VOODOO BIZANGO
£750 Old name, new tricks
Once a niche brand headed up by an ex-Kona designer, the VooDoo name is now owned by Halfords in the UK. They’ve preserved several model names and the iconic head badge, but the bikes have evolved with the times. The Bizango is now a sensibly-priced hardtail with 29in wheels, an air-sprung fork and progressive geometry, but does it do what you don’t dare do, people?
THE FRAME
The aluminium frame tubes are butted, to save weight where possible yet retain strength in necessary places. A kink in the seat tube allows use of short 435mm chainstays. We tested the large size, which has a 465mm reach, 76-degree seat tube angle (measured) and 66.5-degree head angle – all fairly typical for a modern trail bike. A single set of bottle cage bosses sits atop the down tube, and external routing for brake and gear cables runs below it. There’s also a cable port on the back of the seat tube, in case you want to add a dropper seatpost; the bike comes with a rigid post. Rack mounts just above the rear dropouts suggest a range of possible roles for this bike. VooDoo use 10x141mm ‘Boost QR’ rear axle spacing, rather than the usual 12x142mm bolt-through system.
THE KIT
Up front is an SR SunTour Raidon fork with 120mm of travel, an external rebound dial and enough compression damping adjustment to almost lock it out. Shimano supply the stop-and-go equipment – a 1x11 Deore drivetrain and basic M200 hydraulic disc brakes. VooDoo-branded tubeless-ready rims are shod with decent, if narrow, Maxxis rubber. The two-bolt seatpost, 45mm stem and 770mm-wide bar are also from VooDoo, while seating is provided by a WTB Volt saddle.
THE RIDE
With its relatively steep seat tube angle and short chainstays, the frame puts you in a purposeful climbing position, while the fast-rolling Maxxis Ardent tyres make accelerating and maintaining speed an easy task. The Bizango is an agreeable ride on fast singletrack and holds its own on more technical terrain, too, thanks to its short stem and a slacker head angle than most budget competitors, as well as the centred position its generous reach offers. This allows the rider to move around without ever feeling like they’re too far over the front or off the back, giving buckets of confidence when tackling steeper trails. It also translates to more stability when cornering, with that good-natured handling allowing you to throw the Bizango around in a manner 29ers couldn’t manage just a few years ago.
A 10-51t cassette will offer a huge range of gears no matter what chainring it’s matched with, but the 30t ring supplied here is a good choice on a bike likely to be bought by less experienced riders. Shifting is crisp and reliable with Shimano’s typical light action. The fork performs well, too, for the money – it’s easy to set up and felt smooth and stiff enough in every situation we steered it into.
For £750, the Bizango represents fantastic value for money. It’s a properly sorted trail bike that’ll also happily do commuting duties. We’d love to see the budget stretched a bit further to include a dropper post, but that’s splitting hairs. Will Poole www.halfords.com
Difficult to argue with at this price, the Bizango is a genuine trail shredder with wider versatility, too