In Issue #119 of Singletrack Magazine, we tested three big wheelers made on home soil and designed for modern riding.Â
Words: Wil Barrett
Photos: James Vincent
Going against the tide of offshore manufacturing in the Far East, there’s been a recent flurry of activity in the UK cycle industry that has seen a number of small and medium-sized companies develop new products that are designed, engineered and manufactured right here in ol’ Blighty.
Bigger and more established brands like Brompton, Pashley, Hope and Orange have been bucking the trend towards outsourced manufacturing for many years, though it’s the smaller and fresher-faced players that are renewing interest both locally and abroad. And that’s helping to build momentum for the entire UK bike industry.
Aided by events such as the Bespoked Show in Bristol (an event that continues to grow year on year), these new builders are bringing their own innovative ideas to the mountain bike – often with the ability to tailor a frame to a rider’s specific needs and wants. And, thanks to the power of the internet, the marketplace has grown considerably for those small brands, giving greater visibility to a wider and more global audience.
But while commonly held belief suggests that a UK-manufactured bike should be a beautiful, fillet-brazed, steel hardtail (probably singlespeed) that has been lovingly crafted by a weirdo beardo in his backyard shed, that isn’t what this test is about. Sure, those bikes and people do exist, but it’s the UK’s innovation in frame geometry and full suspension technology that has piqued our interest, and that’s exactly what we’re throwing a spotlight on here.
For this we were able to list no fewer than ten brands that are offering full suspension bikes manufactured right here in the UK – such is the innovative enthusiasm that’s buzzing within the local market right now. And, as you’ll see on p102, there will shortly be one more.
We narrowed the list down to three, and here you’ll find a triad of 29in trail bikes that feature suspension travel figures within 20mm of each other. Each bike is built right here in the UK, though they’re all executed very differently. We’ve got a bike made from steel, one from alloy, and a hybrid that uses carbon fibre and titanium. There are also three different takes on rear suspension design, giving each bike its own unique personality.
With this small but conveniently diverse slice of the UK manufacturing industry on our test plate, which bike would impress us most? And perhaps more importantly, how would they stack up against the enormous pool of mass-produced bikes from the Far East?
Time to find out.
Orange Stage 4 RS
- Price: £4,710.00 (as tested)
- From: Orange Bikes
When it comes to UK-made full suspension bikes, there was one brand that was always going to be in this grouptest. Put simply, few manufacturers can rival Orange Bikes’ rich 30-year history within the UK mountain biking scene. And unlike the recent flurry of newcomers, Orange has been welding together its full suspension frames in West Yorkshire for 20 of those years. You know, before it was cool.
Known for its pursuit of simplicity, strength and gimmick-free design, Orange isn’t a brand to make hasty changes or adopt unproven standards. Instead, the Halifax-based manufacturer has turned evolution into an art form, perfecting its single pivot suspension designs over the years by implementing subtle structural design tweaks and refining geometry along the way.
Case in point – the new Stage 4.
As the freshest full suspension bike from Orange, the Stage 4 slots neatly into the brand’s 29er line-up alongside the bigger travel Stage 5 and Stage 6 models. Featuring 110mm of rear travel and a 120mm fork, the Stage 4 is a peppy short travel trail bike that replaces the previous Segment.
Robot R130
- Price: £3,895 (frame w/RockShox Super Deluxe RT3 shock)
- From: Robot Bike Co
Robot Bike Co. first shot to fame at the 2016 Fort William World Cup when it debuted a stunning full suspension mountain bike called the R160. Made from carbon fibre tubes and titanium lugs, the unique R160 had a curious mixture of retro aesthetics and cutting-edge technology that left a lot of people intrigued, confused, enamoured, and possibly a little hot under the collar.
The company itself was founded back in 2013 from a heady melting pot that included engineers from the aerospace and F1 industries, a materials scientist, an industrial designer, and an ex-tech editor from Dirt Magazine. The final piece of the puzzle was renowned suspension designer Dave Weagle, who collaborated with Robot on the DW-6 suspension platform to help produce the brand’s left-of-centre take on the modern superbike.
I had the pleasure of testing the R160 last year, and was – to be frank – gobsmacked at not just how indestructibly solid it felt on all sorts of horrible terrain, but how zippy and efficient it was for a 160mm travel bike.
The R130 aims to build on that reputation by taking the same DW-6 suspension design, shrinking it down to 130mm and strapping on 29in wheels. It’s pitched as a more versatile all-round trail bike, though one that has a penchant for going very fast.
Swarf Cycles Contour
- Price: £2,250.00 (frame w/Cane Creek DBcoil [IL] shock)
- From: Swarf Cycles
In comparison to the other two on test, our third bike comes from a much smaller outfit. Founded in Dorchester in 2011, Swarf Cycles is currently a one-man show that is owned and operated by a chap called Adrian Bedford – a man who, prior to making bikes, worked in the military aerospace industry designing air-to-air refuelling systems. With an obsessive testing ethic and a keen eye for attention to detail, Bedford made the decision to go full-time with Swarf Cycles in 2014.
Though the Swarf name is mostly associated with gorgeous fillet-brazed custom steel hardtails, it was actually a full suspension prototype that saw it awarded ‘Best Newcomer’ at the 2014 Bespoked show. Bedford has continued to develop full suspension prototypes in the background, having tested several suspension platforms along with carbon fibre swingarms and rocker linkages.
The latest iteration you see here employs a more orthodox design, and it is now available as a fully production-ready mountain bike.
Called the Contour, the frame is built around 29in wheels, 115mm of rear travel and a 130mm fork. Featuring geometry that leans towards descending good times, the Contour is pitched as a short travel trail bike that’s born to eat up technical terrain.
The Verdict
Ultimately where a bike is manufactured may be of zero importance to you. Even if it is an important consideration though, it’d pretty hard for you to get up on your high horse about it without looking like a hypocrite. After all, a quick glance at my own personal riding kit reveals Cambodian-made shoes, a backpack made in Indonesia, and a jersey from Romania. Oh, and then there’s that made-in-China smartphone.
So why should we care about where our bike comes from?
That’s potentially a very politically charged discussion that is worthy of its own dedicated feature. But what I can say from undertaking this test is that buying a UK-manufactured bike isn’t just about supporting local manufacturing so you can feel warm and fuzzy.
Sure, as someone who’s still new to the UK, I think it’s pretty damn cool that you can pick up a phone in this country and speak to someone on the end of the line who has either designed, fabricated or assembled your bike. But it’s also about getting something that is genuinely different. A bike that is specifically designed to perform in our local conditions, and with a level of engineering detail that you’re unlikely to find on the big department store brands.
The three examples we have here highlight just how differently a UK trail bike can be executed, with each possessing its own unique personality and design quirks and, therefore, its own special appeal.
The Stage 4 is the party animal of the group, with a riotous rock ‘n’ roll attitude that makes it an absolute hoot to pin at full speed. If you’re still wary of 29ers, it’ll surprise you with its nimbleness and ability to slice through the turns. It’s a bit of a clanger, but if you’re not sold on skinny carbon bikes and you love riding cross-country trails as hard and fast as possible, the Stage 4 is a simple, strong and versatile option for growing your skills on.
In comparison, the R130 is the polar opposite to the Stage 4. It’s complex, full of pivots and bearings, and it’s made from exotic materials. It is, however, a bona fide superbike. It comes with a superbike price tag too, but if you can afford it you’ll have yourself one of the most capable 130mm trail bikes on the market. It’s certainly one of the best bikes I’ve ridden, and it’s versatile enough that you can comfortably hit up your local wooded singletrack during the week, before fronting up to an enduro race on the weekend.
Because of its steel frame, the Contour is likely to appeal to a certain type of rider. For those who value strength, long-term durability and don’t mind carrying the extra weight, the Contour is a beautifully made option. It isn’t the most sprightly of bikes, but the suspension is wonderfully smooth, and the compliant frame gives this suave singletrack groover a ton of character for riding much gnarlier terrain than you’d initially expect.