Bikes - The Good, The Bad & The Javelin

[Fritz X]

Since I couldn't find a thread solemnly dedicated to the bikes of the game, I just felt like creating one myself. Since the experience of the game can vastly differ depending on the choice of your bike, I'd like to share my personal ranking:

1. Boar
The Boar was the first bike that I unlocked, and rightfully so. Compared to the starting bike, the Grasshopper, this bike simply feels like an improvement in each and every way. It's easy to use, has a very precise handling, a still decent sprint and is very fast when crossing rough terrain. After riding the Geronimo and Trailblazer almost exclusively for quite a while, I only came back to the Boar just recently, realizing how much fun this ride is, once again. This bike has a great flow and for my personal taste is the most enjoyable ride. I'd highly recommend this bike to be the first one to unlock.

2. Geronimo
This bike is crazy, in the best possible way. Very slow, bad sprint, but very precise in handling, with the ability to survive the highest drops. Maybe not the best choice for beginners and quite situational (it mostly shines in Free Ride where there are no check points to be crossed), this bike is tons of fun if you just want to find the shortest possible path downhill.

3. Trailblazer
It's pretty much the same as the Geronimo, just not as extreme. A bit faster, a tiny bit better at sprinting, but also weaker at taking punishment when it comes to drops. A very good bike, which I personally just like a tad less than its' crazy cousin, the Geronimo. I though have to admit that I achieve better times with the Trailblazer most of the time, what gives the Geronimo the edge is that it simply is more fun.

4. Pacebreaker
This is a tricky bike. Very fast (but not too fast) when staying on the road, with still rather good handling, yet pretty fragile. Getting most out of this bike is quite a challenge, yet doesn't cause any of the frustration the Javelin does. I find this bike quite fun.

5. Grasshopper
Jack of all traits, master of none. This is the bike you will start your journey on. I have to be honest: I don't like it. I never really warmed up to it, for some reason it doesn't fit my play style, making the game feel more difficult to me than it actually is. Things immediately got better after switching to the Boar.

6. Javelin
This is the worst bike. And by 'worst bike' I mean the worst bike by far. It is crazy fast when going in a straight line, staying on the track. But it's too fast for its' own good. The level design doesn't favor the only advantage this bike has to offer. And apart from its' pure speed, it has nothing positive to offer: It's most fragile and the steering is laughably bad. I view the Javelin as an extra challenge for those who want to 100% the game. It definitely is for me, since the only four challenges I have yet to complete are all Javelin rides. Most important: This bike is a classic beginner's trap. Don't let its' high speed stats lure you into unlocking this bike as your first new one, for it won't help you much progression-wise (unlocking new bike parts) and will most likely only cause frustration and spoil alot of fun. I highly recommend to unlock this one last.

Additional notes - unlocking order
The ranking above is (of course!) influenced by my personal taste and play style. Even though I enjoy the Geronimo very much, I wouldn't recommend new players to unlock it too early into the game, for (as already mentioned above) the bike works best if you already have gathered some experience and is limited by its' stats, making it truly shine in Free Ride mode. Therefore my recommended order of unlocking the bikes would look like this:

1. Boar
2. Trailblazer
3. Pacebreaker
4. Geronimo
5. Javelin

What is your experience when it comes to the six bikes? How would you rank them for yourself? Which one is your favorite? And which one do you really despise?

Feel free to share your opinion.

[nzgunner]

I despise the Javelin, so much that I don't even bother trying to get Javelin based achievements/rewards - it's like sliding down the mountain on a greased piece of glass.

The Geronimo has been my go-to bike ever since I got it, but I've got a soft spot for the Trailblazer.

I think I'd rate the Pacebreaker ahead of the Boar, mainly because I'm at that stage of playing the game where I am looking for more raw speed on individual sections.

Completely agree with you on the Grasshopper and Javelin.

I'd also agree with the order you've suggested to unlock them.

[Photo]

My Ranking order goes like this from Best to worst.

1. Pacebreaker - Most enjoyable, makes me think about the landing and fun on turns
2. Boar - Close to Pace breaker, can take bigger drops but handling is not as fun
3. Javelin - Have to be careful with it, very situational, main course blazer
4. Trailblazer - It's alright, just nothing unique about it, just an upgraded grasshopper
5. Grasshopper - It's a bike.
6. Geronimo - Initially thought it was fun for the big drops, but hate the handling

[CaptHoxworth]

Good post.
For newbies I'd say the Trailblazer is the best first bike to buy as it will help with progression and can smooth out some of the small bumps that are frustrating as you learn the game. The Boar is my go-to for any "X or less crashes" challenges. If you are looking for a bike to increase speed as you progress through the game I'd agree with OP that the Javelin is newbie trap and you should go for the Pacebreaker instead. The Javelin is very powerful in just a few sections of the game but should be used as more of an endgame bike when you want a different style of challenge.

[SpringLeaf]

i wanted the geronimo one for the big skips but with checkpoints and lack of speed i chose tailblazer. Feel soooo much better then Grasshopper. but it lacks speed. skips are nice but i end up lacking the speed.

Trailblazer is my main and only bike. was gonna get geronimo but from what u guys say, Peacebraker looks to be better to finish more time based missions tho it sucks that its bad offroad. boar can be good offroad and has a good fall but with no speed i fear not being able to do better times. Not sure wich of the two to pick

feels like tailblazer is the best one sense it has some speed, good fall, and does well offroad. i can do big skips and good times and it still feels very challenging.

tho i havent tried other bikes. just javelin in the daily missions wich i keep getting almost last place on even with tons of hours of play time xD good practice for sure. doing hard tracks gave me so much confidence to do the ez ones

Edit: i just now got PeaceBraker. man i love this bike. So fast! rides well. it does suck for falls, tho i got expirience from Trailblazer so i can handle them falls still. Offroad does suck but u got so much speed to use that it doesnt matter, at least so far : )

[Concoction of Constitution]

Okay, I just realized that I understand why the Javelin was so godawful and nearly impossible to play.

It wasn't because I was underskilled or because I had not 'gotten gud' yet, or because I needed to learn how to play. Actually, for once, this isn't a matter of skill.

If any of you are reading this and looking for tips for Javelin, USE LEFT/RIGHT STEERING.

My GOD it is so much quicker turning with that than with screen-space steering by a mile. Everyone saying that people are just bad and they suck because they can't use javelin, no, seriously, the controls here make a BIG difference.

I can actually turn at 'full speed' now rather than turning at 20% of what the bike's capable of. This has made any daily using the Javelin much less of a nightmare, and actually feel normal (Now it actually feels like a well-balanced bike, rather than utter trash).

I know it might take some getting used to, especially if you've been using screenspace turning the whole game (Like I have for the most part), but this should improve your success rate incredibly once you have the hang of it.