It’s the middle of the summer. I’m in GearJunkie’s Minneapolis office, a small blade in hand, ready to unbox a bike. A group of employees gathers around, pecking in to see the “Walmart bike” that’s arrived with measurable anticipation.
Reports of a top-end race build with a $6,000 price tag cast a cognitive dissonance across the office. Why was one of the world’s most budget-driven companies focusing on the upper echelon of the bike world?
Viathon was created to shift consumers’ thinking. That’s according to brand manager Zach Spinhirne-Martin, who wrote a white paper and a business case in 2017 to bring Viathon to life.
“I pitched the idea to my management as a way to more quickly enter the market and change our perception,” he said.
The Viathon M.1, a carbon hardtail with 29-inch wheels, chatters over roots then sluices through a berm. The terrain varies from flowy cross-country trail to downhill-inspired gravity tracks. I ride over ladder bridges and into dense trees.
Read the full review of the Viathon M.1. at gearjunkie.com