Dentists, Start Your Engines: The XC Bike Test You Can't Miss

Jennifer Miller · 2026-09-28

Weekdays: surgery lights, drills, and fillings. Weekends: carbon frames, singletrack, and a heart rate pushing 180. If that sounds like your life, keep reading. For our big 2026 cross-country group test, we're opening up our test garage and looking for two dentists who'd trade the surgery for half a day of rough trails, root carpets, and the hottest XC machines of the season. ### Get Your Teeth Into the Season's Most Exciting Bikes SCOTT Spark, Santa Cruz Blur, Specialized S-Works Epic, Canyon Lux World Cup, and more. For our 2026 group test, we're putting the year's fastest and most exciting XC bikes through their paces. And you'll get the unique opportunity to join us and test the latest kit on the trails around Stuttgart. This isn't about chasing KOMs on Strava. It's about real-world riding impressions, talking tech on equal terms, and giving us your honest feedback out on the trail. Join us as we find out which is the best XC bike of the year. Which concept works best in practice, not just on paper? And we want to know: which bike would you want to take home on the spot? Be among the first to test the year's most exciting XC bikes back to back! ### Who We're Looking For We're not looking for pro racers. We're looking for two passionate riders who are hungry for trails and up for a good time. There's just one requirement for taking part in the first Dentist Bike Test: you have to work in dentistry. When and where? - Date: October 6, starting at 1 pm - Location: 71229 Leonberg, Germany - Application deadline: Wednesday, September 30 at 1 pm - Notifications: Same day, September 30 We know that's a pretty tight schedule, but sometimes you've just got to send it ;) Since we're very deliberately leaning into the age-old "dentist bike" cliché, there's one firm rule: proof required! No license to practice or proof that you work in dentistry, no place on the test crew. If you're a student, proof of enrollment will do, along with your latest grades ;) Our resident dentist Kilian will of course be joining us for the benchmarking too. ### How to Join Us Send us a photo and a few lines about yourself, your passion for riding, and proof that you work in dentistry. We'll notify the two selected dentists on September 30, 2026. Apply now! > "The dentist bike cliché is real, and we're embracing it. But beyond the jokes, this is a chance to ride some of the best XC bikes back-to-back and have a say in what makes a great bike." — Jennifer Miller, Lead Mountain Biking Events Analyst & Strategist PS: Our dentist Kilian is also looking for someone to join his bike-mad dental practice, and Annika Langvad is probably the only person who could challenge him for the dentist world championship title. If you can't make the test but fancy spending your working days drilling around in the mouths of half the ENDURO editorial team, get in touch directly with Kilian / Dr. Kilian Klügel's dental practice in 71277 Rutesheim!