Paul Turner's Long Travel Machine

WHAT: Maverick ML8 HOW MUCH: frame, $2,500 to $2,800; complete, $5,155 to $6,450 WHERE: www.maverickbike.com

Bits & Pieces: Maverick DUC 32 fork, Maverick rear shock, SRAM X-9 shifters, rear derailleur, FSA carbon cranks, Hayes HFX-9 Carbon brakes. Weight: 28 pounds

Remember the movie Weird Science? Two computer geeks create a “virtual” girlfriend. The girl is perfect—smart, witty, beautiful, and even has a sexy foreign accent. The Maverick ML8 has a similar story, only it represents what happens when bike geeks such as RockShox founder Paul Turner set out to design the perfect ride—a bike you could spend an entire day with and never lust after anything else. After tinkering around for a while, Turner created a 28-pound trail bike with 6.5 inches of travel that pedals well, descends even better and climbs like a monkey on crack.

The secret is the bike’s Mono-Link rear suspension that features a “floating” bottom bracket and an axle path that travels rearward and up. Because the wheel moves away from the bump, the ride feels smoother than if the axle moved straight up, or arced forward as in other designs. The floating bottom bracket allows the cranks to move with the rear end through the travel, reducing chain growth. It also isolates pedaling forces from the suspension, providing a solid pedaling platform without any SPV valves or fancy circuitry.

Despite its basic appearance, there’s a lot of punch into this seemingly benign rear shock. Most noticeably, the shock body is welded to the anodized, monocoque frame. Other perks are less apparent; inside the shock housing, you’ll find a coil spring—the only one in this test—with a high-volume air cartridge that gives the suspension a bottomless feel.

Maybe the only thing more impressive than the rear shock is the massive, dual-crown, upside-down front fork. It is plush, stiff, offers a surprisingly solid pedaling platform, weighs just 3.8 pounds and features the ulta-convenient “click release” thru-axle clamp system.

On the trail, all this translates into a damn fine ride. With a rangy 47.5-inch wheelbase, 68.5-degree headtube angle and plenty of cushion, the ML8 tore through hairy descents, washboard ruts and small drops. It tracked straight on long, curvaceous singletrack turns and when the trails turned skyward, the Mono-Link dug the rear wheel into the trail for added traction.

Not everything was perfect, however. Like most high-class women, the ML8 demands attention, especially while poking along at slow speed. It’s easy to forget that this is a long-travel bike with a dual-crown fork. It begs for an extra dose of diligence while creeping over technical trails. And then there’s the price. The bike is worth every penny, but $6,500 is more than most men would spend on an engagement ring, even if it was for a supermodel with a foreign accent.