Mondraker Summum Carbon R (and rally cars and racing)

If you're looking for a full review on the Mondraker Summum Carbon R, there isn't one here. There's a few words at the bottom, but for reasons we'll discuss it's far from science.

If you're looking for my attempt to summarize one of the better weekends of my life in a long time, that's here. This bike features heavily.

If you're looking for a discussion on why downhill bikes are the best bikes on Earth, even though they're useless at most things bikes should be good at, a nebulous value proposition for brands, a massive headache to ride, and why I'm in love with this bike, stick around. Downhill bikes rule.

Downhill bikes are bad bikes. In a time where the versatility of most bikes is increasing - you can pedal your 170mm enduro bike all day, or take your 120mm downcountry whippet into some (moderate) gnar, downhill bikes are still incredibly single-use. But because of this singular focus, when you're in the right place, on the right trails, the fit-for-purpose nature comes to the fore and it all makes sense; all the driving, wallowing around in the parking lot, and general faff associated with downhill bikes suddenly makes sense.

They are, in some ways, a bit of a blend between racecars and hypercars.

Ford doesn't sell racecars*, their bread and butter is a myriad of cars for people to get to work in, move people around, move things around, and some designed primarily for recreation. If that sounds akin to bike companies, you're with me. Most of the bike companies we deal with here at NSMB are recreation focused, but their bottom line is supported primarily by selling machines that have nothing to do with racing.

So aside from the ego of Henry Ford, why did the Ford Motor Company famously spend millions to go to Le Mans with the GT40? Sure, most brands with a cutting edge race team will tell you the technology trickles down to their consumer models, but you'll have to try pretty hard to convince me Toyota's Rally1 WRC car has much in common with the GR Yaris they sell to Gen Xers having a midlife crisis. Why have they spent additional millions making homages to the racecars of the late 60s to sell to consumers at a loss like they're pre-cooked rotisserie chickens in a grocery store?

That's right. Hypercars, racecars, rotisserie chickens, and downhill bikes are all halo products and/or loss leaders. It's marketing.

*Yes look I know you can buy things like the Cobra Jet. But we only have so many words.

Mondraker spends marketing dollars in a lot of places, I'm sure. Whether it's community event activations, digital banner ads, or video content production, it all comes out of roughly the same line item in the broader budget. They also have another hefty item on that list - Mondraker Factory Racing. It shouldn't be a surprise the company spends money on a downhill team - they have deep roots in gravity racing. I'm doing some speculating here, but this likely isn't because selling Summums is what keeps the lights on in Spain. But when Rónán and Dakotah are standing on the downhill World Cup podium, Mondraker believes that's pushing consumers their way; win on Sunday, sell on Monday.

There's also little argument that the technology they test and refine between the tape makes its way to consumers; everything from the Zero Suspension System to Forward Geometry was rolled out on their downhill race bikes first.

The team is currently racing a prototype of the next gen Summum - while some details are obviously still being decided, and they're not sharing all the details just yet, they do have some run-downs.

While it's likely been painfully obvious to most readers of this series that I'm ecstatic to be back on a downhill bike, and that this one is very good, there's a couple things I'd blissfully forgotten as well. The biggest challenge for me - as I don't live next door to a bike park - is that you can't ride downhill bikes by yourself. Given the time constraints of myself and most of my peers who have kids, jobs, families, and just life in general, it means getting out on the Summum has been challenging. This has improved over time as new and old friends with downhill bikes appear, but overall the "grab the window and go solo" ethos of much of my riding is incompatible with shuttling, and Whistler is just too far away most of the time.

Given all those considerations, I've spent less time on the Summum since Psychosis than I'd like but I'm finally feeling comfortable aboard the 38-pound machine. For a full recap on specs, and a bit about the feedback loops of getting back up to speed and suspension setup on the Mondraker, have a look back here. I've made a couple of cockpit changes: I lengthened the direct mount stem out to 45mm over the stock 25/30mm, swapped bars to a 35mm rise OneUp cut down to 780mm, and for Psychosis I added 10mm of spacers to combat the ridiculous steeps. Completely superfluously, I added a Mondraker Team Edition saddle (Thanks SDG!). And after a bit of back and forth, I've settled on a 450-pound spring out back.

I can't go deep on nuances for review here - I just don't have enough to compare. But I've got some notes, if you're shopping. The Summum Carbon R is a race bike - big wheels, no shuttle guard, and geometry that wants to go fast. It's happiest in some combination of steep, chunky, or fast, where the rear end swallows big and small bumps alike. Silly high lines over rough roots, plowing straight over the rocks, punching through the braking holes - this isn't an enduro bike, and the less you treat it like one, the better the suspension and geometry will do for you.

There's also enough mid-stroke support (and not too much weight) that the bike is eager to be picked up, whether to change lines or vertically bypass trail features. That support and overall predictability of the kinematics helps on large jumps too. Where the Summum doesn't excel is tight, twisty, janky, terrain where you're unable to carry speed; it's easy to get bogged down, and hard work to get back up to speed. If you're looking for a long-travel bike to ka-chunk down the hill on, I'd look elsewhere. You don't need to be out there trying to win every lap and shave tenths, but the race pedigree of Mondraker is apparent in how the Summum rides.

So should you buy that downhill bike you've been thinking about? Like hypercars, they're expensive and most of owners can't use them regularly; there's about as many people using their Aston Martin Valkyrie to get groceries as there are people pedaling downhill bikes around on regular rides. This means a downhill bike likely isn't your only bike - you're adding to the quiver - which takes space in addition to money. And it's best if you have friends with downhill bikes. Your enduro bike is way more versatile, and you'll be able to ride basically all of the same terrain, albeit differently.

But that versatility comes at a cost; sure you can get groceries in your GR Yaris with both kids in the back, and have some second and third gear fun on twisty roads, but I'd rather have access to a real rally car and a place to use it in anger, even if that access only comes along every so often. Downhill bikes offer that opportunity - you can go buy the very same bikes that World Cup racers are aboard (mostly, anyway).

Should you buy this downhill bike? I'm a fan - for what that's worth. The value is in line with peers, it looks f***ing fantastic, and it goes like hell. There's also other builds - and alloy builds - to choose from. Mondraker is a well-established brand, albeit lesser known in North America, with a deep pedigree and history to lean on, and they pride themselves on their gravity bikes. After all, the first Mondraker was a downhill bike.

If you're not sure yet, I've got a couple more projects in the pipeline with this thing, so stay tuned.

Mondraker Summum Carbon R