A UK designed bike ridden to victory by the first lady of Welsh MTBing
WHY IS THIS A SUPER BIKE?
- Race tuned, full factory Fox suspension set-up, which Manon has spent days and days testing during the off season
- Special team-only frame with a straight 1.5in head tube that allows Manon to adjust the head angle and reach by swapping headsets
- Top-end spec that mixes the flagship Saint downhill groupset with other choice Shimano parts
When she joined the fledgling Madison Saracen team in 2011, Manon Carpenter was best known as the daughter of Dragon Downhill race organiser Jason Carpenter. Four years on, this 22-year-old from the small town of Caerphilly in South Wales has risen to the top of the sport, winning both the World Cup overall title and the World Championships in 2014, as well as helping the team develop the Myst into the highly competitive machine it is now.
Something special
Manon's 650b wheeled race bike is remarkably similar to the production Myst Team, except for a couple of frame differences that you're only likely to notice if looking very carefully, and the kind of meticulous set-up that you'd expect of a highly tuned, religiously maintained race machine. The frame is the same size as a medium production bike but has a straight 1.5in head tube instead of the usual tapered tube. This team-only feature opens up a huge range of headset options, allowing Manon to adjust the bike's head angle and reach to fine-tune the fit and feel.
For now she's settled on a Reach Adjust headset from UK company Works Components, which lengthens the cockpit by 8mm. Will Longden, ex World Cup racer and now Madison Saracen team manager, says: "We're continuously evolving the Myst and the team play a huge part in its development. We can't say if this update will make production, but what better place to test it than racing at the highest level?"
The head angle is unchanged from the production bike, sitting at 63 degrees, and the back end of the frame is a stock part in all but paint job, giving a 437mm chainstay length. The linkage is the same too - tested by the team during the 2014 race season, it made its way on to production bikes for 2015, showing just how important race team development is to the Saracen designers.
RAD company
The details really start to get interesting when you take a look at the factory tuned Fox suspension. As part of the elite RAD (Racing Applications Development) programme, Manon has all her suspension work carried out by Fox's top technicians. Having been on the RAD shock for some time before it became the production DHX2, Manon has been benefitting from the tunability and small-bump sensitivity on offer for over a year. She visits the Fox pit area at races after almost every run for a debrief and some extra tuning if it's needed. This really is support at the highest level.
Madison are Shimano's UK distributors so the Japanese company's flagship Saint downhill groupset is the obvious choice for the team's race bikes, though some lighter weight parts are subbed in to keep weight as low as possible, including an XTR chain and bottom bracket and a close-ratio 11-25t Ultegra road cassette. Manon runs a 750mm wide bar and a PRO direct-mount stem set in the shorter of its two reach settings (45mm) to give quicker steering - the bike has the length and stability to allow this. She's an avid user of SPDs, with the M647 DH being her go-to pedal.
It's the small details that really make Manon's Myst stand out - it's clear that it's a bike put together by a top mechanic, Alex Lovett. The attention to detail in the cable routing and meticulous build is easy to see, and without question elevates this machine to SuperBike status.
SLICK FINISH
The finishing kit on Manon's bike all comes from Shimano's PRO stable. The 750mm bar, direct-mount stem, short seatpost and slimline saddle are all in team-only colours, for a professional look.
CUSTOM CABLING
The attention to detail and huge amount of work that's gone into this bike is easy to see, with double-looped zipties to hold cables in place and down tube cable guides that make it easier to remove one cable at a time than the ones fixed to production bikes.
CONTI RUBBER
The Madison Saracen team are supported by Continental and get to test out new tread patterns. Manon's been using the Der Kaiser Projekt tyres since their early development and rarely changes them out for anything else. Only really muddy races will see her switch to something different.
WEIGHT SAVERS
Shimano Saint downhill cranks are paired with a lightweight XTR BB and the CD50 chain guide is a minimalist design made for racing. To save weight, the bashguard only protects a quarter of the chainring and is positioned to reflect Manon's left-foot-forward riding stance.
STRAIGHT UP
The team frames have straight 1.5in head tubes for improved compatibility with angle and reach adjusting headsets. Manon can adapt the bike to suit individual courses, but tends to stick with an 8mm offset for increased stability at speed.
LIGHT NOT TIGHT
DT Swiss rims are laced to Shimano Saint hubs, with the spokes at minimal tension to maximise grip and tracking ability for a rider as light on the bike as Manon. This means the wheels need checking over after almost every run - something only really possible with the support of a team mechanic.
PRICE 7350$ (Myst Team complete bike)