Review: Forestal Siryon | A 170mm pedal-assist Enduro weapon
Born and based in the beautiful principality of Andorra, the high-tech and uber-bling range of Forestal pedal-assist bikes have landed in South Africa. Here’s my take on the longer travel model in their local lineup, the Siryon.
| WORDS: Myles Kelsey | IMAGES: Rob Ward | LOCATION: TokaiMTB, Cape Town |
DETAILS
– The Frame –
Made in the small principality of Andorra that borders France and Spain the 170mm carbon monocoque frame is nothing less than a thing of beauty. The manufacturing process Forestal has adopted is fast and largely automated, yielding very little waste. The construction sees the material cut, pressed, and heated into moulds before the two halves are joined together. Forestal has used a blend of T1000, T800 and T700 carbon to optimize strength, weight and ride feel.
The suspension is a single-pivot layout with two small floating links that create the desired kinematic before driving the shock. The 230×65 metric shock is housed inside the split top tube frame design. Forestal say they have refined and tested the system on race tracks using telemetry and they describe the ride characteristics of the 170mm bike as smooth, supple and predictable. Inside the team at Forestal headquarters is a former World Cup all-time star, Cedric Gracia. His experience both alongside some of the best in the industry – think Santa Cruz and Max Commencal – and on the race track is reportedly inked into the brand DNA, influencing the ride and feel of every model within the Forestal brand.
– Geometry –
The Siryon has decidedly Enduro-orientated geometry. A 64-degree head angle, 77-degree seat tube angle and reach numbers that spread from 428mm to 508mm through the four frame sizes. Wheelbases range from 1208mm right up to 1311mm and Forestal has opted for size-specific chain stays with the small and medium on 436mm and the two bigger sizes running a longer 446mm.
– Build Kit –
Forestal supplied the base-level Siryon Halo for testing in the Aurora (black and gold) colour option. Damping is by RockShox with a 170mm Lyrik Select fork and Super Deluxe Select+ shock. It’s a SRAM GX 1×12 Eagle drivetrain and shifter, Praxis Carbon cranks, Crankbrothers Synthesis wheels, Crankbrothers dropper post, Fizik saddle, an in-house carbon bar and alloy stem combo, Magura brakes and Maxxis EXO protection tyres.
| FRAME | Forestal Alpha Box Carbon Enduro 29″ TR 170, Monocoque construction, Single pivot & linkage driven shock |
| BATTERY | 350Wh Forestal Aurora Performance |
| CONTROLLER | Forestal Smart Trigger, 3 Buttons / Battery & Assistance LED Indicators |
| MOTOR | Forestal EonDrive 250W / 60Nm by Bafang |
| FORK | RockShox Lyrik 170mm Select |
| SHOCK | Rockshox Super Deluxe Select+, Metric 230x65mm, Custom tuned |
| BARS | Forestal Oxydon Carbon 800mm, 31.8mm / Upsweep 4° / Backsweep 6° / Rise 15mm |
| STEM | Forestal Oxydon 45mm, Alloy |
| SADDLE | Fizik Aidon X3 E-MTB |
| SEATPOST | Crankbrothers Highline 7, 170mm with BikeYoke Triggy X remote |
| WHEELS | Crankbrothers Synthesis Alloy 29″ Enduro with 31,5mm Inner Diameter front / 29,5mm rear |
| TYRES | Maxxis Minion DHF and High Roller, 2,35″ in EXO |
| CASSETTE | SRAM Eagle XG-1275, 10-50T / 12 Speed / XD Driver Body |
| MECH | SRAM GX Eagle 12 Speed, Lunar |
| SHIFTER | SRAM GX Eagle, 12 Speed |
| CRANKS | Praxis Carbon 160mm (S,M) and 165mm (L, XL) |
| BRAKES | Magura MT5 Storm, 4-piston caliper, 200m front & 180mm rear rotors |
| WEIGHT | 18.8kg (As tested, with sealant, bottle cage and no pedals) |
– Drive Unit –
The 350Wh battery is housed inside the down tube and the charge port is located below the water bottle cage. It reaches 80% charge in around 1h25min. A range extender (not available just yet in SA) will improve total battery capacity to 610Wh.
The EonDrive mid-power motor is supplied by Bafang with the [proprietary to Forestal] dual clutch system for complete disengagement when riding with the system off and when freewheeling. There’s 60Nm of torque and 250Watts to play with here. Ride time is stated as being around 3 hours, off of one single charge that is – but as with any pedal-assist bike that really is influenced by many factors and will vary widely from rider to rider.
Inside the large and fully integrated touchscreen display is a pretty smart and fully connected system that will give you just about any data you might ever need. Connect through your phone or through the Siryon’s dedicated internet to use functions like maps, navigation, geolocation, anti-theft, battery status, training stats and system updates. Speed, elevation, G-force, air time and power mode are also shown.
The Siryon has six modes when riding; Off, Walk, Eco, Sport, Race and Nitro – operated through the bar-mounted remote. I’m hearing that early in the new year, the app will run an update [free] to include a power customization feature. That means riders will then be able to fine-tune the four support modes to suit their fitness levels and riding terrain. Support on the Forestal decouples at the legal limit of 32kph.
RIDE IMPRESSIONS
– Performance of the build kit –
If you are wanting to unleash the full potential of this bike the only item you’ll need to trade in are the featherweight EXO casing tyres. Whilst they roll incredibly fast and are fine on smooth trails the compound is a little hard and the casing a little thin to withstand chunderous trails. They are incredibly light, which is perhaps why Forestal specced them. Yes, a smooth rider in the forests of Howick or largely rockless Giba Gorge bike park might be fine on the tyres, I’d suggest something beefier. If it were my bike, I’d look at a Maxxis DHR2 or Assegai in Maxx Grip and DH casing on the front paired with a Pirelli Mixed Terrain or Bontrager SE5 or XR5 on the rear.
Where Forestal have done really well, is with the balance of the build kit. Those Maxxis EXO casing tyres have no business being on a bike this capable but everything else in the build kit is dope. These days it’s incredible just how good the performance of a base-level build is. Everything performed flawlessly. Funny enough the Lyrik is probably one of the standout performers that I’d like to mention. These days Enduro riders are all looking to bigger stanchion forks and one might expect this bike to have the big boet Zeb specced – I mean it is a 170mm bike. To my surprise, the extra compliance in the marginally thinner Lyrik was refreshing and softened the feel of the steering without compromising precision.
The test bike was new, literally out the box, and I noted the Magura brakes seemed to take a few more minutes of riding to bed-in than other brands but were soon offering buckets of power and modulation. The dropper post worked well, grips are perfect and the stem/bar interface is all very neat. Forestal has done well with the bars – really well. They’ve opted for a little less sweep – something I believe assists a more aggressive elbow and body position for descending.
The back of the bike is laterally pretty stiff and that is perhaps why Forestal has very cleverly specced a narrower inner diameter rear rim (29,5mm Vs. the front which is 31,5mm). It’s an old French trick that I’ve seen many top riders on the Enduro circuits employ. On the Forestal, that little extra lateral compliance in the rear wheel likely improves the already fantastic grip and ride feel in the gnar. Whilst we are here, in the gnar that is, they’ve done a great job with the short 160mm cranks on this size medium which reduce the risk of rock strikes.
– Climbing –
Being a pedal-assist bike I’d be amiss not to mention the climbing part. The Forestal is not designed to fly up the climbs at 21kph with minimal effort like the full-power eMTB’s do. This is a mid-power bike that riders need fitness for. In Eco mode and doing the work, the climbing speed is closer to the 12kph mark on the average bike park climb. Yes, when you switch into one of the higher support modes that climbing speed can shoot right up to that of a big eMTB rig but the battery gets chomped at pretty quickly when you do.
I probably should have asked for the size Large which would have given me a little more reach to be more comfortable on the climbs but that’s on me. I felt no need to bother with the suspension lockout on the fork and shock on the climbs – choosing to benefit from the better grip and comfort the open settings bring.
Interestingly, when climbing with the motor off I didn’t feel like it climbed slower than a big travel analog bike. One revision I’d like is to have the preset Eco support mode to be a little lower than what it currently is. However, in the new year, the scheduled software update will facilitate this.
– Range –
Range per charge is largely dependent on the trails, rider weight, rotational mass and support system being used. To give you an idea of what to expect, on one of the test days I did a popular climb at the Tokai MTB Bike Park on fresh legs and in Eco mode from bottom to top. It is a 5,7km climb, with 287m of elevation and the surface is rough and rocky. My average speed was 13,9km/h, it took me 25 minutes to get to the top and I used 26% of the battery.
For riders who know Tokai in Cape Town, this pretty much means four top to bottom runs of the DH line will be possible on the Siryon. Oh, I weigh 71kg and for the test carried the usual water bottle and a few spares, ie: nothing extra heavy. Using a more responsible casing tyre will likely give you the same range if you are prepared to spend a few of the traverses with the motor off. You will also be pretty moeg when you get home. I was.
On another ride, covering a mix of very rocky single track and some tar sections, I rode in ECO mode and with the motor OFF and covered 24km, in 1H28mins with an elevation gain of 604m and an average speed of 16,2kph. I used 55% of the battery on this ride. Based on this ride, I figure it will be possible to squeeze a three-hour, 40km and 1200m ride off of one charge – bombing all the technical bits with ease. It will be a hard day out and I imagine the fatigue will be close to that of a three to four hour XC ride, or more.
– Descending –
It’s flippen impressive. In the corners, the Forestal Siryon changes direction on a dime. The 29er rear wheel doesn’t quite slap into a turn like a mullet bike but it rails and rolls without much ask. Small corrections to line choice and setting up for obstacles are really easy.
Despite the 170mm of travel, I didn’t notice the rear end wallowing all over the shop – not at all. Instead, there’s a platform feel inside the travel that is easily accessible when the trail requires a pop or a hop. Smacking into bigger square-edge stuff there is a lekker smooth and stable feel on the Siryon. I did feel some trail feedback coming into my feet, but it’s not harsh or unsettling – despite the 32psi in that stock paperweight Maxxis.
I’m going to give tons of kudos to Forestal for the suspension system and to the RockShox Super Deluxe shock that controls it. Impressive stuff indeed. I think this bike has a great combination of pop and play with heel-dropping smashery in it’s DNA and is going to be loved by its owners. It’s also worth mentioning that although its a highly capable bike on fast, steep and techy trails – it is not a bore on tame or smooth singletrack. If my 70-year-old uncle wanted to buy one of these to roll about on basic singletrack I wouldn’t frown at all – the stability of the relaxed geo would actually work for him.
TAKEOUT
If you are pushed for time, want to blast up the climbs and lack a little pedal fitness then I don’t think this is the bike for you. You’re probably better suited to a full-power eMTB. Conversely, if you are looking for a bike that’ll cruise the smooth Constantia Green-Belt or Braamfontein Spruit just as easy as it smashes a chundery steep line or boosts gaps, this could be the one. On the price and value, R169k is actually not bad at all, especially considering all the high-tech here and that this is of the very best lightweight pedal-assist bikes that I have ridden.
More: forestal.com or nsquared.co.za