2021 Mondraker Superfoxy R Bike

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I wanted to share my experience with this bike after some mid term usage. There are no reviews at all about these aluminium options of Superfoxy models so I felt that it would be right to share my thoughts as I bought it "blind". First of all, the review will be more about frame because I did some changes straight away. I've replaced suspension for something that I wanted to have, decided to go with coil as heard about it's progressive nature and it was really good decision. This bike is really fast. Seriously it is, I have comparison to other bikes that I've used in last 15 years of riding DH/enduro and I feel that this bike is eager for speed. I think it's worth to mention that aluminium models differs from carbon ones in terms of geometry and possibly suspension kinematics. I'm 180cm and had a though time deciding what size to get and during my research I've noticed differences between carbon and aluminium models. So long story short I went for a medium and I think it was a good decision as it's bigger than my previous bike in large from 2k19 so modern geometry as well. I don't know what was the intention of Mondraker by doing this but I found aluminium model to have lower BB than carbon for example, which was mentioned as an issue in the carbon model reviews. So back to the riding performance, the bike begs for speed, suspension is super supple, plenty of bottom out resistance, feels like I have more travel than in my previous 165mm bike, however it doesn't feel like it's flattening trail, there is some feedback from the ground but overall it feels balanced and composed, I think that Mondraker's description "chaos taming suspension" is spot on. I was surprised how well it corners despite it's size, as well as how good is it at jumps. Bike isn't lightweight, my built resulted in just over 16kg but it only affects climbing in my opinion. Position during climbing is comfortable, seat post angle is steep enough but don't expect it to get you to the top quickly, it's more like a downhill bike rather than enduro/trail but it's far from nightmare and possibly air shock would make it easier and there is not much of pedal bob. Bike looks like it's meant to the business but don't worry, it can be fun as well. It likes to get off the ground no matter if it's a simple bunny hop over root section or a big jump line in a bikepark. Ok so let's get to the bad points. Since I bought it I had a terrible time with headset, it just kept coming loose and I ended up changing it. Also tyres are not the best for this bike capabilities, DD casing should be a minimum and MaxTerra compound ain't too impressive if you riding on wet. Speaking of wet, that's the weakest point of this bike, it's completely not "wetproof".  Bottom link has one end 'open' because of shock eyelet position which exposes bearings to the outside. Simply, water and dirt gets inside the link and stays there between the bearings. Pictures that I've uploaded shows how does it look like after rainy weekend riding in Revolution Bikepark in the UK. I had to replace them all after 3 months of use, which is not right in my opinion. I've decided to use gorilla tape to seal it and it looks like it works so far. Also rear mudguard is a must have unless you don't ride in wet. Another missing feature is some frame protection. Chainstays has some thin plastic but most of the brands are making thick rubber chain slap protectors that would be useful here as the bike isn't quiet when things get rough. Also there is nothing underneath the bottom tube of the frame. So the bottom line is still very positive, despite some design issues that can be somehow fixed I really like this bike and I think it's a perfect blend of downhill and enduro characteristics. It's way more focused on speed and excels in steep technical trails giving tons of grip while remains relatively playful when you want to have fun.