By Ian Collins
For the first time this World Cup downhill-winning frame wears a set of long-travel single crown forks. Designed and proven as a race warrior, is this new configuration a chink in its armour?
Ride & handling: coil vs air
As you would expect from its heritage, this bike is no slouch when given some negative gradient. It tracks supremely, turns in perfectly at speed is perfect and its rider weighting and position is balanced and low.
We also found amazing control under hard braking and we just couldn’t bottom the thing out.
Such a compliant rear system with its immense traction is going to need a fork to match it, and the air sprung Totem just couldn’t keep up.
The fork having having 20mm less travel than the rear and the single crown weren’t the issue. A coil Totem would even things out, but an air spring never feels matched against a coil.
That said, this is still a great bike that inspires great confidence.
Frame: bottomless travel from DW link
Carrying the ‘Sunday’ moniker means the bike shares the same frame design as Sam Hill’s world dominating Sunday World Cup bike.
As with all of the Iron Horse Sunday complete bikes, the frame is made in Taiwan rather than the USA. This really has little – if any – detrimental effect on the frame quality, but it does carry a smidgen more weight.
DW links tune the travel path of the rear wheel and the actuation ratio of the shock to eliminate brake jack, pedal feedback and bob, and to give a ‘bottomless’ suspension stroke.
There are three stages of travel. The first stage sees most small bump sensitivity and resistance to pedal-induced bob, thanks to its slightly rearward axle path.
The second stage sees the rear suspension work in unison with fork action, and the final stage sees the leverage ratio ramp up for big hit absorption.
This is all dependant on having the correct sag set-up though, at 33-40 per cent at the shock.
The bike comes stock with Marzocchi’s ROCO World Cup shock.
Frame detail includes a special Max-E bearing with twice the amount of ball bearings for strength and a smooth action, 12mm through axle and a 1.5in head tube.
Equipment: pimped-out but confused
The Park Bike spec has a single crown Totem Solo Air fork, which adds manoeuvrability and versatility, but gives 20mm less travel than at the rear. This does separate it from other Sundays, but seems a little confused on such a race-oriented frame.
The 165mm Funn Hooka cranks, short cage SRAM X-9 mech and racer width 28in bars all point towards downhill racing, as you would expect on a Sunday.
The Horse is reigned in by Avid’s superbly performing Code brakes, running 203mm rotors at head and tail ends.
Then there’s the look of the thing, smothered in gold anodised Funn kit and matching Sun ADD wheels – even Westwood couldn’t pimp this ride any further.
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