HIGH-PIVOT HYPE
It seems like you can’t open social media or a magazine these days without seeing a new bike with an idler suspension design. In fact, if you turn to page 18 of this issue you can read all about the new Cannondale Jekyll and Norco Range, both four-bar suspension designs with, you guessed it... idlers.
The idea being that the rear wheel moves back and up over bumps while the idler eliminates pedal kick-back
And it’s not just Cannondale and Norco who are pumping up the high-pivot hype, spy shots are already circulating of prototype bikes from Devinci, GT and others, all rocking idlers. So once again, what’s old is new, as high-pivot idler designs have been drifting in and out of downhill racing for over two decades with various degrees of success.
Why the sudden proliferation in the enduro bike category? To answer that question we need to wind the clock back 10 years to when SRAM launched XX1, the first mass produced 1x11 drivetrain. Because without it, and the subsequent 1x12 drivetrains, no usable idler equipped enduro bikes would exist today.
But it’s not just the gravity-focused bikes that are taking advantage of 1x drivetrains to rethink longstanding beliefs and further decouple the suspension and drivetrain. Forbidden and Deviate, both early converts, have trail bikes boasting high single-pivot suspension designs with fully rearward axle paths. The basic idea being that the rear wheel moves back and up over the bumps, while the idler eliminates the adverse effects of the associated pedal kick-back that would normally come along for the ride.
So what better head-to-head test, than the Deviate Highlander 140 and Forbidden Druid XT? As the name suggests the Deviate Highlander has 140mm travel while the Forbidden Druid pumps out 130mm. Both bikes have full carbon frames and both are built around 150mm forks, although you also have the option to run 160mm forks to further slacken the geometry.
Being shorter-travel trail bikes, both are rolling on 29in wheels. The Deviate Highlander has clearance for a 2.8in rear tyre but doesn’t recommend mulleting the bike. Contrast that
