Dentists Wanted: Test the Fastest XC Bikes of 2026

Jennifer Miller · 2026-09-28

Weekdays: surgery lights, drills, and fillings. Weekends: carbon frames, rooty trails, 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 want to swap the surgery for half a day of rough trails, root carpets, and the hottest XC machines of the season. ### Get Your Teeth into the Most Exciting Bikes of the Season SCOTT Spark, Santa Cruz Blur, Specialized S-Works Epic, Canyon Lux World Cup, and more. For our 2026 group test, we're putting some of the year's most exciting and fastest 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? ### 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? The benchmarking session we're inviting you to takes place on October 6 from 1 pm. We'll meet in 71229 Leonberg, Germany. You can apply until Wednesday, September 30 at 1 pm, and we'll get back to you that same day. 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! 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! > "I've always believed that the best bike testers are the ones who ride for the love of it, not for the podium. That's why we're opening this up to dentists—they know what it's like to balance work and passion, and they'll give us honest feedback without any racing bias." — Jennifer Miller, Lead Mountain Biking Events Analyst & Strategist ### Why This Matters The dentist bike cliché exists for a reason: dentists are often passionate, detail-oriented riders who appreciate the finer points of bike technology. By inviting them into our test, we're not just having fun—we're getting real-world insights from riders who represent a significant segment of the mountain biking community. Plus, it's a chance for two lucky dentists to ride some of the most sought-after bikes of 2026 before anyone else. So if you're a dentist with a need for speed, don't miss this opportunity. Apply today and show us what you've got on the trails!