Apart from the super-light German:A. fork, Karl Platt's winning bike could just as easily have been at the start of the Craft BIKE Transalp or the Grand Raid Cristalp. The combination of super-long chainstays (452 mm), 69.3 mm head angle and 71.6 mm seat angle gives the Bulls above-average handling. Despite the narrow 600 mm handlebars, the bike was one of the smoothest in the test field. With the complete, brand new XTR groupset, the developers around Gerrit Gaastra had a special ace up their sleeve, but the high-end Japanese parts are not an individual tuning hit.
If you stick to safe and confident handling, the 2.25 mm Rocket Ron tyres from Schwalbe certainly play a big part in this. The 1209 gram frame is one of the best in terms of stiffness, and the Kilo 1.0 fork even sets the benchmark in terms of lightweight construction. The parallelogram fork responds super-sensitively to very small impacts and bumps. If you consider the half-kilo saving compared to a Reba, racers' eyes will sparkle. Apart from the 1220 gram fork and the carbon saddle from Fizik, you will look in vain for pimped-up details on the Bulls - a pity.
ConclusionThe Bulls' lack of experimentation in terms of tuning costs it a podium place - from a neutral riding impression, the bike definitely has what it takes.
Web: www.bulls.de
