SHAN Nº5 PINKBIKE Review!

PINKBIKE HAS SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THE SHAN Nº5!

SHAN Nº5 first test ride review by PINKBIKE

PINKBIKE grabbed a SHAN Nº5 for an exclusive test ride review in their home land in Canada! We are proud to be the first full suspension steel frame ever reviewed at Pinkbike! This first attempt quickly turned into a very clever move.

PINKBIKE quote: CLIMBING

PB: You don’t need a degree in bikeology to know that the boys at Production Privée didn’t put ascending at the top of their priority list; this just isn’t that kind of machine. But while the steel banana performed as expected in the handling department on tricky climbs – that is, not awesomely – it’s surprisingly efficient when you’re on the gas.

PINKBIKE quote: DESCENDING

PB: Every mountain bike is a rolling compromise; it’s really a matter of what you want to give up in order to gain in other areas. But when it comes to the N°5, thoughts of what you gave up on the climb will be forgotten soon after you drop into the descent. That’s especially true if said descent is full of corners; tight and slow or fast and wide open, this is a bike that doesn’t care, and it’s the N°5’s defining quality. The last rig we had in that cornered as well as the Shan was Devinci’s much longer-travel Spartan, and the fact that the yellow bike equals that beast – but with less travel – is really something. (PP quote: SHAN Nº5 has 140mm rear travel while the Spartan has 165mm)

PB: But the traction, holy mother of grip, does it deliver traction, and that lets it carry immense speed through the kind of fast, low-purchase corners that might usually upset a bike of this travel.

PB: Predictability is the key, really, as there are relatively few oh-shit moments on the N°5 that would call for a dropped foot or even big steering corrections. Production Privée might have something special here with these numbers and this frame material.

PB: Production Privée says that it’s the best choice for the N°5 because it has ’’the right amount of flex and dynamism,’’ and while I’m not convinced that’s the primary reason for the bike’s traction and otherworldly cornering abilities, I’m also not going to rule it out. It’s simple, single-pivot suspension design also delivers loads of grip through an immensely sensitive setup that responds to the ground regardless of where the shock is in its stroke.

PB: If you’re more into sessioning jumps and corners than racing the clock or all-day death marches, the Shan might be a good match for you.

Photo Credit: PINKBIKE