Suspension

The Hustle and Flow damper features with remote adjust are designed to give 165mm in the latter and 130mm on the former setting. As such many will regard this as an enduro race bike designed to get you up the climbs quicker, but testing the theory is difficult one.

Common sense would have it that its quicker to ride in a steeper/shorter position but we have actually found that riding other bikes with suspension adjust, such as the Canyon Strive, that ascents are faster and produce a lower heart rate in the longer slacker position. It’s a complex story and will probably be specific to the rider and climb in question.

Feeling

There was a time when you felt safe in the knowledge that 150mm travel would get you through. Those times seem to have passed with the coming of bikes such as the bigger, longer Jekyll. There is no doubt about this bike’s capability, there never was, but this bike is a very different beast to its predecessor. The former Jekyll was more trail/enduro, this bike is a full on power house.

The Jekyll is one of the fastest and least tiring bikes of this travel that we’ve ever ridden

Sizing on this bike is exceptional, and everything is to hand although some riders will feel the seat in its dropped down position still to be slightly high on the extra large bike. Again this is another personal thing.

Power transfer is good on this bike and diving into the first breakers the bike holds shape well, yes it could do be argued that a bit more support would work to but the overall outcome of this bike as it came out of the box was excellent. The suspension delivers good grip and uses its travel well, offering a steady and efficient ride through beaten up ground. It’s a bike that carries good pace through tougher territory without getting hung up or batting too much back to the rider.

The most striking thing about the Jekyll is that the fatigue levels on the body are quite low even on longer descents. Its incredibly difficult to pin point the reasons for this. Maybe the flex/stiffness of the chassis and wheels is right on the sweet spot?