Freeride hardtails are all about finesse and toughness, and these bikes deliver by the truckload. They’re made for maximizing air time and sticking the landing, the kind of abuse that would break most frames, but is what you call your everyday ride.

Komodo is the aluminum yin to the kromo’s steel yang, with an incredibly stout Kinesis-built 7005 aluminum frame with double gussets and a humongous 57mm down tube for soaking up big hits and the occasional botched landing. Like kromo, it’s got an aggressively tucked-in rear for traction and flickability, but with the added versatility of 16 trigger-shifted gears.