The power station is visually pimped ex works. Matt silver paint paired with frog-green add-on parts - an eye-catcher! The riding position is comfortable, not too upright, not too stretched out. The steering angle is also nice and flat. Apart from Felt, Kraftstoff is the only brand that still uses a "Lyrik" with a steel spring. The rare Marzocchi "Roco Air" works on the rear suspension, which attracts attention with its extremely sensitive response when you first sit on it. The bike is good on singletrack - thanks to the light tyres, it accelerates quickly. The suspension provides good feedback about the surface. However, when things get rough, the suspension reaches its limits: The rear suspension then feels tight, just like the fork, which transmits significantly more shocks to the rider compared to the competition. Due to the rather high suspension, the bike becomes unstable and is much harder to control than a Norco or Canyon, for example. At high speeds, the grip and puncture protection of the "Nobby Nic" tyres are nowhere near sufficient. Once again, we were impressed by the Formula "One" brakes, which easily put the old "Oro" brakes in the shade and never "fade" even during long continuous braking.
CONCLUSIONFuel suffers somewhat from the uncomfortable suspension and the rather high bottom bracket. The tyres do the rest.
RemarkRare: The "Roco Air" is only used once in the test. Why? The part works sensitively, is easy to tune and can also be locked quickly.
FREERIDE RANKING: maximum 10 points.
