FIRST RIDES
5,000 (frame) Is this beast ready to rip or will it crash and Burn?
Our views on the latest bikes, including the boutique beauty that is the UNNO Burn, NS’s Metropolis 1 dirt jumper and Mondraker’s super-stretched Foxy Carbon R
The buzz around UNNO, the new brand from Cesar Rojo – the former World Cup racer and designer of Mondraker’s ‘Forward Geometry’ bikes – has been humming away for some time, but it’s only now that we’ve been able to throw a leg over one of these high-priced, properly boutique bikes and see for ourselves if they live up to the hype.
The frame
After 500 design hours and 12 prototypes, the final result looks stunning, with its clean, crisp lines. There’s one point we need to address immediately, though – sizing. UNNO have taken a di erent approach to pretty much everyone else out there and are currently producing all of their bikes (this is the enduro model) in just one frame size, though a longer option is likely to appear later down the line.
The Burn sports a 455mm reach, 438mm chainstays, a 63.9-degree head angle, 75-degree seat angle (measured with the dropper post at its lowest position in the frame) and 440mm seat tube. There’s 15mm of bottom bracket drop, which sits it 334mm o the floor. Why just one size though? The reach figure sits it somewhere between most brands’ medium and large frames, which, according to UNNO, means it should suit most riders who’d usually pick either of those sizes (though they may need to experiment with stem length to get things feeling just right). At 5ft 8in (172cm), our tester felt properly at home aboard the Burn.
As you’d expect from Rojo and his design team, the 160mm (6.3in) of rear wheel travel has been meticulously tuned. It’s designed to work with an air shock, in this case an Öhlins STX 22 damper. The Burn has some neat features, including a rubber lip on the seat clamp to help with weatherproofing, along with a beautifully-designed rear brake mount and reinforced dropouts.
The kit
Our test bike was delivered before UNNO began o ering full builds, but had a similar spec to the Factory bike, including a SRAM XX1 Eagle drivetrain and Guide RSC stoppers. We’d have preferred to see their bigger Code brakes on a bike designed for enduro racing and fitted with burly DH-spec
Maxxis tyres. The Fox 36 fork used a 2018 air spring too, not the updated 2019 version, so it topped out occasionally.
The ride
At just 13.36kg, there’s no shortage of spring in the Burn’s step when you get on the gas. Despite those super-grippy tyres, if you flick the shock into the ‘platform’ position, climbs are dispensed with in an e cient enough fashion. As soon as the gradient steepens and the trail gets rowdy, you’re met with almost complete silence and an impressive level of suspension balance and control. UNNO have done a great job when it comes to the geometry (provided the single size works for you). Coupled with the composed feel of the rear suspension, the Burn’s proportions and angles instil confidence at higher speeds and when tackling steep sections of trail.
While the Öhlins damper doesn’t feel quite as lively as some of its competitors, it had no issues soaking up heavy, successive hits, remaining controlled throughout its stroke and never bottoming out harshly, even on really hefty impacts. If we’re being picky (as we think we should with a frame of this price), the Burn doesn’t feel quite as steadfast in really roughed-up sections of trail as some of its burlier, heavier and less nimble counterparts – this isn’t a ‘point and plough’ downhill bomber, after all. Instead, it rewards those who take a more calculated approach to line choice.
We were worried that the carbon wheels and frame might make for a harsh ride, but even on long rocky runs we never felt beaten-up or battered, thanks in part to the well-measured compliance of the frame and those superbly-damped DH tyres. Add the low bottom bracket into the mix too, and it doesn’t take long to realise that the Burn is devilishly adept at carving a turn, slicing across a tricky o camber or making an inside line stick. ROB WEAVER
www.unno.com