Technical Report Schwalbe Magic Mary (F) and Nobby Nic (R): Equipped with a go-to combination of grippy Schwalbe rubber, the Snabb's tires offer impressive grip on all but the most extreme terrain. Out front, the Magic Mary lives up to its name – gripping on ground that would make other tire manufacturer's wince. The Nobby Nic does a great job of providing controlled braking and the profile of the side knobs mean they don't flex or distort too much on harder surfaces. The tire's casings are quite thin, and out of the box the Snabb comes set up with tubes. I've managed to puncture both the front and back, thanks to small, sharp rocks penetrating the tire's carcasses.
SRAM Guide R Brakes: Unfortunately SRAM's 180mm Guide brakes specced on the 29er Snabb didn't feel best-suited to this bikes' 'send it' attitude. Compared to their bigger sibling, they feel rather lack-luster and it strikes me as a strange move by NS to fit a trail orientated brake to a bike that is going to spend most of its time being ridden in anger downhill. That said, even after some torturously rotor-burning braking, their performance wasn't reduced, so the lack of power was, at least, consistent.
NS own-brand Bars, Stem, Grips & Saddle: NS' own brand contact points easily match the performance of big brand name offerings while helping keep the overall price of the bike down. The bars specced on the Snabb aren't listed on NS' website as a stand-alone product, but at 780mm wide they're big enough for most. I did find that while they had enough back-sweep, there wasn't much up-sweep, so if you like your bars rolled forwards or backwards they'll look a little odd to the eye. The Hold Fast grips didn't leave my hands yearning for Renthal's super tacky lock-ons, but they aren't going to be setting any records for comfort either. The saddle was comfy enough on the climbs, but like the grips, isn't going to be setting a new standard for performance. When these parts wear out, you'll probably want to change them rather than replace them like-for-like, but they're more than good enough for this to be a low-priority upgrade.
NS Enigma Roll Rims on NS Rotary Hubs: Once again, NS' own-brand offering performed without a hitch. The rims were wide enough (30mm - measured, internal) to give the tires a great profile with a solid edge for cornering and built in such a way that I didn't notice flex or twang without them being too harsh.
KS Lev Integra Dropper Post: The post has performed faultlessly and its lever actuation is light and predictable. It does require a full-travel push to get the post to rise at the correct speed, though. Pushing the lever 3/4 of the way through its travel will make the post extend, but at a slower speed.
Shimano's XT Drivetrain: The fantastically performing, easy to set up and utterly dependable 11-speed XT consistently leaves me with a smile on my face. Push the shifter and the gears change time after time in exactly the same way. Compared to SRAM's Eagle it is missing 4-teeth which does mean you've got to push harder on really steep climbs, but I'm inclined to let this go because there isn't a faff-heavy set-up process and an ultra-sensitive and small B-tension sweet spot required for seamless shifting, and you can always upgrade with a smaller chainring or an expander cog for your standard XT cassette.
I've loved having a teeny tiny granny gear when I've blown out my legs cranking around on the rest of the ride but gotta get that last long miserable climb of a truly epic and delirious day....or hour.
This is such a dumb--not to mention cliched, condescending and douchey--argument that lower gearing is for pussies, and we should all just suck it up and grind a 1x9.
Isn't the point of riding to a) have as much fun as possible, and b) go as fast as possible? Well, if you mash a bigger gear it's going to blow out your short-twitch muscles, which means you're going to deplete those muscles faster and, over the course of a long ride, be a lot slower. Whereas turning a smaller gear means you can rely more on your cardiovascular fitness, which means more endurance, more consistent energy, and faster riding overall. Plus, you have a helluva lot more fun doing it.
If you like mashing bigger gears, then by all means, do it. All I ask is that you please just shut the hell up about it. You guys are worse than Vegan Crossfitters, I swear...
If I see the photo correctly, the shock is almost completely bottomed out on that berm.
This whole review reads like one of Jeremy Clarksons Mercedes reviews from Top Gear. On the surface it's glowing (Mercedes was a Top Gear sponsor after all, by a large margin) but he always found a polite and professional way to let the viewer read between the lines and know that in reality the Mercedes he was handling made no sense and handled like garbage.
My point is, PeaFunk is right, that's way too much travel to use in that situation, something is off with the bike.
Ummm?
@jason475 -The bike's ride characteristics dictate how it is going to ride. These ride characteristics are a combination of many factors such as geometry, suspension kinematics, suspension tunes, components fitted etc etc.
The reviewer is doing a great disservice to the consumer by providing blatantly false info. Then these tools put 'No affiliation' in their "Bios" LoL
I don't see any NS stuff except on their stock builds.
Cheers!
He was going for 30% sag on the fork which seems ridiculous. It'll be almost impossible to get a good riding fork (for aggressive riding as the bike is intended) at 30%. Fox doesn't even recommend it. 15-20% is their recommendation, and Most that ride aggressively, that I know at least will be much closer to that 15% give or take a few %, mostly take.
Also, the bar roll thing bugs me. A handlebar typically has more backsweep than upsweep. A person who likes bars rolled forward is looking for more upsweep/less backsweep than the handlebar comes with, and vice-versa. He complains of the little upsweep, then rolls bar back (presumably because he wants even less upsweep? idk.) to a ridiculous extreme and complains it looks funny? Or is he just rolling it back because he likes a rolled back bar for no real reason at all, just because that's "his thing"? I actually have that exact bar, and while it does have a weird bend to me as well, everything presented about it in the article has no logic too it.
Also the guide brakes were common on DH bikes as oe spec when the new codes weren't on the market yet, and even still today are found on many DH bikes and enduro race bikes. It's a 4 piston trail/enduro brake and it's on an enduro bike. Sure, there are better brakes, but to say the brakes and bike don't share the same intention is silly.
He then goes on to say he likes a more supportive setup from the suspension than most. So why’d you even start at 30% dude? I’m not surprised it felt shit. And as you say if the reviewer just wanted to start with what is considered a ‘standard’ setup where most buyers will start then 15-20% would have been appropriate.
Generally I enjoyed the review just thought that was a little odd.
I still want bike reviews to be written by an expert level rider that is knowledgeable about set-up and nuances between bikes, but doesn't research or look at geo/spec sheets/or any information prior to riding and determining the feel of the bike. I feel so many of these guys look at the geo, leverage specs, and specs and decide things prior to even hopping on the bike. Self-fulfilling bike reviews are the norm everywhere it seems.
ditto on taking volume spacers out rather than putting them in.
Can you explain that a little bit further to me?
(Genuine curious)
Finding with these more properly sorted air springs that are softer off the top (evol/debonair/lufkapette), that ditching the tokens and running much higher air pressure is the ticket to finally getting enough mid stroke support. Really lets you push the bike just that much harder.
Agreed that 30% sag is suspect, review reads to me like suspension was just not properly setup. Will say that found on my 2018 36 RC2 that the fox recommended rebound setup was wayyyyyy to slow, packed up and led to harshness and a feeling of little support. Running something like 3-5 clicks faster than recommended and it's much better.
Mid support is what I feel I am lacking the most, running 3 of the possible 4 tokens with my fork (think i am going to be removing some.)
Did you catch the episode of the privateer where Adam had the help of Steve from Vorsprung? Pretty similar situation iirc Adam was looking for more support while maintaining a similar bottom out force.
Btw - owning a similar NS bar, i can agree the bend looks weird, especially when rolled back so far, it's actually super super comfortable. I had my doubts early on, but after trying so many bars, top of the line, i now feel the NS is the most comfortable on i own due to this back sweep.
What does this even mean? As a throw-away paragraph filler, fine, but as the first of three "Pros", I don't know what to make of this. Isn't this a true statement for literally *every* bike?
This 'review' contains false info that has been pointed out. The reviewer has commented to some replies surely noting the others, and yet no correction/s has/have been made.
But yes, it's all bullshit, as I was trying to point out. The first Pro is nonsense, and the other two listed Pros are directly contradicted by the Cons.
"and 20-degrees of dial turn of compression damping from fully open"........?????
Have you seen how cheap XT stuff is when you order it from Europe? NS cost for that drivetrain is probably 30$. I know it works and the XT brand is bulletproof but for this much coin you really need something better. At least give me an XT shifter!
Do you need help setting up that fork, i weight the same as you
First you mention fit4, the fit4 and the grip damper are very different; all of the specs you posted show a grip damper but you keep referencing the fit4 3 position damper? Which do you have?
I initially pumped up the bike's Fox 36 EVOL Float FIT4 3-position lever( which is not the shock spec above) to 75 psi, giving me 30% sag; fox never recommends 30% sag, 15-20% should be your go to. Which would be 80-85psi, I would stick with 1 bottom out token though you could have used 3 worst case. For me 2 bottom out spacers and 15% sag was too much.
. The bike was delivered with a 10cc orange volume reducer in the fork and I added 16 clicks of rebound damping from fully open, and 20-degrees of dial turn of compression damping from fully open.
Way too slow of rebound im running 80psi, 1 orange tolken, and 5 clicks of rebound. Sounds like not only were you too soft, but you were too slow; let'er breathe.
Same with the rear shock, less sag, less rebound and let'r eat.
I will happily suffer harsher top stroke if it means I’m not riding out a bottomed out barge.
In fact personally I’d rather keep the damping active and use the spring rate to hold it up.
Harshness be damned. Mid stroke is king.
This in my opinion gives me the best traction.
A fork will dive 60% into its travel if you use way to much front brake and brake hard.
Mid stroke support is all the rage. To compensate for .... well ...less than great braking skills.
If I ride sloppy I use all my travel . If I ride smooth the bike floats in the middle of the suspension.
A combination of sloppy riding and heavy braking causes my suspension to pack up.
I prefer to ride smooth and have a plush suspension.
There is no correct set up.
Still I think this NS bike is a trail bike biased towards DH not an Enduro race machine.
I don't disagree with anything else, just highlights different perspectives and preferences on suspension set-up.
I'm a handlebar freak. I tried the best, most popular handlebars for years. Got the NS one with quite a bit of skepticism, but i can now say the high backsweep angle makes this the most comfortable MTB handlebar i've owned. Took a little getting used to, especially since i preferred higher riser bars, but now i can't go back. I urge people to try it. NS makes pretty sweet components, with interesting spec (weight, colors etc...)
That said, I have a coil in my snabb 160. With a slightly stiffer spring it rides exactly how I want it too. If I make a bad line choice into a big square edge at speed, I will be punished with a harsh bottom out; but shouldn’t we be punished for making mistakes? Haha. No harsh bottom outs during normal bike park/Enduro use.
Progressive bottom out bumpers on some of the new coils will help with this.
Thanks mate! I’m exactly thinking about that, upgrading my snabb 160 with a dhx2 coil shock. I guess it’s gonna be less playful but more shred-oriented o suppose.
Janusz na Twisterze na nieswoim rowerze! Jego Grazyna w oddali, na Rowni tarcze pali! Pozyczyl se Gianta, i udaje eleganta! Reigna - Passata polskiego Enduro! Marzyl o takim jeszcze przed matura! Lecz co to, obok harata Kruku, wkurwia Komami lokalesow na Facebooku... oh musialem...
Nevertheless I am proud to see a Polish brand in here as well.
Personally for me NS are way more advanced in design and technology than fartmoor. I'll happyly agree that NS choice of colors was awfull for a long time but now it's more than fine. I don't own any of their frames/bike at the moment but when I'll decided that's time for I change I definitively will check them out.
PS: You know Waki, we do things so different for example I don't put anything up my arse to get any opinion. Cheers baby :*
As for primal, the tire was way below true 2,4" and all the essential info was in my test.
You're right about one thing: if it would be NS instead of fartmoor I would wirte the same thing about lack of tire clearance.
Why do frame designers make this mistake over and over and why no reviewer mentions this aspect?
How is this a Con?
···‾‾‾\/‾‾‾‾
·····//
···(//)
‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
When the bike is going forwards, and the ground is going "backwards" (towards the rear wheel) the force of the impacts goes up and back, parallel/in to the fork, and compresses the fork and is absorbed. If there were a rear fork, like this:
···\\
···(\\)
‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
The forces in the rear still go up and back /, but this wouldn't do anything for a fork, except break it. The impact (energy/motion) needs to change from / to \. Hence why we need pivots/swingers/chainstays/seatstays and everything else at the back of the bike... in part to change this:
··/
·/
/
into this:
\\
··\
···\
····)
···/
or this:
----
······\
·······\
········)
·······/
(More or less... those sketches were VERY rough. The dots are just there to act as spaces)
If you could squeeze the words 'boost' 'super' or 28.99 in there somewhere we can prolly push it north of $1k!
Welcome to the club
HERE IN THE USA WE ONLY MEASURE WITH INCHEGE, FEETAGE, MILEAGE, & BIG TONNAGE.
....Who’s with me?!
Nothing to do with gallons or liters. Everything to do with impotent governments bowing to multinational corporations, but I digress.