The Pyga Slakline is only a few months away from being released. Ahead of the launch, Pyga offered us the opportunity to get a closer look at a prototype of this enduro machine, and we headed off into the mountains to ride everything in sight.
The Frame
The suspension on the Slakline is ready for big action with Pyga’s take on the four-bar Horst Link suspension system delivering 160 mm of rear travel. The bike is designed to be ridden with a beefy 170 mm fork upfront.
The frame is largely constructed from Toray carbon with the chainstays and suspension rocker being made from aluminium. Pyga believe that for the way in which this bike is intended to be ridden, the aluminium chainstays provide better impact resistance against rock strikes and crashes than carbon stays do. They also explained that the weight difference is negligible.
Although they have never had problems with press fit bottoms brackets, Pyga have acknowledged rider feedback, and are going with a field maintenance friendly threaded bottom bracket on the Slakline. ISCG 05 mounts are available for a chainring guide and bash guards. There is also space in the front triangle for a full sized water bottle.
The Slakline is a bike of many firsts for Pyga. A metric shock, Boost 148 axle spacing, and single chainring specific. These changes are not simply in place to follow trends but to give Pyga additional space to design a better bike and to try to give the bike some longevity in a rapidly changing market.
Pyga worked hard to keep the cable routing tidy. Most of the cabling runs internally with a smart design. The transition from the front triangle to the rear is handled by aluminum pieces that are placed at the centre point of the pivot to all but remove any movement while the suspension is active. The routing even makes provision for a lock out cable running from the shock. There is a port on the underside of the downtube to assist with running the cable through the frame. This entry point can also be used to house batteries for electronic components.
I like the Slakline’s clean but aggressive aesthetic. Looking at it makes you want to get out and ride. There are some nifty touches like the recessed joint where the top tube and downtube meet at the headtube and the separate seat stay tubes with the absence of a seat stay arch. Removing the arch meant that Pyga had to use double row bearings and adapt the rocker to make the rear end stiff enough. The rocker on this prototype is an early design. On the production bike, it will look a bit different and undergo a dark grey anodizing similar to the colour of the stays.
The raw aluminium rocker will undergo some cosmetics changes before appearing on the production model.
Geometry
The Slackline has an adjustable geometry with two settings, high and low. The high mode sets the head angle at 65.2 degrees while the low mode drops it to 64.8 degrees. The prototype I rode was set to a third setting (called neutral) with a 65-degree head angle placing it right in the middle of the available two settings.
The rest of the bike is long, low, and slack enough to meet the requirements of most modern geometry devotees. The reach is healthy with the large frame extending to 477mm and a sizeable 1222 mm wheelbase. The chainstays measure in at 433 mm. Take a look at the full geometry table below.
Pyga Slakline Geometry:
Eventually, the Slakline will be available in four frame sizes: small, medium, large and extra large. The first batch of frames will however only be available in medium and large. The Slakline boasts good tyre clearance and accommodates 27.5” and 27.5+ (up to a 2.8-inch tyre) wheelsets. Taller riders on the extra large frames will see their bike’s designed for 29-inch wheels.
Specifications
The Slakline will first be available as a frameset option only, with full builds to follow. The frameset features a RockShox Super Deluxe shock.
The prototype was decked out with an MRP Ribbon fork, SRAM X01 Eagle drivetrain, Renthal carbon handlebar and a Renthal stem, and Maxxis DHF/DHR tyres. The 27.5” wheelset is Deed Surge carbon rims with Industry Nine hubs while the 27.5 Plus wheelset used a RaceFace 35 wheelset wrapped in Maxxis Recon+ and Ikon 2.8” Plus tyres.
- FramePyga Slakine Prototype 7 Large
- ForkMRP Ribbon
- ShockRockShox Super Deluxe
- HeadsetCane Creek
- CranksetSRAM X01 Eagle
- Rear derailleurSRAM X01 Eagle
- ShiftersSRAM X01 Eagle
- CassetteSRAM X01 Eagle
- BrakesSRAM Guide Ultimate
- RimsDeed Surge
- HubsIndustry Nine
- TyresMaxxis Minion DHF (Front) and DHR II (Rear)
- HandlebarsRenthal Fatbar Carbon
- StemRenthal Apex 40mm
- SeatpostRaceFace Turbine
- SaddleKore
Availability and pricing:
The first shipment of Slakline frames is expected to land in October. These will be medium and large frames, with the small and extra large frames to be produced at a later date.
The Slakline frameset with a RockShox Super Deluxe shock will retail for R37,999. With complete builds only coming later, Pyga will also offer the option to include an MRP Ribbon fork, headset, and/or a dropper seatpost when purchasing a frameset.
Slakline First Ride
Being one of only a few prototypes, my time with the Pyga Slakline was unfortunately limited. Pyga were understandably eager to have it back to continue testing. This meant that I had precious little time to play with suspension setup and simply defaulted to the recommended manufacturer settings with a few tweaks. The results were surprisingly good.
Initially, having never ridden one, I had concerns about getting the dual air MRP Ribbon fork dialed in but the manufacturer’s recommended settings (I opted for their plush setup) did the job. To their credit, MRP has excellent information and product support on their website. Despite only having a short time with the MRP Ribbon, I thoroughly enjoyed the fork’s feel.
The Slakline’s main task is to descend technical trails and to do it fast. On this objective, it delivers. At high speed, the bike feels composed, even as the world blurs and you focus your vision on the trail, there is a sense of trust in the bike’s surefootedness. The Slakline holds a line well through chattery rocks and roots, with predictable grip into turns while the poised balance and big impact stability off drops and jumps are encouraging. I gave it my best but could feel that the Slakline had a lot more to reward riders with more bravery and skills.
Away from the steep and technical black rated trails, the Slakline still has a lot to give. On smoother, less demanding trails, even with its slack angle and plush travel, the Slakline remains agile and responsive to rider input. Pumping and flowing down a meandering trail is thoroughly enjoyable. The bike also pedals well when called into action with good acceleration out of turns and up punchy climbs.
Fitting the Plus tyres is like putting on a superhero’s cape. I found that the added grip, cushioning, and balance are a major boost to confidence and fun levels. On climbs and flat sections, the added bulk of the Plus tyres made little impact to the Slakline’s ability.
The Slakline’s climbing is class leading. For a 160mm enduro mountain crusher, the Slakline climbs far better than anything that I’ve experienced with this geometry and travel. Climbing on most enduro bikes is simply about finding a comfortable gear, sitting down, and chatting to your mates until you get to the trail head. The Slakline is different. It is engaging to climb. To the dismay of my riding buddies, I found myself in an unnecessarily hard gear out of the saddle attacking climbs like I would on my long term Pyga Stage test bike.
As an enduro bike, attacking climbs is not a feature many riders will covet but the Slakline’s pedaling qualities go along way in making it one of the most enjoyable and comfortable bikes on which to spend a full day riding trails. Assuming your fitness is up to it, the Slakline will allow you to stay out on the trails longer and get in more runs than many other all mountain bikes can. The suspension tune also helps in absorbing blunt impacts while the shock is in its firmest setting. The only time the Slakline gives away that it is a slack descending bike is on very steep climbs where the front end does need some encouragement to remain on the ground.
In my reviews, I am cautious to recommend long travel bikes to riders without them understanding just how much is required to push the bike to its limits and how well it climbs. But in the case of the Slakline, there seems to be little disadvantage in selecting a slack 160mm enduro bike. That said, I am super keen to swing a leg over the slighter shorter travel Hyrax (see details below) to see where that bike fits into the spectrum.
In the end
There are few bikes that match the Pyga Slakline’s ability to open up the entire mountain. A confident, composed enduro bike ready for the toughest descents but still an efficient all-day climber on the ascents. The Slakline’s all-mountain versatility is rare, putting it right at the top of my enduro bike list.
Pros
- Hugely fun and rewarding on the downs
- Climbs like a rocket on the ups
- Bang up to date enduro geometry
- Near-future proofing with adoption of modern standards
- Great clearance for wide tyres and hassle free riding
Cons
- I had to send it back to Pyga
That’s not all: Introducing the Pyga Hyrax
Alongside the Slakline development process, Pyga has also been working on a 140 mm bike called the Hyrax. The Hyrax mirrors the Slakline’s design also featuring a Horst Link suspension system, a metric shock, adjustable geometry, a single chainring specific design and boost spacing. The Hyrax is built around a 150 mm fork.
As expected, the geometry is slightly different to the bigger travel Slakline. The high mode has a 66.3 degree head angle while the low mode is 65.7 degrees. Like the Slakline, the small, medium, and large frames will be compatible with both 27.5” and 27.5 Plus wheels with the extra large frame getting the 29er treatment.
The Hyrax frameset (medium and large sizes) will be available at the same time as the Slakline with a RockShox Deluxe RT3 shock for R36,999.
Q&A with Pyga Founder Patrick Morewood:
The Slackline fully embraces a modern mountain bike geometry design. What angles did you play with in development before coming up with your final design?
How important is it to stay up to date with trends?
We moved to a threaded bottom bracket as well. That is more for field servicing. With an enduro type bike, you are not necessarily going to be in a well set up camp with a multitude of mechanics and most guys will have a tool to remove that bottom bracket. Also with the punishment that type of bike is designed to take it is more suited to a threaded bottom bracket. That’s not to say that there is anything wrong with the BB92: but in people’s minds, they feel that the threaded BB is stronger, and one has to look at those things.
How has 3D printing helped accelerate the development process?
A 3D printed full-sized frame.
How did you decide on the final two geometry settings versus the three shown on the prototype?
There was a complete re-think of this bike during development. You mentioned the earlier aluminium bike. At what point did you decide to go in a different direction and what a caused this change?
How does the metric shock and dropping support for a front derailleur influence the Slakline’s design compared to your previous bikes- does this make design easier?
It makes it much easier for clearances when you don’t have to worry about a front derailleur being there. It also helps with clearance for a bigger tyre, you don’t have to worry about that extra chain ring being there: you can optimise the bike really nicely.
With the metric shock for one length, you can achieve three to four different strokes, and that is what we have done with the Hyrax and the Slakline. So we were able to optimise the geometry for both bikes at the same time, using one length shock and achieving different travel.