mike-wallace profile

Michael

That's an interesting one.  With the increased agility of the mullet rear end I did find that I was being more aggressive with the rear end and squaring off corners more for example.  It would follow from this that you would need a tough wheel and a heavier casing.  As I mentioned in the article I ending up running a full DH casing in the rear.  That tire combined with the super strong Reserve carbon rims meant the back end was very 'tough'.

My opinion is that traction is definitely better with the 29er (all else being equal).  My son races World Cups and one of the reasons those guys love the 29er DH  bike is the improved traction.

Michael

But at least the bottom part (appears to be no transition) is scary too...

Although I don't have experience on a 27.5 Bronson everything you say about descending rings true for me when generally comparing the 27.5 vs 29.  

I feel like this 27.5 vs 29 argument is over.  There is no doubt (in my mind at least) that a slack 29'er makes descending rough terrain easier. There are other benefits to the 27.5 but if you want to go downhill faster then having a larger front wheel that deals with holes, roots etc better is better.

I have a 'friend' who rides 5-6 times a week and she just switched from the 27.5 Bronson to the new mullet Bronson.  Although far from techy, her words were that she felt like she was cheating.  Exactly the same way I felt on my first couple of 29er rides...

And I really believe that when you get to that size or intended purpose of bike the full 170mm fork makes a difference.   Mega comes with 160mm.

Of course there is large weight variation over the different spec levels but SC website shows the Hightower XO1 build (Al rims) at 30.2 lbs and the XO1 AXS build (carbon rims) at 30.31 lbs.

The Bronson XO1 (Al rims) is 31.14 lbs and  XO1 AXS (carbon rims) is 30.8 lbs.

And the frame is worthy of a frame-only option.    This would be a great soln to the spec debate.

I honestly dont know if I would buy them either just cause I always lust after the higher level stuff.    In this case that is likely silly.   I have another good reference for you.  A friend who is very very fast (ie World Cup racer fast) just built up a new trail bike and the only brake in stock was the Deore.  He has now been running them for a couple weeks and is saying the have lots of power.  So there you go.

YDiv.  I had the exact same issues with the Deore label.  I thought for sure I was going down a dark road.

I typically run DH level brakes like Code RSC or Magura MT7s.   I rode this bike for several months and after the first bleed had no issues with the Deores.  Not even the sticky pistons which happens on the Codes and RSC's.   To be fair I didnt run the Deores in the Whistler bike park which is always the test that separates the good from the great.   Power felt similar to the Codes on the trails I was riding.    My remaining reservation is how the Deores would be after a couple seasons of riding.  Maybe the cheaper price point would show up then.

Really enjoyed this one.  Great job AJ.

49 rides.   Dang.   Impressive.