Bionicon Supershuttle, was a suprise to me !!!

weeksy59

So, my CUBE (Stolen) and my Commencal are both paid off, so decided "why not" and have bought a new beast for UK trailcentres and Morzine. I wanted something with decent travel, decent kit and a decent price.

Was chatting to my neighbour yesterday who'd just got back from Cannock Chase and once again he was telling me about how good his was. I'd test ridden his a couple of times and must admit, they always felt exceptional, but always out of my price range..

Made a call to Squarewheels in Scotland, just to see if they had any ex-demo bikes etc.

Bionicon Supershuttle 2 - Mountain Bikes

Conversation was quite amusing... well, it was for me. Blokey basically told me that Bionicon are pulling out of retailers outlets and doing self-merchandising (like Canyon).

So, on Tuesday, my new Bionicon Super Shuttle 2 is being sent..

For those who don't know they use a rather unique push button suspension system, which means at the press of a button you go from 150mm down to 80mm on the front, but at the same time it both stiffens and raises the rear..... then press again and you're back in full-on DH mode of full travel and squishiness. Takes a couple of rides to get used to... but is apparently second nature then

So i'm all excited now..

tarbot18

Nice bike what colour did you get ? looks even more complicated than my gt s i drive system whats the weight like.

specialeyes

Says 29lb on the webby. Looks awesome, would love to try that suspension system out! Very trick. Enjoy!

cat_with_no_tail

Excellent bike. Welcome to the club.

You're right too, the travel adjust system is easy to get used to.

I think as long as they keep Roger in the UK, and make sure he's got plenty of support, the direct sales thing could work out well for them. Having a UK service centre is a good thing. It's especially good if it means they can drop prices a little.

jay12

not the nicest looking bike ever BUT function > looks. and the system on bionicons is amazing

weeksy59

Mine is in white... in all honesty, i'd rather have had in bronze... but the price was ridiculous..

RRP price was £2400... He dropped it to £1999... i spoke to him and said "out of my price range...." He dropped it to £1500.... "can you sweeten it a bit and i'll buy today.."

"how about £1300 " was his reply..

"Can you post it and throw on a set of pedals for that price?"

"yeah OK.."

"here's my card number"

Ghostt

I wish I hadn't read that last bit, that's a very good deal. Might be another one on here soon! Looks good, bet you can't wait. Any upgrade plans?

weeksy59

I was amazed when he dropped a bit more.. even more amazed when he dropped by £200 lol. Was impossible to resist it then.

Upgrades, well firstly it's a Qn rahter than a direct answer as i've not researched fully yet...

Chainset: Truvativ Stylo Team 44/32/22
Bottom Bracket: Truvativ

Is that using the GXP ? I thought/think most it not all Truvativ are running GXP's ? IF so, that will be the first upgrade when the GXP fails after 3 weeks lol. I've never known a BB to fail so quickly as the 2 GXP's i've owned... so will probably swap the crankset out to a Shimano SLX set.
Other than that, it's likely to go to a 1x9 as i won't be running up too many hills on it and certainly no 50+ mile XC days, so i should be fine on a 1x9 with a 11/34 rear but may drop to a 32 middle if i need just to give me a slightly easier gearing... Although i've not yet looked into what chainguide mounts i have on the frame, so haven't given it a lot of thought. But would be nice to bin the front mech and the gearing etc.

edit : The answer seem to be yes, it's running a GXP.... Grrrrrr. Not for long.

cat_with_no_tail

Yes it runs GXP, and it was also the 1st thing I swapped over. Seems to be about the 1st thing everyone swaps over. You'd think Bionicon would get the message.

I'm fairly certain it's not got ISCG tabs, but I can confirm they work well with a double and a stinger.
Single and superstar plasma BB mount guide would work too.

weeksy59

I'm going to speak to shop bloke tomorrow and ask him to take it off and swap before even shipping i think. If he only charges me £30-50 to swap to an SLX it will save me some messing. I don't mind doing the work swapping etc but can't be bothered buying/selling...

weeksy59

I take it, if i don't have ISCG mounts then i want one of something like these in a BB mount ?

http://www.gamutusa.com/products/G25-Chainguide.html

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=21651

lawman

personally i would suggest the E-thirteen LG1, it has been faultless for me so far, and others that have used it back me up, it is a superb piece of kit, very well made, tough, light and super quiet, the ISCG 05 version comes with a backing plate to use it with a bb mount, which is included, and it fits my Ibis Mojo fine, so i imagine it would fit the bionicon

weeksy59

Good info, thanks

weeksy59

Not exactly sure what he means by this one... LOL.

Hi
We've tried to fit Shimano SLX cranks to this model in the past, but the Shimano Hollowtech 2 BB is too narrow to work with the suspension system

Here's some pics though

cat_with_no_tail

Niiiiiiiiice!

Not sure what he's on about with the SLX thing. Surely if the GXP fits, the shimano one will too.

weeksy59

That would of course be my assumption... but will wait until it arrives and then get one on and see if i can work out what he's on about. I can whip the cranks of my 29er to give it a test etc.

1mancity2

weeksy59 wrote:

"how about £1300 " was his reply..

Bloody hell thats cheap,

now how much credit have i got on that card!!

1mancity2

Nice bike btw

weeksy59

1mancity2 wrote:

Nice bike btw

Thank you

weeksy59

specialeyes

Been for a spin yet? What's that x fusion shock like?

weeksy59

specialeyes wrote:

Been for a spin yet? What's that x fusion shock like?

Not yet, only finished applying heli-tape a little while ago. Won't get a chance to test it fully until the weekend when hopefully i'll go to Cwmcarn on it for a blast. The system itself seems great and the change in geometry is a VAST ammount.

cat_with_no_tail

Orsums!

What's the score with the SLX chainset then?

weeksy59

Not actually sure mate. Looking at he bike I think the swing arm may foul somehow, however as I'm planning on running as a single I don't think it will come into play.

First thoughts are that the brakes are amazing and the suspension system is cool

weeksy59

Well the first little jaunt is done and here's the report...

First things first.... part of me thinks i should have bought a large LOL. It's just a fraction too small where the seatpost is extended to the min insertion point. However i spoke to Bionicon and they're fine if i run a longer seatpost.
SO, moving on.... it's very very plush.... and very very flickable.. the speed i can personally carry on downy bits is definately improved over any of me previous bikes, i find myself reaching for the brakes a lot less on this.

The peddaling is easy and the steeering takes some getting used to... it's like riding a SM compared to a Harley when in DH mode... the front end feels a MILE out compared to my usual XC style machine... it's a little weird and takes some getting used to. As you can imagine, it soaks up bumps etc like they don't exist.. making it a very pleasurably ride indeed.

The suspension system... well i think this is a complete revelation... one you may not be able to get your head around wthout actually trying a Bionicon...the ammout of change in geometry is just ridiculous, you're almost scraping the floor with your chin in fully compressed mode, then staring up at the sky in DH mode. The only real irritation with it is that you have to stand up to compress the forks to get into uphil mode.. However, when you're cracking on, you'll find you do that anyway in day to day riding (or i certainly do anyway)
I also have a small knock when in full climb mode and pushing hard uphills... i think it's the fork bottoming as it compresses from an almost full compression, but i'l look into that further.

My last little section is a tight twisty fast DH singletrack and the Bionicon flies down it... at a rapid rate. The fact it's a touch small for me means i can man-handle the thing well and flick it about underneath me with ease and almost graceful posie

At this stage i'm very happy with the purchase.

I've fitted a nice little bash ring and also my chainstay protector

weeksy59

Well it looks like my bright idea maybe wasn't so bright...

Someone commented about a knocking npoise on a mates SS with a bash-ring fitted...

funnily enough.... i have a noise now too LOL.

Will be whipping it off tongith to see

cat_with_no_tail

Needs a droppy post. Get a longer one so you can get the most benefit. 400mm 4" drop should be soundies.

Assuming of course yours a funny size seat-tube like mine? 30.0. Too small for reverbs, Joplins etc, but perfect for gravity-obvious.

sheepsteeth

Cat With No Tail wrote:

Needs a droppy post. Get a longer one so you can get the most benefit. 400mm 4" drop should be soundies.

Assuming of course yours a funny size seat-tube like mine? 30.0. Too small for reverbs, Joplins etc, but perfect for gravity-obvious.

or get a ks i7 like i have on my willow, it is very good. ugly as sin of course but very good and the remote is the best i have used.

nice bike by the way.

DodgeT

Comparison to the big wheeler you bought?

weeksy59

DodgeT wrote:

Comparison to the big wheeler you bought?

If you know motorbikes, it's like comparing my 2 bikes, a KTM950smr and a Ducati 749. They simply couldn't be further apart other than having gears and 2 wheels.

The 29er is an XC beast, climbs like a monkey on heat, flies accross tracks and trails, but of course, is an over the bars type XC hardtail. Compared to the Bionicon you can really notice the difference in turning speed, the Bionicon with the head angle/geometry is just so plush and flickable and on tight twisty downhills it almost seems to pick the line for you... whereas the 29er just steamrollers it's way down.

I've not ridden the Bionicon on an XC ride to state how good or bad it is for that and how much the comfort of the FS comes into play, so you'll have to wait a wee while, the weather is slightly against us.

weeksy59

Cat With No Tail wrote:

Needs a droppy post. Get a longer one so you can get the most benefit. 400mm 4" drop should be soundies.

Assuming of course yours a funny size seat-tube like mine? 30.0. Too small for reverbs, Joplins etc, but perfect for gravity-obvious.

Due to the fact i've bought the wrong size frame you could easily argue, i don't really need a dropper as the seatpost is maxed out. I could however of course buy a 400mm post and get the extra 30mm i'm short of it fitting just right...

Although currently i'm still playing with seat position, bar position and lever angles to get it right before deciding to spend any extra.