With its raised chain, the huge multilink under the bottom bracket and the long rear shock, it is immediately clear that this is a serious machine and not a fig leaf construction bought in from Taiwan for image transfer purposes. A broadly tunable Vivid R2C at the rear is paired with the simple Boxxer RC. Slightly shorter in reach, but with a mega-low bottom bracket and high in the stack. You sit well on the bike. The Wild Core is ideal for our steep, rocky and slippery test track. The multi-link rear suspension is plush, sensitively filters out small and large bumps and doesn't lose its composure even at high speeds. Thanks to the high pivot point of the swingarm, the Bulls is hardly slowed down by large obstacles. When braking on the smooth rock gardens in Bolzano, the rear end isn't quite as composed as on the Lapierre and Commencal, but still inspires a lot of confidence. The fork brakes at maximum speed because the compression damping can't absorb hard hits quickly enough. The bike pumps well under acceleration. When accelerating out of tight bends, it feels a little sluggish.
ConclusionThe Motolink rear suspension of the Wild Core works great. A plush ride, very smooth running and lots of traction. A little sluggish for tight, pedalling-intensive trails and pure park use, but a good choice for racers.
Marcus Klausmann (38): "I am positively surprised! The suspension is balanced, the bike accelerates really well. Only when it gets really fast and rocky do the Lapierre and Commencal perform better when braking. Best time, although I felt relaxed on the road."
Manufacturer information
Distribution ZEG
www.bulls.de
Material/sizes Aluminium/S,M, L
Price/weight without pedals 3499 Euro/17.8 kg
Measurement data
Front/rear suspension travel 200 mm/200 mm
Rear suspension system Single-link with Motolink tension struts
Reach 396 mm
Stack 623 mm
BB-Drop - 15 mm
Equipment
Fork/damper RockShox Vivid R2C/Boxxer RC
Cranks/gears Shimano Zee/Shimano Zee
Brake system Shimano Zee
Impellers Spank Subrosa 30 system wheelset
Tyres Schwalbe Magic Mary Super Gravity TrailStar 2.35
FREERIDE RANKING: The number (maximum 10 points) reflects the overall impression and is not an addition of fun and race points.
