MBR Mountain Bike Rider

1ST IMPRESSION

- Mick Kirkman

feel and a really smooth power delivery, even without engaging the Twinloc. Basically, it goes on and on and makes lighter work of lumpy climbs than some less pedal-efficient e-bikes. The new Kiox 300 display and bar control offers plenty to look at and fiddle with, too.

Personally, I’m not that fussed about rev counters and endless stats and would still prefer a more minimal Bosch controller. You can always remove the display, but the ‘master’ Led-lit remote has to stay, and with Scott’s Twinloc set-up and dropper lever on the same side, there’s a lot going on to test handeye coordinati­on.

The Patron’s seated pedalling position is perfect for milking the abundant power and traction on flowy singletrac­k, and if you mix it up, and hover just above the saddle occasional­ly, there’s a nice tight feel bombing along bendy trails. We got stuck into some crazy climbing scenarios, riding DH tracks backwards for giggles, and it felt great here too, never getting weirdly unbalanced or pitching weight off the back. The ‘Traction Control’ setting effectivel­y tips the chassis forwards and increases ground clearance for a more attacking attitude too, but I’m not convinced this will necessaril­y outweigh the reduced traction of having less travel on slippery, step-laden UK climbs.

Pointing the other way, Scott’s stiffness claims stack up, with noticeable tightness side-to-side, and no sense of deflection or flinching down some of the grippiest, grittiest rock formations I’ve ever ridden. The steering is pretty responsive, but being used to a shorter stem, the 60mm unit felt less reactive to me, and my weight was also a bit tipped forwards, which showed up the relative lack of support in the FIT4 fork (to the point of craving more volume reducers to hold it up deeper in the stroke). A better solution might be the superior, more adjustable GRIP2 damper, but that’s not an option here since Twinloc only works with the

FIT4 damper.

The rear Nude suspension is smooth off the top, but doesn’t entirely float over every bigger bump, or seem that plush – there’s less of a cushioned, glued-to-the-floor feel than some 160mm-travel e-bikes with more Dhgrade dampers. Hard-charging riders might also occasional­ly smash through all the rear travel; I bottomed the shock on deep landings and when hammering through compressio­ns, eventually adding extra air pressure as a quick-fix.

This isn’t to say the Patron doesn’t keep you feeling totally safe and calm riding virgin trails at a fair old lick. There’s great balance between both ends; just less hyperactiv­e off-thetop touch and end-stroke punch to stab at turns or bounce out of berms like some more progressiv­e bikes. It’s very accurate to position, with neutral handling that carves rather than chops at turns. This could be partly to do to the chainstay length – despite being shorter, they’re still on the long side, and this is why it doesn’t display the razor-sharp dynamism of some e-bikes.

Another considerat­ion, that’s in no way unique to the Patron, is that bigger batteries for longer range also means more weight and less agility. In my view, if you don’t do huge rides, you’ll be paying for that extra range with a lessplayfu­l bike.

Scott has hit plenty of bases with the Patron and, as much as it looks like the sort of bike an oligarch would ride down to the cigar shop in Verbier, it’s also seriously practical.

Neutral, calm and planted, it pedals and handles smoothly enough to make it an effective ally both up and down. There’s also enough capability to hit up some tasty trails, even if it isn’t the perfect winch-and-plummet enduro shredder.

HIGHS

Superb climber with tons of traction and good pedalling support. Slick chassis is solid and has wellbalanc­ed suspension and geometry. Bosch motor works superbly and also has huge power and range.

LOWS

Expensive. Hard to set up hidden rear shock. Relatively heavy for an expensive carbon e-bike. The Nude shock-mounting hardware (held in place by a small pinch bolt that rotates a lot when the hidden link moves) developed play after 50km of riding – production models will replace Fox’s IGUS bush with a brass set-up.

 ?? ?? The Patron eats climbs for breakfast and begs you to return for more
SPECIFICAT­ION
Frame Carbon with alloy chainstays, 160/115mm travel
Shock Fox Nude DPS Trunnion (205x60mm)
Fork Fox 38 Float Factory FIT4, 160mm travel (44mm offset)
Motor Bosch Performanc­e CX Gen4
Battery
Bosch Powertube 750Wh
Display LED remote and Kiox 300
Wheels Syncros Revelstoke E 1.5 CL Boost 30mm,
Maxxis Dissector 29x2.6in tyres
Drivetrain SRAM X1 crankset 34t, 165mm, SRAM GX Eagle shifter, X01 r-mech, E*thirteen slider guide
Brakes Shimano XT four-piston, 203/203mm
Components
Syncros Hixon ic SL bar 780mm/stem 60mm, Pro grips,
Fox Transfer Factory dropper 150mm, Syncros Tofino 1.0 carbon saddle
Sizes S, M, L, XL
Weight 24kg (53lb) GEOMETRY
Size ridden L
Rider Height 5ft 9in
Head angle 65°
Effective SA 76.9°
BB Height 347mm
Chainstay 454mm
Front Centre 810mm
Wheelbase 1,234mm
Downtube 730mm
Top tube 626mm
Reach 473mm
The Patron eats climbs for breakfast and begs you to return for more SPECIFICAT­ION Frame Carbon with alloy chainstays, 160/115mm travel Shock Fox Nude DPS Trunnion (205x60mm) Fork Fox 38 Float Factory FIT4, 160mm travel (44mm offset) Motor Bosch Performanc­e CX Gen4 Battery Bosch Powertube 750Wh Display LED remote and Kiox 300 Wheels Syncros Revelstoke E 1.5 CL Boost 30mm, Maxxis Dissector 29x2.6in tyres Drivetrain SRAM X1 crankset 34t, 165mm, SRAM GX Eagle shifter, X01 r-mech, E*thirteen slider guide Brakes Shimano XT four-piston, 203/203mm Components Syncros Hixon ic SL bar 780mm/stem 60mm, Pro grips, Fox Transfer Factory dropper 150mm, Syncros Tofino 1.0 carbon saddle Sizes S, M, L, XL Weight 24kg (53lb) GEOMETRY Size ridden L Rider Height 5ft 9in Head angle 65° Effective SA 76.9° BB Height 347mm Chainstay 454mm Front Centre 810mm Wheelbase 1,234mm Downtube 730mm Top tube 626mm Reach 473mm
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