Tester: Steve Shapiro. Photos: Jazz Kuschke. Article from the June 2012 issue of Ride Magazine.
One cyclist’s budget is another one’s fortune, but in the super-competitive entry-level market, you often get more than you bargain for under R10 500.
With an upper limit of only R10 500, our budget-bike category is very broad, including options from nearly every brand available locally. Last month we tried bikes from Giant, Merida and Momsen and in this issue we head out on the same trails on two more entry-level machines.
Putting them to the test
Where we test Tokai Forest – S34°03’70” EI8°24’84”
Silvermine – S34°05’89” E18°25’26”
The bikes were put through their paces for at least six to eight hours. After two or three short, sharp, technical rides we tackled the more complex singletrack in Tokai Forest and, finally, a ride of up to four hours – usually highlighted by Die Ou Wapad or Noordhoek Peak in the Silvermine Reserve. These are steep jeep tracks, climbs with very loose, gravelly surfaces and numerous water bars.
What we look for
Comfort and reliability were definitely top criteria, but a bike’s capacity for dicing and handling marathon-type endurance races, which form the basis of recreational riding, required consideration. We also had to look at all the components and tyres to complete the picture.
Bits and pieces
At these prices manufacturers do compromise on components to fit budget constraints.
A bike with a 10-speed cluster (including a 36-tooth option) may have a more limited front suspension fork and/or heavier wheels, although that last factor will, to some extent, be compensated for by the generous gear option. Entry-level air forks are almost certain to be lighter than the cheaper, more reliable coil-spring options, but this plays less of a role in downhill functionality (particularly on 29ers). The bikes to which they are attached may have more limited gearing – such as a nine-speed cluster with a 34-cog in place of the 36. Entry-level hydraulic disc brakes are all pretty similar and mostly adequate. The same applies to the majority of the remaining componentry, except wheels. Here lighter is better but they must be strong.
The right rubber
Tyres vary considerably and choices can be both personal and functional. Your preferred terrain and its climate are cardinal, as most of the tyres in this range are good for everything except mud.
South African conditions make a tubeless conversion almost essential, at any level, for a pleasurable riding experience. This usually requires foldable tyres rather than wire beads and, if possible, you should trade your wire bead tyres for foldables at the point of purchase. You won’t regret it.
AXIS AR20
This bike is at the price ceiling of our upper-entry level category, and specified way ahead of the less adventurous machines in the R8000-R8500 bracket. If you want to do more than cruise country roads and tracks, this bike can take it all. Some of the componentry is really classy and although, at just under 13 kilograms, it might be a little heavy to win races or contend challenging stage events, it won’t be put to shame. I loved it.
I have to say that I rode the Axis A20 29er for many hours in some of the most adverse conditions. I never found the bike wanting but, I suspect, if it could talk, it would tell you that it found me wanting.
What it’s got
Fork: The Rockshox Recon Gold suspension fork is no featherweight but it is lighter than the Silver and you can feel it. It soaks up the terrain with aplomb and the remote lockout on the Axis is a tempting luxury that could go to near the top of my wish-list. There are good coil forks available these days but my vote still goes for air which I find lighter, more responsive and even more reassuring.
Drivetrain: The 10-speed cassette with its generous 36-toother is in a dead heat with the fork for the highlight of this machine. But that SRAM X9 mechanism that worked it must get its own heap of kudos – with enough clay-based mud sticking to it to build a life-size replica of Timbuktu, it never missed a shift.
Tyres: I had been worried about the Continental X-King tyre on the back wheel after I managed to tear its partner on my home route before I left for the test-adventure. They weren’t the wire-bead option shown on the spec sheet and converted easily to Stan’s tubeless. Although the sidewalls seemed a bit skimpy to me, the tyres gripped beautifully, dry and wet. The traction I got on that back tyre (which because of my anxiety I’d pumped up harder than is my wont), combined with the 36-toother, a tergo, meant that in the middle ring, the bike acquired that classic 29er momentum on dry, very technical, single-track climbs. I felt I could ride them all day.
Saddle and seatpost: I must confess I replaced the saddle with my own, run-in, bum rest. The original felt a little hard when I rode it on my usual test terrain. All saddles take a bit of getting used to but I wasn’t prepared to risk the consequences over a couple of days in the bush. The Kalloy seat clamp was reliable but a bit fiddly for saddle adjustments using a standard multitool.
Brakes: I’ve often had serious noise complaints with the brand but the Avid Elixir 3 Hydraulic disc brakes were as quiet as a nun and worked just as well as the less pious models of the same brand. Brakes at this level are not razor sharp but I prefer that to the top-end options that have sent me rocketing bikeless across the fynbos, faster than a speeding bullet.
Other components: Most of the other bits and bobs carried the generic Kore brand name and, while this may have made the wheels a little heavier than I have encountered on at least one other bike in this category, it was more than compensated for by weight saving in the fork and the generosity of the 36-tooth gear on the cluster.
Testing in saturation conditions, the grips went a little throttle on me – probably because I had to wrestle them off to change the brakes around – but I think a lock-on option (they’re not that expensive) either in the spec or at the point of purchase is worthy of consideration.
The Verdict
My complaints are petty: I really liked this bike and, although it is (in spite of that fork) a little heavy, it performed really well. Axis is not a mainstream brand, but the A20 seems to have been designed by someone who (of course) knows what he is doing and who has balanced the design to fit into a tight budget but, at the same time, to precipitate a sense of excitement for the purchaser.
Mongoose Salvo Comp
I took fright when I set out to test this Mongoose, because this is more 26-inch XC bike, at almost 14 kilograms, than I have ridden for a long time. The ride started with one of the major, loose-surface-technical climbs I use for these assessments and I was quickly taking strain. It is a 400-metre scramble in about five kilometres and I usually use it to test myself as well, by staying in the middle ring. This bike is clearly not designed for anti-gravitational flurries and tottering over the brink on a long, obstacle-strewn descent, I wondered if it had any purpose at all … and then the answer came to me: this bike is made for having fun.
The R8500 Salvo is cheap, not just inexpensive, cheap. Maybe the cheapest, well-built, workable dual-suspension mountainbike in existence and that is going to mean that many more thrill-seekers are going to get a taste of that delinquent delight – going downhill fast.
What it’s got
Suspension: The fork and the shock are Suntour Raidon (XCR LO) – with the manufacturers emphasising the Raidon name rather than their old brand moniker, probably because of years of negative association with supermarket specials. That’s over. The lightweight front-end comforter presents with 120 millimetres of plush travel, ahead of many of the more trendy brand options. And the rear shock, which looks a little like a can of my favourite gin mixer, works just as well. That first major descent was so sweet that I laboured back up some of the sections just to be able to ride down them again. There may be questions around longevity but rumour has it that simple cartridge replacements are available and you could probably redo the whole shooting match for less than the regular service of a fancier option. Although the frame design with sturdier shocks may have had that in mind, the fine print on the fork leg discourages downhill racing and jumping, both of which could otherwise turn out seductively alluring. It was very sweet on single track where that imported-chocolate quality of the air systems ironed out the roughest surfaces upon which I usually ride with far less comfort on my 29er hardtails.
Brakes: Again, el cheapo but also el potento. The Tektro Draco Pro hydraulics have a less than glamorous pedigree of early, cable-operated discs which really worked rather well. But these are hydraulic and that is a lot better. Maybe longevity will be a factor here too, but they uncomplainingly stopped the stampeding mammoth in its tracks and showed modulation faculties normally attributed to more boutique brands.
Wheels: The salvo rolls on Kenda Kadre tyres (with acceptable grip) on reasonable entry-level Alex rims – but the tyres are wire bead and could not be converted to tubeless. One is inclined to over-compensate with higher pressure on tubed tyres (to avoid pinch flats) and that means less traction on the climbs where you need all the help you can get. Descending would have been even better with a little less pressure up front as there was a tendency to wash away on the loose surfaces. Sometimes climbing traction was assisted by keeping the rear suspension engaged when the front was locked out, but the bike was sluggish going up through soft and muddy conditions, where bigger wheels would have helped. It was a lot better, of course, on hard pack but, a gear with 36 teeth (like hen’s teeth with nine-speed clusters) would have been a boon. On sections where I normally use the middle ring, I had to do a lot of my ascending with the granny options of the so-so 3×9 Shimano Alivio package. It was serious effort.
Components: The X-rated bits and bobs were adequate, although I have a quibble about the water-bottle mount, which was under the down tube and unreachable on the go.
The Verdict
In a nutshell, if you want to go down just about anything other than a DH race route, which is good fun and fast, this low-price machine duly delivers. And it can be ridden to the top of the hill, giving you the added bonus of developing, en route, those six-packs the yuppie publications are always going on about.
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