BULLS Tirone 29er – the Verdict: by “c_g”
„Creating a winner bike for marathon and stage races“ – that has been the design goal when BULLS set out to create their first 29″er. There have been victories aplenty for the BULLS team around Karl Platt, Stefan Sahm and Thomas Dietsch – some of the most renowned endurance races have been won on a BULLS 29″er in 2010 – the famous TRANSALP CHALLENGE, the Swiss marathon classic GRAND RAID CHRISTALP and the CAPE EPIC race. (Not on the Tirone but on the carbon framed Black Adder Team 29er, which shares the exact same geometry).
You may have read in my intro (here), covering all on the BULLS specific 29er geometry and components and my first ride impressions (here). There I stated that the BULLS Tirone is a bike with a strong personality – a personality that I felt would polarize riders.
One thing right away: The BULLS Tirone is a worthy package in terms of what you get for the buck. For once there are the components that worked just fine throughout the sloppy weather while testing – there is nothing bling or high end in the mix of SHIMANO XT drive train and brake components and the other FSA parts, but everything is trimmed towards trouble free running and top functionality. I had to fiddle a bit to get the controls all lined up on the narrow 600 mm flat bar and to get them all working without interference but once that was taken care of, everything worked like a charm. The only let down is the slightly higher than desired complete bike’s weight of 11,5 kg (or 25 lbs) and the known to be suboptimal 24t granny of the XT cranks.
BULLS believes in short travel for 29″er and so the 80 mm ROCK SHOX Reba RL is all you get. Overall it felt adequate for most circumstances. Only in the really rough stuff did I wish for a 100 mm fork. On the other side the short fork sure helped keeping the front end low.
Then there is the super stiff and light titanium frame, which is packed with individual touches and features like the highly manipulated tubing, the semi-integrated head set, the Pressfit bottom bracket or the huge tire clearance … and a special geometry. For the asking price of € 2599.- the BULLS Tirone 29 is really well priced. One thing I found should be modified in the Tirone fame: The high standover height created by the straight and moderately sloping top tube. It worked for me but I ran my seat post extended pretty far, so I was on the upper end of fitting. If you are on the shorter end of the size’s recommend rider height it is likely to become an issue out in the trail. The frame’s superior overall stiffness is intentional by BULLS. It made for super precise steering and pedaling but left very little of the compliance usually associated to Ti frames and so I couldn’t help but wonder why even go for the titanium frame if one could have the identical frame geometry and features and exact same specs in the alloy framed BULLS Copperhead Plus for considerably less (Msrp: € 1699.-).
But enough about that – the bike´s handling is what sets the BULLS 29er apart.
It is the bike with the longest chain stays I had ridden … 460 mm CS length and rather relaxed angles make for superior stable handling. Too much for me in the beginning, I admit. But somehow it grew on me. Initially I had to fight the bike in tight and twisty trails. I remember telling my wife after the first ride: “Hit me if I tell you I like that bike later.” And you know, I did – like it, I mean. Some way into the test I learned to appreciate the bike, regardless of the trail and speed. Yes, the BULLS 29″er will be a bit too stable for some, but strangely for me, who usually enjoys agile bikes, it turned out to be far less of a specialist bike than I would have judged it initially. Once I got the hang of how to make the bike corner (a combination of leaning and steering) even sharp corners became almost natural. (One time I tried to quicken the steering by mounting a shorter stem but then the bike felt completely unbalanced and strange, so don´t do it.)
I have already written that the BULLS Tirone climbed like no other; the low front and long wheelbase made for superior seated climbing, it took almost no weight shifting and made climbing up anything feel super natural. Somehow the BULLS to me felt best going fast – it is highly efficient, both in power transfer and in the seating position. And it felt absolutely in its element, when going all out on double-tracks with much ups and downs. Usually on a mountainbike I would complain about a 600 mm wide flat bar (wishing for more leverage in technical terrain) but coupled with the stable handling it never felt out of place.
VERDICT: So after more than 2 months that I had the BULLS Tirone this bike has undergone quite a change in my personal perception. It started out as the most stable bike I had ridden, making me think of it as a specialty bike destined to shine in endurance racing only. But somehow I came to adjust to the bike, liking it more every ride. The stability grew to be less of a problem but an asset in concentrating more on pedaling than on riding. A roadie friend of mine, who took the Tirone on a ride, commented that of all mountain bikes he ever rode the BULLS Tirone gave him the most confidence and helped him enjoy the technical sections despite his lack in riding skills. For me the BULLS 29″er had been too stable to be my universal ride but it showed me that stability in handling is not necessarily a bad thing and by no means is equal to a bike being boring or dull. This bike has broadened my horizon for 29″er and has taught me once more how first impressions can be misleading on the long run (a good lesson to remember for our lives in general I think.) Ending my last post on the Tirone I asked whether it was a “step backward in 29″er handling” (because it had that stability 29″er had been accused of in the early years) or possibly a “step into the future of 29″er bikes” (because it opened up new way of riding a 29″er) and after the test I still cannot say which one is true.
RIDE ON,
c_g
p.s.: While the testing of the BULLS Tirone is finished now, I´ll continue riding the BERGAMONT Revox for a bit longer, which by design is quite some contrast to the BULLS design – expect a verdict of it sometime soon.
