I Went Digging Online and Found Signs Forbidden Bikes May Be Entering XC

I’ve been doing some detective work lately to try to figure out what is coming in 2026 from Forbidden, and I think I might be onto something. Forbidden has done an excellent job of hiding the new bike they are developing in plain sight. Despite my digging, we don’t have many details, and there aren’t any clear and confirmed images of the new short-travel bike from Forbidden. But we do know that the bike in this video, posted by Teddy Hayden, isn't one that the brand currently offers. So what is this new XC bike?

From what I can tell, it’s not a high-pivot; we know that much from the video and other glimpses seen on social media. Other than these quick glimpses and pauses to analyze Instagram reels, there isn’t a lot of information about the new bike that Teddy has been riding - and his videos have done a pretty good job at keeping things vague for prying eyes like mine.

View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article

In the video, we can hear Teddy say something about the riding being “Downcountry,” and to me, this alludes to the bike's travel and geometry. If we are to follow the breadcrumbs, the bike will likely have 120mm of rear wheel travel and be paired with a 120 or 130mm fork - much like the newest Norco Revolver and Transition Spur.

That also leads us to speculate on the suspension design, as we can tell the bike is not following the inverted four-bar linkage (Trifecta) seen on the Druid and Dreadnaught. So, what is the new plan of attack for this bike, and could Forbidden be experimenting with flex-stays as we see on other bikes in this travel category?

If you watch the entire video, you can catch glimpses of the suspension linkage, albeit it’s pretty blurry, but it looks to be a more familiar four-bar, or even a linkage-driven single pivot with flex stays, but it’s really pretty hard to tell from the video. The images below show the frame silhouette and the absence of an idler wheel.

After dredging some forums, I did come across a few unconfirmed posts from some less-than-reputable sources that support my speculations on travel and the move away from a high-pivot design. But this is all just rumor at this point, but with Teddy putting in time on the rig and others spotting what could be the new downcountry bike from Forbidden out in the wild, we might be pretty close to getting some answers. 

As someone who loves the XC/DC trend, I’m really looking forward to what Forbidden can deliver with this new platform, and I'm crossing my fingers for a short-travel bike with longer chainstays.