The Battery is designed for slopestyle competition, dirt jumping and park riding. With its low standover and tight geometry, it is both responsive and designed for big air. Availability of this model will be Spring 2007.
Submitted by
thekiltedskier
a Weekend Warrior
from Perth, Scotland Date Reviewed: May 6, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Laggan Wolftrax old red
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$845.00
Purchased At:
Mountain Cycle Europ
Strengths:
Tons of standover, chuckable, burly play bike.
Weaknesses:
No cable stop for front mech. Wide swingarm doesn't work with all cranks.
Similar Products Used:
San Andreas DNA, Cove Stiffee
Bike Setup:
Magura Thor 140mm, Hope pro2's with DT Swiss EX5.1, Saint brakes, 8 speed XT.
Bottom Line:
How long have we waited for the rebirth of MC and the Battery to arrive?! Well it's well and truly here.
Designed as a secific slopestyle bike I am in no way it's target audience - I like my wheels on the deck! UK prices are very good - £745 black anodised with RS Monarch, £825 orange with Marz Roco Air R.
I love this bike already, low standover (14.5" seat tube), short top tube and short stays - loves to pop wheelies and front comes up and off drops really well. You won't believe how burly this wee beast is until you see it in the flesh! Am currently converting to a dual ring up front using a Problem Solvers backstop (cable stop) on the seat tube - not too many chairlifts here! It's a great fun bike and actually rides up hill really well. There is ZERO flex.
Wide swingarm is causing some crank clearance issues but MC have a list of what works and are adding to that all the time. Check BEFORE you buy crankset.
Fun, Fun, Fun!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Hamish Anderson
a Cross Country Rider
from San Jose, CA, USA Date Reviewed: January 6, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Soquel Demo forest
Duration Product Used:
Tested or demo'ed only
Strengths:
Super tough frame, great geometry, goes exactly where you want it to!
Weaknesses:
Heel clearance was an issue but I've got big feet.
Similar Products Used:
Foes 4X, Yeti DJ, SC Chameleon
Bottom Line:
I got to try the Battery at the '07 Sea Otter and loved it straight away. It's great to have a full sus bike that's got a tight back end and allows you to ride it like a hardtail straight away.
I'm a big guy (and pretty clumsy) yet the Battery had no problems with frame flex, bottoming out or any of the normal issues I run into on a new bike. The suspension certainly wasn't plush but does exactly what you need it to do and sucked up hard landings with no problems at all.
If I'd ridden this before I got my Foes 4X I'd have hung on for the Battery. Having seen what this bike is capable of (under better riders than me) I'd have no problems recommending this to anyone looking for a park / street / dirt / trail / just plain fun bike.
I'm really looking forward to the Battery going on sale. I can't wait to get my hands on one!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
XPetterX Björklund
a
from Stockholm Date Reviewed: February 2, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Hellas naturereserv
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
E-bay
Strengths:
This is a small and flickable frame, with 4" of travel (set up hard) to take the edge of those rough landings. It feels just as my jackal, but with a bit of rear travel, chainstays are pretty much the same lenght.
Weaknesses:
None so far, well i have a prototyp frame and i was not able to fit SAINT cranks to it (they hit the swingarm) maby this will be solved on production models....(i like SAINT stuff).
Similar Products Used:
Kona Dudu, Howler, Cowan, and alot of others..
Bike Setup:
Full SAINT, exept for Holzfeller cranks, Argyle 409 fork and a E-13 LG-1 guide.
Bottom Line:
I was lucky enough to pick this frame up on an auction on E-bay, and you can only guess how happy i am about it.
Ever since i saw the first pictures of the Battery i know i had to get one, and so i did. It rides just the way i expected, and its almoast just as flickable as my hardtail, wich is really cool cos it opens up for some serious fun in the dirt. Hell you can go street riding with this bike and pull just about everything you are able to on your hardtail in no time at all. Chainstays are super short, so manuals are super simple.
When these puppys start showing up in the shops around the world im sure that they will fly of the shelfes...
Mountaincycle has really nailed it with this one...
$
Overall Rating:
