Rider Reviewed: Guerrilla Gravity Trail Pistol
The first trip of the season for Chasing Epic- the Monarch Crest Enduro last month- saw every single rider choose the Guerrilla Gravity Trail Pistol as their weapon of choice for the 4-day trip. No surprise either, as we specifically chose the build kit and suspension setup for trips like this. Built as their “Pistola” one-off, our demo bikes have 130mm of rear travel and a 150mm Rockshox Lyrik up front; essentially the perfect do-it-all trail bike.
After the trip was done, we asked for feedback on the bikes- no coercing, we wanted our reviews to be completely honest. Here are the replies we received:
Carmine, 6’3″ (Size 3)
The Trail Pistol was made for your kinds of trips, big climbs and epic descents. Surprisingly for a big burly bike it climbed efficiently with no noticeable pedal bob. However, I found this bike to be at home plowing through the chunk. Pick any line no matter if it was the bad one and it would eat it up.
I could ride this bike for hours and literally did without feeling like it was beating me up on the descents. I especially like the wheelset and tires: the DHF and Dissector love to grip and rip. Weighing over 200lbs and combining that with long descents the RSC brakes did great and did not experience any brake fade.
Brian, 5’9″ (Size 2)
When I think about mountain bike performance, my first question is “how does it perform on the roughest, gnarliest, most-rugged trails on the planet?” Greens Creek off Monarch Pass in Colorado is a great proving ground for any bike, and I had the chance to put the Guerilla Gravity Trail Pistol to the test. In most cases, a great descent starts with a climb, so climbing performance matters to me. I found the Trail Pistol to be a very capable technical climber with a solid pedaling platform for retaining traction and good ground clearance to avoid the pedal strikes through the techy sections.
Once the climbing is over and you point downhill.. that’s where the Trail Pistol really shines. Within a few moments you realize this is a bike that wants to go down and plow through whatever stands in its way. Did I mention doing that fast? Very fast. The Rockshox suspension made for a smooth ride and consistent line over talus and baby heads, through chutes, off drops, and over boulders. While definitely a “plower”, the Trail Pistol was also plenty snappy and responsive. It was also at home when the tires left the earth, and I found it easy to drop the tires right where I wanted them. It is definitely a bike that gives confidence to its rider.
Jonathan, 6’4″ (Size 4)
One underrated aspect of Chasing Epic trips are the demo bikes provided for the trip. On my recent Monarch Crest trip, I rode a Guerrilla Gravity Trail Pistola and I’ll say, the bike rips! It was well-appointed with RockShox suspension, a BikeYoke dropper, and matching Industry Nine wheels that performed even better than they look.
The bike was a 130/150 travel and I repeatedly made the comment I couldn’t tell it was any less than my Ibis Ripmo at 145/160. It certainly seemed to punch above its weight! The geometry was confidence inspiring on technical sections regardless of my poor line choices and remained responsive and playful when the trail turned more flowy. The GG was the perfect bike for this trip and I hated to give it back; plus it’s made in America! What more could you ask for?
