FORESTAL CYON HALO
Andorran brand Forestal is thinking big; does its new e-bike back up ambition with ability?
£8,499 • 29in • forestal.com
Last month we rode the new Trek Fuel EXE, with its smooth, silent, unobtrusive motor and uncorrupted handling. If that piqued your interest in the emerging category of mid-power e-bikes, but you’re after something a little more exclusive than a Trek, then young upstart, Forestal, might have just the bike you’re looking for.
Situated in one of the main streets of Andorra la Vella, a stone’s throw from one of the most challenging downhill tracks on the World Cup circuit, in just a few years it has grown from a seed of an idea into a serious operation with a range of three mountain bikes, two urban bikes and a number of further models on the way.
But that’s just the start, with bold plans to bring its carbon manufacturing completely in-house in the next few years. And rather than use conventional thermoset carbon construction techniques, it’s developing a cuttingedge process that uses recyclable thermoplastic composite. Spools of carbon sheet will be cut and pressed into moulds – milled on giant CNC machines in the basement – by a pair of high-tech and incredibly expensive bespoke robots. No more painstaking lay-ups or long curing times in an oven.
It’s quick, it requires minimal labour, zero shipping and both offcuts and old or warrantied frames can be reformed into useful products – answering one of the main criticisms of carbon manufacturing. Such techniques are fairly commonplace in the automotive and aerospace industries, but to my knowledge, US brand Guerilla Gravity is the only company in the bike industry currently using a similar process.
Once up and running, the plan is to have those robots pumping out
1,000 frames a month, which is huge considering the premium price of Forestal’s products. And I have little doubt Forestal can’t pull off the plan
– it’s already gone from nothing to building 2,000 complete bikes in just a couple of years.
For now though, Forestal’s trailfocused Cyon uses a full carbon frame that’s made in Asia. It takes a few cues from other brands, such as the singlepivot swingarm and an asymmetric shock brace, yet it’s no cut and paste facsimile, and it manages to find its own unique style that’s visually appealing. And there’s more than meets the eye; hidden behind the swingarm is the Twin Levity linkage, that controls the leverage rate through the travel and drives the shock via a yoke that splits around the seat tube.
Within the lissom down tube is a 360Wh battery where the cells are stacked horizontally to help reduce the visual bulk. It weighs 1.8kg and reaches 80% charge in just 1hr 24 minutes. A range extender is available that will bring the capacity up to 610Wh if you suffer from range anxiety. Unlike the Trek Fuel EXE, the battery is not easily removable.
At the base of the down tube is a heavily customised Bafang motor, weighing 1.95kg and packing 60Nm of torque with 400W peak power. It’s been developed and calibrated intensively by Forestal over the last two years to reduce size, weight and noise while ensuring a completely natural ride feel.
It’s a similar story with the Smart Dashboard, housed within the top tube. Here the 3.2in full colour screen gives data on battery life, range, speed and location using the built-in GPS. Forestal is improving the system and adding functionality on a weekly basis for the touch-screen, and it’s by far the most sophisticated e-bike display that I’ve come across, even if the one on my demo bike was a bit glitchy.
Control over the six power modes – Off, Walk, Eco, Sport, Race and Nitro – is via a slim band-style remote. There are a couple of buttons to nudge the power up and down and colour-coded LEDS showing the mode and battery life. At the moment there’s no haptic feedback, so it’s not obvious when you’ve actually pressed a button, but Forestal has an improved controller coming that will address this issue.
Forestal has gone for a safe set of numbers for the geometry and fit across the range of four frame sizes. The Large
that I rode had a healthy 480mm reach, relatively conservative 65.5° head angle and tall 345mm BB height. Seat tubes on the Large and XL are on the long side at 465mm and 500mm respectively, and this limits your options when choosing frame sizes and dropper post lengths. Forestal has also missed a trick by not incorporating a flip-chip at the shock yoke. Adding one would give you the option to run a pedal-friendly BB height for technical climbs, or drop your feet for railing bike park turns.
At £8,499 it’s hard to believe that this is the cheapest Cyon in the range. As such, the spec is mid-tier, with a SRAM GX drivetrain, Rockshox Pike Select fork and Super Deluxe Select+ shock. Wheels are Crankbrothers Synthesis Alloy, brakes are Magura
MT5 and the tyres are Panaracer Romero/aliso. However, specs may vary – my test bike was running Formula Cura brakes, and the bikes
I saw being assembled during my visit had Maxxis, rather than Panaracer, tyres fitted.