Wow – this bike feels like that novel ‘Weapons of Choice: WW2.1’ where a modern technology equipped US aircraft carrier is transported back into the middle of one of those famous second world war naval battles and single-handedly destroys both the Allied and Axis fleets. This feels like cheating. I’m not a ‘fan’ of 29ers, but it’s ability to role over rough stuff that makes me flinch on a 26 inch wheeled bike is near unbelievable…it’s more of a steamroller than any other bike I’ve ever ridden!

“All cycling should be this effortless,” commented a friend ascending the section now dubbed ‘chain snap’ in a well loved and gnarly part of the country. This thing takes off. Uphill, downhill, it moves.

The gear change is a bot 1950’s tractor like and a die-hard 26″ hardtail rider might call the ultra confident steamroller like ability to get things wrong ‘uninspiring,’ but this is such a game raiser it’s made my 5″ full-sus irrelevant after just two rides.

A shorter/lower stem has cured the nuance of barge like handling on super tight singletrack coreners…though this could have been lived with due to this bikes uncanny ability to plough through any wrong lines/off-piste situations unscathed.

And that box section down tube – Mahooosssive enough for you?!