bumps. However, I\u2019d say this was one of the best Horst Link bikes I\u2019ve ridden in terms of impact absorption.<\/p>\n Where the Throwdown really seems to shine is dealing with repeated, medium-sized bumps. I think that\u2019s great, since large parts of many trails fit this description. Several times during my testing I\u2019d be in attack position speeding down a bumpy trail, and I\u2019d suddenly realize the Throwdown was just smoothing its way through, feeling solidly planted and dulling every impact in superb fashion. It\u2019s like the bike finds its own flow state! My local trails have tons of rooty, rocky sections and the Throwdown proved its composure on such terrain time and time again.<\/p>\n Bigger, sharper hits never challenged the Throwdown much either. Once I had the rear end set up properly, I never provoked any nasty hits on the rear wheel despite my best efforts! While this bike won\u2019t give you the feeling of plowing right through big, sharp hits like a high-pivot bike can, it softened those harsh impacts better than most Horst Link or four-bar bikes I\u2019ve ridden.<\/p>\n While the Throwdown is not a lightweight bike, Chromag was able to give it a pleasantly poppy ride, and maintain a lively feel with good mid-stroke support. Right from my first ride (even with my rebound set too slow) I noticed the bike popped off jumps nicely. This makes for a fun ride on any trail, but especially when riding bike parks.<\/p>\n The Throwdown offers good mid-stroke support as well. While testing I sprang out of one particular corner really nicely, and suddenly remembered I hadn\u2019t made any notes on cornering support! After railing many more turns I can confirm the Throwdown is definitely supportive enough to pump through corners and pop out carrying speed. This bike takes all kinds of impacts really well, yet it maintains solid mid-stroke performance.<\/p>\n I am a lightweight rider at about 140lbs, but I found the Throwdown\u2019s linkage gets quite progressive just before bottom-out. It\u2019s easy to hit 95% travel but takes a good thump to fully bottom this bike out. I finished a few laps on pretty rough trails and still had a few millimeters of travel to spare. <\/p>\n As for geometry, I was immediately comfortable on the Throwdown. The reach and rear end length are both within a few millimeters of my personal MTB (2022 Knolly Chilcotin 151) which I\u2019ve always felt fits me perfectly.<\/p>\n Chromag\u2019s sizing is up to today\u2019s norms, but they didn\u2019t go nuts making the Throwdown super long in the front or rear ends. Of course since they offer a M\/L size, they can keep the medium\u2019s sizing more \u2018standard\u2019 and offer a bigger fit with the M\/L. The 465mm reach on the medium frame is roomy but not excessively long. The 27.5\u201d rear wheel and 435mm chainstays are compact enough to feel nimble in corners, and both make it easy to lift the front wheel. The stubby rear end allows the Throwdown to remain fairly playful for an enduro bike.<\/p>\n The 63.5\u00b0 steering angle (and long travel fork) was noticeably nice on steep slabs, encouraging you to dive in with confidence. That slack head tube angle is definitely ideal for steep or rough stuff, and it does feel slack while climbing but it\u2019s a small sacrifice I\u2019ll gladly make.<\/p>\n The Throwdown\u2019s 78\u00b0 effective seat mast angle is easily steep enough to put you in a good position for powerful pedalling. A nice touch for the park model in particular is how the frame\u2019s short mast allows you to slam your seat down low.<\/p>\n Up front a 633mm stack height offers a fairly low front end if desired, but my demo bike felt pretty comfortable with a few spacers under the stem. The bike\u2019s 713mm standover height left me a decent amount of clearance over the frame. The sloping top tube is higher near the head tube, but drops a fair bit towards the seat mast.<\/p>\n In terms of frame stiffness, I noticed the Throwdown\u2019s rear end does offer a bit of squirm. Being a lighter rider I detected this while speeding through chunky rock gardens. When I plowed the wheel into something that deflected it sideways, I could feel just enough flex to prevent me from getting harshly bounced around. The rear wheel could squirm enough to find good traction in such situations.<\/p>\n Regarding weight, I found the Throwdown\u2019s heft easier to forget about than you might think as you\u2019re climbing or traversing. However, I was noticeably more tired after a lengthy climb on the Throwdown, just days after doing the same lap on my 1.7 lbs lighter, 29\u201d wheeled Knolly. On descents, the weight does translate into a very stable ride. The only thing I didn\u2019t find too joyful was whipping the bike around in the air \u2013 It takes some muscle to toss this thing around versus a lighter trail\/enduro bike. If it\u2019s your park bike though, the Throwdown would feel more playful than any DH bike.<\/p>\n I haven\u2019t ridden a bike with externally routed cables for quite some time, but I didn\u2019t notice any rattling at all from the Throwdown\u2019s cables and hoses.<\/p>\n On the medium frame I rode, I was able to fit a standard small water bottle in the frame, but just barely. Without a little flex from the bottle cage the bottle will likely contact the underside of the top tube when coming in and out. I had my Silca bottle cage positioned as far forward as possible, and it cleared the rear shock with only a few millimeters to spare.<\/p>\n As for accessories, I tried installing a Topeak Dock Tool on the Throwdown, and it fit just fine. The only thing I\u2019ll mention is accessing the rear allen bolt with a standard allen key was a bit tricky.<\/p>\n First I must note, there are three components on my demo bike that don\u2019t match the stock builds \u2013 The ZEB Ultimate fork, the Maven Silver brakes, and the Chromag Lynx DT saddle. Consumer bikes will come with a 170mm RockShox Zeb Select+ fork, SRAM\u2019s Maven Bronze brakes with updated B1 levers, and Chromag\u2019s Trailmaster seat. Since I rode different models of these parts I won\u2019t comment on them (except to say they performed perfectly well and suited the bike).<\/p>\n One advantage of buying a bike from a company that\u2019s known for their quality components is you get those goods on stock builds! The Throwdown comes with Chromag\u2019s OSX35 aluminum handlebars, 35mm HiFi BSX stem, Format grips, Trailmaster seat, and BA30 V2 wheels.<\/p>\n One Chromag component that\u2019s not included on the stock builds, but was on my test bike, is a set of their Dagga pedals. I liked these pedals immediately. The Daggas shape makes it very easy to tell if your foot is positioned correctly. Between their concave bodies and the slight hump over the axle, your foot will naturally be most comfortable when it\u2019s centered on the pedal. The bodies are just big enough to provide support to every bit of my size 9.5 foot, and the pins are on the grippier side.<\/p>\n The Throwdown\u2019sRockShox Vivid Ultimate rear shock offered smooth bump eating performance, and its Firm mode ensures good pedalling efficiency. It\u2019s easy to tell the shock\u2019s adjustments are functioning well – As noted above, I had to play with rebound settings but produced very noticeable results with a few clicks. <\/p>\n SRAM\u2019s Eagle 90 transmission performed flawlessly throughout all my rides with zero adjustment. There were no hesitant shifts, no skipping gears, and the shifter has a solid, crisp feel. A bashguard on the chainring is a welcome finishing touch for this rowdy bike.<\/p>\n This bike rolls on Chromag\u2019s BA30 V2 wheelset. I can assure you these rims are tough! On my first ride with my rebound set too slow I punished the Throwdown\u2019s rear wheel, repeatedly thumping it hard and burping sealant in several places. Despite that the rear rim has a barely noticeable wobble, no hops and no dents. The front wheel still looks brand new after all my rides.<\/p>\n Chromag stuck with Maxxis\u2019 trusty Minion DHF\/DHR tires with a 2.5\u201d front and 2.4\u201d rear, both with DoubleDown casings. A common choice, but for good reason \u2013 they\u2019re solid all-around treads.<\/p>\n The 180mm travel OneUp Components V3 dropper post was pretty sticky on my bike, but this is a test mule and I wasn\u2019t the first person to ride it! I previously owned a OneUp post for several years and it was flawless, so I\u2019m sure this one just needs a service. I am stoked to see a nice long travel post on a medium frame.<\/p>\n The Chromag Throwdown (Eagle 90 build) retails for $5250. Check out all the details on Chromag\u2019s website. <\/p>\n chromagbikes.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n The post The Chromag Throwdown Eagle 90 is a Burly Enduro MTB That Takes All The Hits in Stride<\/a> appeared first on Bikerumor<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/figure>\nRide Impressions: Suspension Setup<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\nClimbing<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/figure>\nDescending<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/figure>\nGeometry<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/figure>\nOther Ride Notes<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\nWater Bottle\/Accessory Compatibility<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\nComponents:<\/h2>\n
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