Bionicon – Golden Willow, anyone riding them? Pics & opinions please.

I’m interested in this bike after seeing the best kit of the year awards. Quite surprised that I’ve never heard of them before.

Is anyone riding them? Got any pics or thoughts to spare.

Cheers, Gunner

I’ve not got one but I did a few test rides on one a while back. I think they are fantastic. The adjustable angles thing really works and is very intuitive after 10 mins of playing around with it. You have a slacked out 6″ mini-downhill bike one second and a fast-handling, steep angled, short travel xc bike for getting up the hills another second. It really does work. Limited/no choice over shocks etc but the standard ones seem to work really well. It is probably a pound heavier than you would like but nothing too serious and now the Scandium version is available if you are a weight weenie. There are a few test bikes knocking round the LBS’s so you should be able to try one out. MooseCycles in london and Mountain High in Pangbourne both have/had test bikes, as did Abbey Cycles in Liverpool.

Most people dismiss them as being gimmicky and unreliable but in fact they are neither. In the end I wanted a “play” bike and I got a Blur 4X, otherwise I would have got a Golden Willow.

had a golden willow, superb little bike,also have an eddison, which is also a real blast, had people ask for a go on the ‘gimik’, then ride it round a field tand tell me it was crap, but if you talk to your local dealer (or roger the importer) and get a decent test ride you will love it.

Matt

had a demo on one late last year on a very up and down route, really liked the angle adjust for climbing, very good.

Thanks for the replies. I’ll see if I can book a test ride.

I have one:

When I read about them the first thing I thought was ‘Gimmick’ however when I saw them at Laggan Demo Day I felt compelled to give it a try. I was very impressed! quite Germanic in it’s design and engineering and point to point it’s a quicker bike than my Stumpy FSR despite being slightly heavier.
The air transfer system is ingenious, simple to use and easily maintained. It’s well worth a try.
But……there’s always a but….
My experience of their aftersales leaves a lot to be desired. first of all, when my bike was delivered it was packed so poorly that the frame was damaged. It was returned by the dealer however it took Bionicon a month to get another out to me. They gave me a pair of shorts for my trouble.
The second is still ongoing (5 months on.) Not long after getting the bike I put bike tape on to protect it (as I have with my other 5 bikes) although when I went to reposition the tape the lacquer peeled away with it and then flaked off after that. I had the paint assessed by a couple of paintshops and they were of the opinion that the finish was of a poor quality with very poor adhesion. Bionicon weren’t interested and the most they can do is offer me a jacket for my troubles. Despite being advised to pursue it I can’t be bothered so am having it resprayed to the colour and quality I’m happy with.
It’s a shame as it’s soured the ownership of what I otherwise consider to be a very good bike.

Thanks for the info Barney, sorry to hear about the warranty issues, I hope you get them sorted out. A jacket isn’t really cutting the mustard is it. The bike looks good though.

How do you find the rear shock action? Has the shock got any sort of platform damping? Worried that it looks as though it may suffer from bob on the way up.

I am going to the GT demo day and I guess I can wait till then to make a decision, just trying to do my homework before I go. Thanks for the help.

nice looking bikes, I love the idea of the long travel front, short travel back end for the DH’s but how well does it work the other way around?

The bike looks a bit better now (imo) with the addition on gold lock-ons, gold brake lever blades, a brown Charge spoon and de-stickered wheels.
I have the ‘basic’ ‘Willow and as such have no pro pedal or lock out options but to be honest I don’t find it too ‘bobby’ (perhaps more than my Stumpy right enough) but I feel if you’re not too heavy a rider the air transfer can help balance the ride out.

Where in the world are you? If you’re near by then you’re more than welcome to have a ride on mine.

I’m in Edinburgh Barney… where are you? I’m heading towards clyde size!! Trying to loose a bit with some success. Hence the worry about rear bob.

If I have read the spec correctly the willow2 has some pro-pedal copy shock. Not 100% about that tho. I like the idea of adjustable geo. i’m looking for a bike that can do trail centers and longish days out northern Scotland.

So far its this and the Cotic Hemlock that have caught my eye.

What size is your frame Barney? How tall are you I just checked their spec PDF and the top tubes measure really long. It states 25″ for a large. That seems lengthy to me!

you don’t notice it for the climbs
it is like the travel adjust that you get on other forks you don’t really need bounce on climbs anyhow

there is a rebound adjustment on the basic shock but the higher spec shock has all the bells and whistles (it is what i am upgrading on my bike next)

i have had nothing but good things to say about the customer service from roger

hope you enjoy it

matt

I’m in between Dundee and Perth so not too far.
I’m 5’9″ and ride a medium but could have got away with a small. It is longer than my 18″ ‘Dale and Med. Stumpy but nothing major.
My email is in my profile, if you find yourself in the area get in touch and if I’m not working the bike is here for you to try.

Paul.