MSC Zion Carbon R. Lightweight all mountain Lightweight all mountain The Zion Carbon R is one of those bikes that will surprise you. With rear travel of nearly 150 mm (at its option long) and weighing only 2 kilograms for the frame and damper, is truly is the leader as one of the lightest in its class. Introduced last season, the Carbon Zion became from that time one of the undisputed stars GavĂ brand, thanks to the flexibility and versatility it offers. And surely it must be so if we talk about a bike that allows two possible rear travel of 127mm or 147 mm , and a frame that just touches the 2,000 kg when mounted damper. Spectacular, is it not? Not only the weight, the details are taken care of and the quality of manufacture is not short in this regard.
The box is made of carbon, in the case of the front and the rear triangle. And not only that, but the linkage system is too. It is in this where we find the two holes that will offer both options of rear travel. In the manufacture of table highlights the junction of the upper tube with the diagonal, that together form the area where stiffness is more spectacular. Perhaps this is the reason, or one of them, which do not have the tapered head tube, as the stiffness in the front area is more than enough. Another point to note is the junction of the seat tube to the top, which also matches the upper turning point of the linkage. This area also is greatly enhanced, as in the case of shock mounting points and seat tube reinforcement.
Note that the hardware and the axles of the pivot points are all titanium, plus mounted sealed bearings, so that the sensitivity of the entire system becomes extremely high, keeping in mind, moreover, that has a buffer Boostvalve FOX RP23. And another nice touch: the wiring is all internal , so the frame is clean and polished, but here we have to say that for the rear brake, have to bleed it every time you want to change it, if necessary.
Components At the front, the Zion Carbon R mounts a FOX TALAS RL 120 or 150 mm of travel and with adjustment shaft 15QR air preload, rebound and Lockout . It also has the hydraulic system of the American brand FIT. The bottom bracket is double X11 MSC plate (3828, which has the peculiarity of being able to be 170 or 175 mm length. Depending on how we place an internal bushing pedal to the thread, we have two options. As for the changes, we have a SRAM X9 shifters, while the rear is a X0.The brand itself is responsible GavĂ for the stiff and good looking wheels, the MSC450, are accompanied by a Maxxis Ardent 2.25 Kevlar". The brakes are Avid Elixir CR with front brake and rear 185 mm 160 mm. For the rest, the handlebar is a carbon MSC and the double height and telescopic post manufactured by Kind Shock specially for MSC. Stem is the MSC World Cup Racing 85 mm and the saddle is a San Marco Ponza Power. In short, the whole bike is spectacular weighing only 11.660 kg.
The initial riding position that offers the Zion Carbon R is very good. Given that we will give use among all mountain trail and we feel extremely comfortable. The operation of the Zion Carbon R is marked clearly on the operation of the suspensions. The bike shown has tremendous absorbing abilities for both the front and rear. Thanks to the pivot suspension Horst Link and FOX HV BV RP23 damper setting, irregularities are absorbed well, so as climbing up technical terrain the wheel is always latched into the soil with maximum traction. And while this is going down a big advantage, the truth is that sometimes when climbing this sensitivity results in rear suspension movement lever positioning even in the most ProPedal damping (of 3 possible positions). Obviously, you feel more in the position of 147 mm of travel, but proportionately are extrapolated to 127 mm. And also be extrapolated to the front, as the FIT system acts like butter and feel is
extremely sensitive, always say that touch of FOX is great, but if you do not have compression regulation to regulate the initial move in small impacts. All this translates into a smoothness excellent behaviour downhill. The bike seems to swallow a lot more in the 147 mm travel mode. Surely, we might think that we are in a pure and simple enduro bike. Its stiffness, but could be better, although it never negatively affected the overall performance of the bike, it feels playful and fun in technical areas, but with the perfect amount of stability at high speeds so that we do not suffer twitchiness on the limit. With respect to the possibility of varying the tour, I must say that once proven, better version comes up with the travel of 147 mm. At 127 mm, and even though we put the fork in 120 mm it seems to be unbalanced to the front , which does not happen in the longer path and with the fork at 150 mm. For the rest, everything worked fine. Whether double plate count was not a problem even with the small plate of 28, although it would be better by 26, is carried away either. In the case of wheels that are very stiff and accurate, the well behaved Maxxis performed well. In all situations and circumstances, acted as expected and as we have used the mark without any unpleasant shocks. And what about the great detail of the telescopic seat post. If you do not mind that although you bike a few grams more, the comfort of the seat height down going is a luxury that is hard to give up when you get used to.
In short, the Zion Carbon R is a bike that gives you two options in one, by its two possible routes, which has a tremendous absorption abilities and one of the lowest weights of bikes in this category.