VOODOO BIZANGO

£650 Big wheels and good kit add up to all-day performance

The Bizango is the only 29er in this test, and its big wheels help it roll faster and skim over bumps better than its rivals. It doesn’t have as radical a frame shape as the Vitus or Marin, marking it out as potentially more suitable to longer days out, where miles covered are as important as how ‘rad’ you can get. This is echoed in aspects of the spec.

The frame

The alloy frame is designed around a 120mm-travel fork and has a fairly upright stance, with a 69-degree head angle and long seat tube (508mm on the 20in size tested, compared to 470-480mm on the other brands’ large sizes). There’s a kink in the top tube to give extra standover height, and the chainstays are heavily shaped before kicking up towards the rear axle. Like the Marin, the Bizango uses the latest Boost QR 141mm spacing to keep things stiffer out back. Cables are routed under the down tube, externally, and there’s a set of bottle cage bosses in the main triangle.

The kit

VooDoo’s buying power (via retail giant Halfords) is in full effect on the Bizango, with a decent level of kit onboard. Up front is an SR Suntour Raidon 32 fork, which has 120mm of travel and an air spring – this makes it easy to set it up for a wide range of rider weights. The fork also has a lockout, as well as external rebound damping adjustment, giving plenty of control over its performance.

SRAM supply their NX 11-speed transmission. This is paired with a square-taper crankset to save money, but the narrow-wide chainring and clutch-controlled mech perform well, and shifting was impressive throughout testing. The Shimano M315 brakes provide ample power but feel a little wooden in use.

Unbranded 29in wheels are shod with fast-rolling Maxxis Ardent tyres front and rear, in a 2.25in width. The finishing kit is all VooDoo-branded. While the stem is nice and short, at 45mm, the bar is a too-narrow 720mm. It’s flat though, which helps keep the front end low.

The ride

The Bizango is keen to accelerate as soon as you put the first pedal strokes through the NX drivetrain, with the low-treaded tyres offering minimal resistance. This makes it a great climber – it feels light and sprightly, reacts well to kicks of power and is the lightest bike on test, at 12.9kg. The 29in

wheels take pretty much every surface in their stride too, until it becomes really sloppy.

It’s a similar feeling on smoother singletrack as well. Here, the bike flows much better over light trail chatter than its competitors, thanks to its big wheels and excellent fork. It holds speed well and carves bermed corners with plenty of confidence. If you need to put a little sprint in, you’re rewarded with instant speed. Handling between corners is quick too, with light, easy steering.

Where it comes a little unstuck is on rougher, steeper tracks. The 69-degree head angle places the front wheel axle closer to your centre of mass than a slacker front end, making it feel like it’ll tuck under when things get testing. Slow, steep corners are another area where the Bizango just didn’t feel super-confident, partly due to the narrow bar and middling reach (445mm on the 20in size tested). This is all compounded by the Maxxis Ardent tyre at the front, which doesn’t offer as much grip as the Schwalbe Magic Mary and Hans Dampf found elsewhere in this test – if you push hard into a loose corner, it’s far more prone to break traction.

If you get your kicks out of longer, more cross-country-orientated rides, the Bizango is a great option, thanks to its 29in wheels and lightriding feel. But we’d look elsewhere if you want to tackle more technical terrain with confidence.

THE BIKE FLOWS MUCH BETTER OVER TRAIL CHATTER, THANKS TO ITS BIG WHEELS AND EXCELLENT FORK. IT HOLDS SPEED WELL AND CARVES CORNERS WITH CONFIDENCE Good value, long-distance-capable bike that’s also tons of fun on lowy trails