Pinnacle is the own brand of bike retailer Evans and its bikes generally give good value for money in our experience of testing them over the years. The Ramin 3 Plus is no exception, featuring some great componentry, and its decision to run a rigid fork has given it more cash to splash on other gear.
The double-butted, heat-treated aluminium frame is paired with a cro-mo steel fork that houses dropouts for a QR wheel skewer. The rigid fork also helps keep the weight down to a spritely 13.05kg (28.8lb).
To maximise the amount of grip available from the large volume plus tyres, it’s crucial to run them at low pressure
The bottom bracket sits in an eccentric shell allowing you to adjust its vertical and horizontal position. This versatile system lets you drop the BB height in order to run 29in wheels or easily convert to a single speed transmission should you wish. The seat tube curves forward to make room for the large tyre carcass on the Ramin’s 27.5+ sized wheels and allows the dropouts to be as short as possible, which helps give a lively ride.
While the head tube angle is a pretty conservative 70 degrees, a generous reach of 435mm (size medium) and decent cockpit of 720mm bars and 60mm stem gives plenty of control and room to manoeuvre the bike. Though the big tyres soak up a fair bit of trail buzz, riding a fully rigid bike takes a little getting used to at first. But once you do get used to it, the Ramin is easy to chuck around and can carry speed very well.
To maximise the amount of grip available from the large volume plus tyres, it’s crucial to run them at low pressures (generally sub-18psi) and I’d definitely recommend going tubeless to avoid pinch flats.
The fast rolling and fairly light (for a plus tyre at least) WTB Bridger gives a pretty good dollop of grip up front and while it does occasionally break free, the hefty amount of rubber on the trail means you quickly regain traction without too much drama. With its side walls being wider than its tread pattern, I'm less keen on the rear Trailblazer though, as the tyre is prone to squirming and suffering damage as you lean the bike through the turns.
The Shimano Deore brakes do a good job and shifting through the 1x10 drivetrain is also well taken care of by Deore.
While we really enjoyed the suspension-free playfulness of the Ramin, it’s also a good choice if you’re looking to go bikepacking. It’s light, there’s not too much to go wrong, it has bottle-mounts on the forks and plenty of space for frame bags.