Bulls and Carver - two brands from the specialised trade - which, however, can even compete with mail-order bikes in terms of price and performance. Bulls bikes are available from ZEG dealers, while Carver sells its range through the 16 Fahrrad XXL branches. Both manufacturers are now far removed from the Far East zero-eight-fifteen, employ development departments and send racing teams around the world. What both are also good at: Fullys in the most important price segment, namely 2500 euros, aggressively priced.
The 29er Bulls Wild Flow with 100 millimetres of travel is pitted against the Carver Transalpin 140 with 130 mm of travel. Question: Can the larger wheels compensate for the shorter travel? Answer: Yes, they can. But first it's off to the BIKE test lab: Bulls is ahead in terms of chassis weight (3 kg), the Carver frame weighs 300 grams more. In terms of overall weight, the 26-inch Carver outweighs the competition by another 300 grams, with half a kilo more in the wheels. In terms of frame stiffness, the two bikes have nothing in common. At 64 Nm/degree for the Bulls and 62 Nm/degree respectively, they are not among the most rigid representatives.
The geometry of the two bikes is almost identical despite the different wheel diameters, but the handling on the Lake Garda tour is totally different. With the Carver you accelerate much faster, the bike feels more agile, rushes around corners and is also good for a sprint in between. The Bulls has a smoother ride, the big wheels keep up the pace better and you can still roll up the counter-slope where you'd have to pedal again on the Carver. Both bikes need attention when it comes to the suspension. The Wild Flow requires a lot of pressure in the shock, the negative suspension travel must not exceed 15 to 20 per cent, otherwise the rear end will rock. The multi-adjustable Fox components on the Transalpin are a delight. However, they do not hide the fact that the rear end dips when pedalling. This is where the multi-stage platform comes to the rescue.
Downhill, the Carver has a few centimetres more reserves on the suspension side, especially the 130 mm fork helps. However, the Wild Flow doesn't let this become a disadvantage at all thanks to its large wheels. In the downhill handling ranking, it pulls away from the Transalpin thanks to its smoothness. It swallows high steps better and you feel more secure in difficult terrain than on the 26-inch bike. At least Bulls has fitted the Wild Flow with 650 mm handlebars. However, we still think that a 690 would do no harm. If you want to tune the Transalpin, bolt on the Bionicon chain guide and run a dropper post - that would make it even more versatile.
The two bikes also have little in common in terms of equipment. Bulls relies entirely on Shimano XT, Carver on the counterpart from SRAM, the X0, plus Syntace components and lightweight wheels - all in all higher quality, but also 100 euros more expensive. So both bikes deserve the judgement "very good", but the points cannot be compared. We judged the Bulls according to marathon criteria, the Carver according to the all-mountain aspects of our test system.
CARVER TRANSALPIN 140
PLUS Excellent equipment for the money, sporty, lightweight bike with a wide range of uses. Top suspension components from Fox with versatile adjustment options. Good cockpit.
MINUS The rear suspension works a lot when seated and is not quite drive-neutral. Carver wants to eliminate this in series production with a new rocker.
BULLS WILD FLOW 2
PLUS Very good equipment for the money. Successful, versatile handling, particularly confident downhill. Lockout on the handlebars.
MINUS The handlebars could be a little wider. Suspension could do with some fine-tuning. Precise tuning is important!
