I’ve got a serious amount of love going on for this bike. From the 62º head angle (although it should be 63), 47” wheelbase, 13.5” bottom bracket combo, to the industriously charged lines, well engineered suspension design and…well even the defective Curnutt shock that we first rode had a certain charm to it.

Jamie and Dave from Foes distributors Balfa UK hit us with two Hydro’s. One being a tighter steeper Fox DHX version in red, that we quickly threw back in the van. The other, orange, and even with that on–the–blink Curnutt the rear movement seemed to breathe easier, track better and certainly feel quicker across the ground in the quick initial shake down time we had with the Balfa boys.

Getting stuck in to the nitty gritty there were tweaks to make to the favoured orange beast, particularly in the ride position. Dropping the fork to provide a shade over eight inches was a key part of this to get the balance of the bike correct. The fork set at 210mm gave a head angle slightly under 62º, 47” wheelbase and 14” BB.

Lets get back to the basics again. The tech detail gives a plain and simple message, “Progressive linkage driven single pivot suspension.” Music to my bloody ears I tell you. The 2.36:1 leverage ratio pays out 8.25” of rear travel and comes with 1.5” headtube, 83mm bottom bracket, replaceable ISCG 05 guide and 12x150mm rear wheel spacing, all weighing in under 11lb. Our complete tipped in respectfully at 40.06lbs with the impressive Acros and Kodex products which Balfa also import.

The Hydro comes in a range of prices for frame only, depending on shock choice, but averaging around the £2500. A complete for £4200 is going to slam it head on into a scrum with the Specialized Demo and that’s healthy. In terms of damping the five shock options for the Hydro are Fox Van RC, Elka Stage 5, Fox DHXRC4, Cane Creek Double Barrel or Curnutt XTD coil. Colours come in a crazy range but the website doesn’t quite do the colour, or frame for that matter, justice.

Basically you’ve had a working over before you even take delivery of this bike, what with the embarrassment of shock choice, a superfluity of link plates – too many options. After working out some runs with the Curnutt, a shock we know to be of good substance, we soon found it needed some love. On this occasion the Fox option didn’t bring the best out of the bike and we felt it needed a re–tune. So we opted for the Elka upon which to judge the Foes. It was a good decision.

From the get–go sag set up is pretty difficult to get right with so much shaft length and even with minimum thirty percent we had the full bottom–out effect during the big bangs. You really have to work the numbers on this bike, and it benefits from careful time spent on the dials more than many other bikes, a fair handful of both low and high speed compression did the trick on this hardpack occasion. In fact the Elka was top class giving excellent support in a pretty active chassis.

In terms of speed, overall a fast bike that’s for sure, power transfer is direct and it doesn’t appear to lose momentum in the rough. That said there does seem to be a significant amount of movement in the system that needs calming down with the damper dials because riding can become tiring compared to other bikes. On the whole the balance is pretty good but I feel that I’d need to spend a fair amount of timing to get fully dialled, for it needs sharpening up in tight corners.

I love this bike due to the quality of the workmanship and the downright full bore downhill personality that it possesses. The Foes also has a charismatic edge to it that many downhill bikes lack, they certainly have an eye for this. As a complete in stands in a very strong position in terms of performance, easily in our top ten pick list, and as a frame the Elka seems the class choice, however we have been advised that the Cane Creek works well with the system. Again too much choice, I’d prefer the energy went into providing the buyer a base setting. Overall, a very solid performance from a desirable brand at a fair price.

Foes Hydro:

Hydro Vanilla RC £2100

Hydro RC4 £2300

Hydro CCDB £2600

Hydro Curnutt £2750

Hydro Complete Bike £4200