Euro News: Bulls 29″ers Announced

Editor’s Note: Europe is catching on to big wheeled mountain biking in a big way. Here is our European correspondent, “c_g” with another report featuring another German European brand’s announcement for 29″er models to debut for 2011.

BULLS Joins The Twenty-niner Movement BIG Time: by “c_g”

One of the most exiting news here, has been the confirmation that Bulls Bikes (one of Germany’s biggest bike manufacturers with over 1000 dealers in Europe), is joining the 29er
movement with not two, not three, … no four 29er models! Even better yet that there will be three different frame materials to choose from – one Ti, one Carbon and two Alloy bikes:

Lets start with the TIRONE 29er – the very modern yet classy interpretation of titanium in 29er by BULLS. The frame alone is said to weigh about 1600 g (size M)

Then there is the technological flagship, the TEAM BLACK ADDER 29er – the model designed for lowest possible weight (1150 g for the frame) and best compromise of comfort
and stiffness – like the name indicates a replica of the bikes ridden by the BULLS race team.

Followed by the COPPERHEAD 29er PLUS – a triple butted, smooth welded alloy frame with an array of innovative features and premium components.

And last but not least the COPPERHEAD 29er – identical quality frame to above with more budget components and quite different appearance.

VICTORIOUS DEBUT:
To make these news about the new 29er bikes by BULLS even more remarkable is the fact that the BULLS team riders Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm won the
JEANTEX TRANSALP CHALLANGE (Europes most renowned and probably toughest stage marathon, traversing the Alps from north to south in 8 days) on board of their TEAM BLACK ADDER 29er bikes – which had been delivered to them only days before the start, I might add.

I am not saying it is only for 29ers they took the win – those guys are superb riders, who have won this race earlier (can you believe it: on 26” bikes ).
But besides putting 29er bikes much more into the spotlight of the public and providing good promotion for both BULLS and 29er in Europe (and the latter really can use some of that) it also shows the BULLS 29er are well refined and trail worthy.

Here are some more details and comments on these BULLS 2011 29er bikes – first lets look at the frames:

FEATURED TECHNOLOGIES:

Being brand new and being designed with strong help GG Concepts (GG stands for GERRIT GAASTRA, more at the end) it comes as no surprise that the bikes and frames are packed
with state of the art technologies. – All models throughout the 29er range share Shimano type Pressfit bottom brackets which through the greater shell width allow for wider chainstay spacing (thus tire clearance) and stiffer BB section.

- All frames have ample tire and mud clearance for running true to size 2,25 tires. BULLS (and GG Concepts as the think tank behind it) believe that larger volume tires are the way to go, period. Living in central Europe with our often foul weather and challenging trail conditions this sure is a good thing, I would say.

- Aptly for our often foul climate here in central Europe all cables run in full length housing – a small but vital design feature often missing on other bikes. I have been running full length housing for years often coping with frames that wouldnt allow this, making me use defaults to ensure long term functionality.

- All bikes are done with semi-integrated headsets that not only allow for the lowest possible front end but remain serviceable to the customer/dealer and are easy to replace.

Here some features on the particular bikes:

- The Carbon framed TEAM BLACK ADDER 29er is the only bike featuring a tapered head tube. On the other frames (Ti and Alloy) a standard 1 1/8” size is used – though in the larger dimensions for semi-integrated headsets. The reason given is that the BLACK ADDRER is most likely to be run with competition oriented Carbon steerer tubed forks where the benefits of tapering are the greatest, while the other frames are more likely to be run with alloy steerer tubed forks where the 1 1/8” standard is said to be sufficiently stiff and strong.

- The Carbon flagship TEAM BLACK ADDER is produced by Tube to Tube technology with maximum lateral stiffness and vertical compliance in mind and weighs a feathery 1150 g for the bare frame. To ensure the highest possible stiffness in the bottom bracket area the seat tube has been enlarged in such dramatic ways that standard clamp on derailleurs
wouldn’t fit anymore – thus this model will have a direct mount front derailleur while standard mounts are on the other models.

- The TIRONE and TEAM BLACK ADDER feature 27,2 mm diameter seatposts for better shock absorption.

GEOMETRY:

Bulls has taken great care, many prototypes and lots of riding tests involving their team riders from beginning on to tweak the geometry just like they wanted it. I was told the actual
development process has started not before late 2009, so having brought it to the said level of refinement and into production by now already is quite an accomplishment. All models share the exact same geometry so no compromises there. The bikes will be offered in 3 sizes from 47 cm (or 17,5”) to 52 cm (or 20”) to 57 cm (22”). There are no plans to produce bikes for smaller riders (yet) – a common perception in Europe is that 29ers are best suited for medium sized and taller riders ?.

See the table below for the numbers:

You can tell that the BULLS 29er bikes feature a shorter effective TT than similarly sized competitors and rather longish chain stays. While the current trend by some manufacturers
may be to go to ever shorter chain stays the longer rear as executed on the BULLS 29er accomplishes several things that the design team behind the Bulls Bikes believes to be beneficial to the ride quality of the bikes. (… and by my personal experience I tend to agree though there certainly is a bit of playfulness lost with long chain stays).:

- For one it allows for superior tire & mud clearance without resorting to complicated yokes or overly manipulated tubing.

- Secondly it ensures maximum climbing capacity by keeping more weight on the front thus allowing to put all your power to the ground in steep ascents before looping out.

Interestingly you see the chain stays grow in length between sizes small and Large /X-Large from 455 mm to 460 mm – a feature BULLS calls “tailored chain stays”. The angles read like standard numbers at 71°in M and 71,5°in L/XL at the head tube and range from 72° to 73° at the seat tube – but are given without sag; so add about 1° for correct geometry when seated.

Looking at these numbers I see some individual approach to 29er geometry which we sure will follow up on. By what I have been told I’d suspect a unique, yet balanced ride that would
be equally suitable for enjoying long touring in the Alps as it would be for ambitiously racing XC style.

But numbers don’t tell everything and I have experience enough to know the value of actually riding bikes in real world, so I am hoping to test and review one of these bikes later on this year.

COMPONENTS:

There are only some definite details on the components known to me, but here is what I know:

-All models throughout the range will feature mainly high quality components by major players like SHIMANO, ROCK SHOX, FORMULA, SCHWALBE,ALEX RIMS, … (and others).

-Much like what BULLS has built a reputation for: function and cost were prime parameters in spec-ing the bikes. There will be very little flashy or super prestigious parts to be seen on either of the bikes.

-The parts are optimized wherever possible for 29ers, like 12-36 teeth cassettes on the 3 x 10 drive train parts (all models), semi integrated headsets for lower front ends, and much more.

-All bikes will come with Rock Shox forks, which are set to 80 mm of travel, which Bulls believes to be enough for their 29er bikes intended applications. (As you know the RS forks can internally be modified for 100 mm or 120 mm travel, should you want to.)

-I was anxious for some tubeless ready wheels but surprised to hear the ALEX RIMS wheels would not be tubeless ready by design while the tires on the bikes were. Remember, all SCHWALBE tires from their Evolution line will be tubeless ready for 2011.

While some may call it boring to see such mouth watering frames built up with “normal” components– Bulls has always searched to hold up performance while being cost effective and mass compatible. Don’t forget we are talking about a big player here in Europe. And should you desire for more bling on your bike, you can always upgrade as parts wear out with something more fancy.

Interestingly three of the four models TIRONE 29er, the TEAM BLACK ADDER 29er and the COPPERHEAD 29er PLUS seem to be fairly similar in components, while only the COPPERHEAD 29er utilizes some lower end parts. It sure would be interesting to compare the three different bikes directly, with the biggest difference being the frame material used.

SOME MORE NUMBERS:

I was given some more numbers that might be interesting to you to complete the picture:

WEIGHTS:

-A sweet 10. 5 kg ( 23 lbs) for the Carbon flagship TEAM BLACK ADDER 29er bike.

-A respectable 11.5 kg ( 26 lbs) for the COPPERHEAD 29er PLUS

-PRICE: Everything mentioned above all boils down to one thing when a potential customer has to decide what bike (or brand) he/she purchases – the price and BULLS is known to deliver in this sector.

-The prestigious Ti model TIRONE 29er will sell for € 2799.-

-The Carbon TEAM BLACK ADDER 29er sells for € 2499.-

-COPPERHEAD 29er PLUS retails for € 1699.-

-More budget is the COPPERHEAD 29er at € 999.-

Unfortunately for the readers outside of Europe the bikes will only retail in Europe – no plans to extend the dealer network yet overseas. For us Europeans they are easily available through the extensive dealer network of BULLS. No word on the actual availability of the bikes yet but given the speed it took them to realize these bikes I’d suspect that it wont be
long ?.

From only this short summary of features you can tell that the BULLS 29er models for 2011 are well thought out and designed, down to the lesser details, that will not be an obvious selling point (to the casual observer) but are intended to optimize the joy in riding the bike day in, day out. Upon closer inspection, the concept behind the BULLS 29er bikes was to combine the best in existing technologies wherever possible to benefit the (hopefully positive) ride experience, ensuring a long trouble free riding experience, optimizing functionality and serviceability rather than seeking the lowest weight or extravagant technological solutions. If we get the chance to hop on board one of these bikes in the future to really see if what was written here does indeed enhance performance – be sure I will.This is a big step for 29er in Europe.

RIDE ON,
c_g

SIDENOTE: Gerrit Gaastra, the front man of GG Concepts and as such responsible for the development of the BULLS 29er has been deeply involved into biking his entire life (coming from a family with a huge history of designing, manufacturing and importing bikes and components) and his name is a warrant for innovative thinking and constructive questioning wherever he goes. As such he has been consultant to many big companies in the bike business and been the brain behind many developments and trends in the last years. His own brand IDWORX is known in Europe for tangible innovation both in geometry and componentry