Visit Eurobike from the UK and you’re guaranteed to be exposed to dozens of brands that you’ve never heard of. Some you feel glad you haven’t and can’t wait to escape from, but others have some really smart gear and make you hope that some enterprising distributor will bring them in.
Which of the brands we’re covering in these reports are which is left as an exercise for the reader… This being Europe, there’s a heavy emphasis on full-bore XC and marathon race bikes, but we can live with that. On with the show…
Simplon
Simplon’s entry in the ultralight XC full susser market is the Stomp. It’s got 115mm of travel and a claimed frame weight of 1.76kg (3.9lb). The complete DT fork/XTR bike is said to weigh 9.8kg (21.6lb).
The Stomp features carbon fibre everything, right down to the rocker linkage, fork and shock air can. The main frame tubes feature an internal stiffening rib running along their length.
More Stomp detail – this is the rear end, with carbon dropout and minimalist pivot.
In a hardtail mood? The Razorblade frame weighs in at 990g, with this complete rigid bike coming in at 7.5kg (16.5lb). Also available with a suspension fork…
Simplon has alu bikes too. The 126mm travel Lexx features a new RockShox Monarch shock and a lowish 1:2.5 leverage ratio. Bike weight is 11.4kg (25.1lb).
Moving up the travel ladder, the all-mountain Elvox offers 150 or 160mm of travel at 13.6kg (30lb).
Meerkat
Meerkat’s DH bike defies description, so here’s a picture of it instead.
It’s equally mental from this angle. Just checking all the bolts could take a while.
Meerkat’s all-mountain bike is somewhat more conventional, although the hole through the front adds a wacky note.
Casati
Italian manufacturer Casati makes mostly road bikes, but it has a distinctive carbon MTB in its lineup.
Integrated seat post is a distinctly roadesque touch.
Internal cable routing makes for sleek looks.
We don’t know if the hole in the top tube is meant to do anything, but it’s quite distinctive.
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