The Threesome boasts a powerful frame construction. Fat aluminium tubes, wide shock linkage, thick weld beads and thru axles form the all-mountain basis, with a choice of two geometries. Fox suspension elements, SRAM equipment, stable wheels and grippy tyres round off the bike. At 3.3 kilos, the chassis is above average in the lab, while the high stiffness scores full points. The rear suspension works sensitively on the climbs and utilises the suspension travel on the descents, and on rough terrain the ride feels plush - as long as you go straight ahead. We turn into the twisty part of the test lap and lo and behold: when changing direction, the low cockpit with the only 60 millimetre short stem makes for unexpectedly sharp steering behaviour. The front wheel suddenly breaks out, you don't hit the line and have to be extremely careful. The geometry check reveals a 68.8-degree steering angle and 365 mm bottom bracket height! So we converted to the 67.5-degree position (effectively 67.8 degrees) with six millimetres less travel at the rear and fitted an 80 mm handlebar mount as a test. This measure defused the situation somewhat, but there are still better-natured bikes in this category.
PLUS rear-wheel drive function, ISCG mount
MINUS short stem, high bottom bracket
Conclusion: downhill-orientated all-mountain bike. The short stem costs handling points. The geometry adjustment is nonsense.
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