Moustache Samedi Down - Dirt

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Moustache Samedi Down

A French newcomer with flair

Words and photos: Steve Jones

Shape and Purpose

This small company based north of the Alps in France make a range of e-bikes from urban, through trail mtb to the Moustache Samedi Down, their downhill style e-mtb. Its impressive angles and styling caught our eye as much as the amount of travel on offer.

Adjustable from 170mm through to 190mm travel the bike weighs in at 52lb and offering some serious attacking potential. As the website says it greatly opens up opportunities and places normally confined to gondolas, uplift and downhill bikes and yet a bike that can transfer like a cross-country bike.

What surprised us the most was the stability and poise on pretty big jumps, its knack of nailing crazy technical climbs and general surefootedness all-round.

Suspension/Chassis/Detail

A Rockshox bike, with Vivid air and Pike, but crucially a really well-damped pairing that in the car park appeared to offer some robust damping for the added weight. Up front the Lyrik RC is of Boost variety and 180mm travel, visually very substantial and the damping as we were to find out capable of holding the 50lb plus bike in shape.

Constructed with industrial bearings the bike has big 200mm rotors and powerful stoppers in the Magura MT5, certainly ones that have become one of our favourite brakes since exploring the e-mtb business. Sram X01 delivers the drive, Alex MD27 rims, a tough wheelset.

Feeling

From the outset the Moustache Samedi Down has a real purposeful shape to its chassis, slack and long, a shape very close to many current downhill bikes in a similar size. The long chainstay means there is slightly more weight up front than normal and the bar/stem fitted was particularly low, however on the hoof the bike feels super steady, the weight meaning that there is little weight transfer as the bike enters corners with both wheels drifting rather than one or the other. The Samedi is totally all-action.

Up front the Lyrik has an excellent damping and support characteristic and so too the Vivid air in the rear. The geometry on the Samedi allows it to descend quickly and yet can still be climbed out of deep holes efficiently, the only point of note being we did feel the bottom bracket could be ten mil lower.

Compared to the Haibike downhill bike which has slightly more travel the Moustache has a marginally sharper pick up from the motor and is a few pounds lighter, for some reason it also climbed better. We found the heavy sidewalled tyres a benefit when hitting hard into corners and of all the bikes on test the Magura MT5’s were a perfect combination and never faltered.

Limitations

Nothing to report other than the wheels have taken some hits but this is mostly because the Samedi loves getting involved. Could benefit from Sram’s new eight speed EX1 drivetrain with a bigger rear sprocket to conquer even steeper climbs.

Verdict

The five year frame and two year guarantee for frame, fork and motor will be good news for many riders who will no doubt make the most of every second that this bike can offer. We’d like to see a greater spread of sizes but that will come for this small company.

Overall a quiet bike, an exciting bike and one that can tackle pretty much anything, the shape of the bike inspires an all-guns approach to the descents particularly with strong rubber and the supportive dampers. The Moustache Samedi Down is certainly one that’s near the top of our e-mtb rankings.

Motor – Bosch Performance CX250W – 40/75Nm
Battery – Bosch 500Wh
Travel – Front 180/Rear 170-190
Weight – 52lb
Price –

SIZE                                          S                     L
Wheelbase                             1212               1251
Reach                                      421                 459
Head Angle                            64.8
Seat Angle                              74.3
Chain Stay                              460
BB Height                               357

http://www.moustachebikes.com

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Topics:

e-mtb

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