The sophisticated and well-equipped bestseller from the mail-order company from the Rhineland has so far won many test victories in magazines and impresses with its awesome price. Kinematics guru Bodo Probst, known for understatement, is surprisingly euphoric when he talks about his Slide, but also cautions: "The Slide is not a freerider!" Yes, the data sheet shows: light (12.3 kilos despite the chain guide!), trimmed for propulsion, brutally manoeuvrable and designed for a wide range of uses - the Slide is a racy enduro bike. We were impressed by how light-footedly the bike accelerates forwards, accelerates on trail rides and, thanks to the feel-good geo with a low bottom bracket, tips from one turn into the next - our clear handling champion! The drive-neutral rear triangle really comes into its own on tours. Similarly user-friendly: the fork with drop function and effective compression damping (soft, medium, hard). The Slide is also a lot of fun on downhills, can be lively over bumps and loves lightning-fast cornering. Only when it gets really fast in rough terrain does the Slide reach its limits and has to let the larger-calibre competition go. The rear suspension then feels stiff, chokes and tends to bottom out. The slim Monarch shock is obviously overtaxed here - in our downhill-orientated test, the top mark for the Slide was lost. Too bad!
ConclusionThe Slide is our handling star. No other bike was as agile and playful. The range of use of this flagship enduro bike is broad and extends far towards trail bikes. So why no 10 points? Because of the rear suspension weaknesses on the downhill.
Strengths Weight, manoeuvrability, price
Weaknesses Rear end loud when it gets rough
MANUFACTURER INFORMATION
Distribution Radon, www.radon-bikes.com
Material/sizes Carbon/S, M, L, XL
Price/weight without pedals 3399 Euro/12.3 kg
MEASURED DATA
Front/rear suspension travel 130-160 mm/160 mm
Rear suspension system Four-bar linkage
EQUIPMENT
Fork/damper RockShox Pike RCT3 Dual Position/RockShox Monarch Plus RC3 Debon Air
Cranks/gears SRAM X01/SRAM X01
Brake system SRAM Guide RS
Impellers DT Swiss XM 1501 Spline system wheel
Tyres Schwalbe Hans Dampf Evo 2.35
Dimitri Lehner
Editor
