Sunn Bike - First Ride Review



Roots are no problem for this bike..



Took the new Sunn Bike out for its first proper off road session today and I'm pretty impressed.

The first thing that struck me about this bike is how fast and responsive it is. I haven't given it an official weigh in, but it feels light on the trails, climbing over roots and uphill on gravel fire roads with ease (although it will be easier when I'm fitter!).







As well as being fast, the Sunn feels very solid on the ground and the back end of the frame is super stiff with no flex at all. In fact, if you haven't ridden a hardtail for a while you would probably class it as a bone shaker!

However, this trait also makes it a ripper through the corners and means it loves to get airborn. It is very easy to boost off jumps and manouver in the air and altough I don't pretend to have my manualling badge the front end pops up with very little effort at all.

I said in my original Sunn Bike post that I was dubious about running a fork with only 120mm of travel because I am used to more, but I made the right decision....I think.

It would be a lie to say that the front end didn't feel a bit twitchy, but after increasing the psi in the forks from 100 - 120 and slowing the rebound down slightly it settled down a bit and the fork actually felt pretty good through the rough stuff and off any jumps I hit. There is flex in the front but that is to be expected from a standard QR fork and hub and it didnt slow me down or reduce my confidence in the handling.

I wanted a hardtail that was light, manouverable, yet strong and I think the Sunn bike may have been the perfect choice for me. If I'm honest I actually love this bike already and the only possible change in the future maybe a slightly longer travel fork (130 or 140mm) but I will give the Rockshox Recon a fair go first.

The real test for this little beauty will be when it gets taken to Wales at the end of the month and I am looking forward to seeing how it handles Welsh rock!!

DW.