Sell me on the Wildcard

Jerk_Chicken said:

he seems to enjoy it a lot over his previous Wildcard.

I spoke to Jay at EB at length about the pivots, among other things, and they seem to be pretty well thought out, even giving Turner credit for the main design, though Banshee has some differences.

Click to expand...

First part confuses me a bit, as the wildcard was only realeased this year, and there has only been one model... unless he had 2 different frme sizes? or was it just a typo, and you meant to say previous banshee?

second point seems to be about using bushings instead of breaings in pivots, but I should point out that the wildcard uses full complement bearings, and not the new bushing system that is used in the rune and rampant.

I will give you my opinion on the wildcard, but you have to realise that I am totally biased since I designed it.

I really enjoy riding my wildcard on all types of terrain. I ride it in th 5" travel setting all the time (I prefer te slacker geometry and lower BB). I have ridden it on tech DH tracks (like all of the double black diamond garbonzo whistler trails) with friends who were on full on DH rigs (V10's and Giant glorys etc) and I kept up with them just fine. I have also ridden a lot of more smooth floy jumpy trails, and full on double lines, and it is great on these!

I am not a person who plays with the suspensions settings all the time, I set it up so that it feels good, then i forget about it, so have ridden all the above with the same suspension feel.

I have also hit some pretty big drops and gaps on the bike think 18'x20' is probably the biggest, and it felt great.

The travel is very progressive, and combined with the slightly rearward axle path, the suspension feels supple enough on fast DH, but also ramps up a lot so never really bottoms out except for on really big hits (like when I case something badly). I'm not going to try and claim that the suspension will feel as plush as a full on 8" travel DH rig, but it does the job well, and feels very lively at the same time. its more fun to ride than a big travel bike.

I have ridden a bottle rocket... but do not want to compare them directly, as I don't think this i fair due to my position. Needless to say I much prefer the wildcard... but I would.

In terms of manufacturing technology...
The wildcard uses tripple butted custom hydroformed 7005 T6 tubing. (also all CNC parts etc are also 7005 T6, except the rockers which are 7075 T6)
The seatstays and chainstays are internaly ribbed for extra stiffness and strength.
The linkage was optimally designed to suit trail riding, and taking big hits (basically it is highly progressive, and the axle path is slightly rearward on the whole)

any more questions, then just ask.

Keith

I don´t want to say much about the Bottlerocket, because a parkinglot-test doesn´t say very much!

Here are my short thoughts about the Wildcard:
The Wildcard is very pedalfriendly and offeres fast-forward acceleration! I haven´t experienced any bobbing or pedalkickback as my Propedal is completely switched off. The whole bike, especially the rear feels super stiff - just some pedalstrokes and you´ve speed up!
As Keith mentioned, the suspension is very progressive, but can set up very smooth depending on the shock-settings!
In the 5" mode the travel can be nicely plush on the small bumps and has a high progression at the end of the travel to prevent bottoming out.
In the 6,5" mode the whole travel feels more linear, slightly plusher at the beginning and not as progressive at the end. I run mine as plush as possible in both travelsettings - the only thing I change is a few more clicks Highspeed-compression when in the 6,5".
All I can say is that in both settings the travel is used very effective, of course not as plush as a 8" Big Bike, but feels very lively while smoothening out big hits and giving good feedback of what´s going on underneath you! I often switch between the travel because in combination with a adjustable fork I have a lot of sensefull options! :thumbsup:

I think the Wildcard is no mountain-goat, but is a very very good climber! It´s the combination of the pedalfriendly suspension and the geometry, which has a steep seattubeangle combined with a slightly longer toptube. Your position when seated is more centered in and over the bike, which gives pedalling a lot of power and more control over the front, especially when the climbs get steep! Let´s say I find myself on a lot more Uphills than I´m used to on my further bikes.

Greetings from Cologne, Germany
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