Last year’s Clash was a supertough bargain that only had its style cramped by its small sizing. Not only have NS listened to their customers and made this year’s frames longer but they’ve added this more affordable complete bike option too. Despite the low price, it uses the same chassis as its more expensive stablemates, which just happens to be one of the toughest freeride hardtail frames around.
The frame
The Clash’s frame is pretty in-yourface, and we’re not just talking
about the neon paintwork. The thickly ring reinforced convex head tube can take
seriously nose-dived landings in its stride, while the curved, square-toround section
down tube, massive top tube and semi-rectangular A-frame stays create a
super-strong chassis.
The rear brake uses an old-school IS mount rather than the easier to adjust
post mount system, but the frame does come complete with ISCG mounts on the
bottom bracket shell for easy chain guide fitting, weightsaving cutouts in the
thick-plate ‘Stay True’ dropouts and a decent quickrelease seatpost clamp too.
The post is pretty short though, so don’t expect to be able to perch up high
for pedalling in proper XC style.
The kit
In case you’re under any illusions, the equipment fitted to the Clash
makes it clear that this is no tame trail machine. Instead, it’s a properly tough,
tackle-anything tank of a bike.
The own-brand Terra bar is all about strength and stiffness, not subtlety,
and the neat cold-forged stem gets hidden bolts to protect your knees. It’s
good to see a decent quality FSA headset too, as the steering bearings probably
take more of a battering than any others on a hardcore hardtail like this.
The Lasco cranks spin on a skinny square-taper axle but they’re much stiffer
than the ones on the Commencal and come with a proper spider and single
chainring. The e*thirteen LS1 chain guide has a top slider and bottom roller
for total chain control, with an extended backing plate for a bashguard if
needed.
The wheels use extra wide 33mm rims to stretch the evergreen superfast but
surprisingly grippy Kenda
Small Block 8 tyres into an ultra stable stance and you even get two colour-matched
neon green spokes to show you where the valve is.
The SRAM X4 gears are cheap but work OK across the eight-speed cassette
and the reinforced jump seat is tough enough to withstand being cartwheeled
down the trail a few times. Unfortunately, there are two really obvious weak
links in the spec – the simple, skinny-legged Suntour fork and the Tektro cable
disc brakes.
The ride
Those mechanical disc brakes are a real problem too, with a noticeable
lag between pulling the lever and the bike actually beginning to slow down, which
led to repeated unplanned exits from the trail and a lot of rider frustration.
It only takes a couple of rides for the cables to start feeling notchy too.
Things improve slightly if you adjust the single moving pad as close to the
rotor as possible and put up with a bit of rub. Even the P.Street’s hydraulics
are a big improvement though, and upgrading to something similar (or ideally,
better) is essential.
The Suntour fork is typically basic for this price point, with no
adjustment beyond a slight amount of spring tensioning, 30mm legs that flex
noticeably in rough terrain and a savage clanking top-out to the
rebound. But the 100mm (3.9in) of travel that we managed to get out of
it was the smoothest on test, sucking up single-hit drops and logs OK.
That top-out clatter does combine with the really strong return spring
on the brakes and the super-stiff cockpit to beat the crap out of your arms as soon
as the ground starts to gang up on you though, making our local rocky black run
feel like the Megavalanche. It’s a real shame too, as the rest of the bike –
rock solid wheels with decent tyres, sorted slack head angle/broad bar/short
stem handling, secure transmission – encourages really fast, aggressive, fun
riding. The Clash picks up speed easily whether pedalling or pumping, and it’s
not as brutal through your feet as the similarly responsive Specialized.
NS have done some good work getting this bike down to a more affordable
price level. You get the proven performance, strength and versatile handling of
the Clash frame complemented by an excellent
hardcore cockpit, wheels and chain tamed transmission. In context the Suntour
fork is also the smoothest here until things get properly hectic. Unfortunately
though, there’s no escaping the fact that the brakes simply aren’t up to the
job of hardcore control on fast technical tracks.
SO GOOD
Tough, surefooted, upgradeable frame Great wheel and tyre package Excellent
cockpit.
NO GOOD
Brakes lack power Fork is flexy, with harsh rebound Fork bounce and braking
numbness rapidly becomes painfully punishing on rough descents.
Top-out
The clanking impact felt when a fork quickly re-extends to full travel –
pricier forks have rubber bumpers to prevent this.
Chain device
A system of upper guide and lower roller that stops the chain falling
off the front chainring(s) when the bike is bouncing over rocks and drops.
WEIGHT 14.05kg
(30.97lb)
FRAME
Hydroformed and butted
6061
alloy
SIZES M, L*
FORK SR
Suntour XCM,
120mm
(4.7in) travel
HEADSET FSA ZS44
WHEELS
Hubs: Joytech QR
Rims: NS Fundamental
Spokes: 32 steel
Wheel weight: 2.19kg F, 2.73kg R
TYRES Kenda Small Block 8, 26x2.1in
CRANKSET/BOTTOM BRACKET Lasco, 32t/FSA square taper
DERAILLEURS e*thirteen LG1 chain guide F,
SRAM
X4 R,
SHIFTERS SRAM X4, eight-speed
CASSETTE/CHAIN SRAM PG 830,
11-32t/KMC Z72
BRAKES Tektro
Novela, 160/160mm
BAR/STEM/GRIPS NS Terra, 730mm/NS Quantum,
45mm/NS
Sam Pilgrim
SADDLE/SEATPOST Octane One Rocker/Kalloy
PRICE: 1095$
