Raleigh Tekoa Sport 29er Hardtail

The Raleigh Bicycles Tekoa series offers a wide range of 29er XC bikes for beginners to experts. The Tekoa line is a series of hardtail frames with a variety of builds, including both aluminum and carbon frame options. The model reviewed is the Tekoa Sport in a large size.

On The Trail

The Tekoa Sport is in its element on smooth, flowing single track. It's 29-inch wheels provide a fast and smooth ride that floats over small obstacles with ease. The Suntour XCR 32 fork comes with 100mm of travel and provides a decent amount of shock absorption. The bike comes with the Tektro Auriga Hydraulic disc brakes which provided strong, smooth, and consistent braking and have a nice pull in the levers. The Tekoa's hard tail frame makes climbing out of the saddle feel strong and responsive. Yet that hardtail stiffness comes at a cost, especially when it comes to any technical and/or high speed descents. Like all hardtails, this is the bike's biggest weakness.

Build Kit

The Tekoa line offers a wide range of builds and component sets for each model. The model reviewed, the Sport model, comes with the  Shimano Altus set for the shifters and front derailleur, and in the rear is a 9-speed Shimano Alivio derailleur. The next model up, the Comp, upgrades to the SRAM X5/X7 2x10 groupset along with an upgraded RockShox XC30 fork. All the models, except the Carbon Pro, come with the Kenda Honey Badger tires which have a nice tread pattern that rolls smoothly and transitions into the corners nicely. They match well with the majority of terrain here in Colorado, but do lack a bite when it comes to traction in sandy or loose surfaces.