The Devil's in the Details
The ZION MPS2 takes the trail bike to new levels. It features a suspension system that was first developed on the World Cup DH circuit - back when the MSC/MAXXIS dominated with 4 Team of the year awards. Now their technology has evolved to offer the Spanish brands' shorter travel bikes a new level of pedalling and bump asorbption. A 67 head angle and 150mm of rear travel places this into the enduro / hard trail bike category. It can climb, descend and has gobs of traction over chunky blown out trails, the MPS2 platform has the uncanny ability to iron out hyper-fast hitting braking bumps. Headquarted at the base of Garraf National Park just outside Barcelona - a mix of fast DH and technical trails has helped shape the Zion into a race ready enduro(European) or fast hitting trail bike.
The heart of the ZION is the simple, but highly effective suspension system, MPS2. MPS stands for Multi Progressive Suspension, taking a look at the leverage ratio curves makes this concept clearer and not just some marketing hype.With this design engineers can tune the rear end for different types of applications without the need to implement over-complicated remotes, linkages and eccentric pivots. **Bike Nerd Alert** The MSC designers and engineers have managed to squeeze two different curves into the rear suspension allowing a good balance of suspension suppleness, platform and bottom out resistance. By using a longer shock stroke and increasing leverage ratio at the beginning of the stroke, the suspension is able to be very active - which helps with tracking over the rough, and fast repeated bumps are sucked up with ease. With an XX1 or X01 setup and a 34t front chainring produces neutral pedalling which balances around 90-95% of anti-squat (without slaying any Patents). Stronger riders can now pedal through rock sections and know that the rear suspension will not lockout the rear suspension but actually do the job of sucking up bumps, while still providing a firm pedalling action without any wallowing or that pedal induced shock lock-out. Moving to the mid-stroke when your hitting berms, pumping g-outs or wanting to pop off lips the MPS2 lowers the leverage ratio, effectively firming up the suspension introducing a solid pedalling platform - exactly what you need when making subtle weight shifts through fast flowing ribbons of dirt. The mid-to-end stroke leverage increases, think big rough trails where the fast repetitive hits can sometimes overwhelm the rear suspension on other bikes, the MPS2 drives more shock allowing it react quickly over the really rough terrain. A lightly tapered off curve fights heavy bottom out hits and off-landings.
Taking a look at the rear triangle, it is a completely closed section, not relying on multi-linkages to create the triangle but elegantly formed tube shapes that help resist torsional forces. A stiff rear end produces a better tracking bike and also helps drive the shock more efficiently adding to the very good suppleness of the ZION. The shock linkage which drives the rear shock is forged, CNC and is shaped to help produce that unique Multi Progressive leverage curves. Up Front the top tube is triangulated with a a wide profiled hydroformed down tube joining to a PressFit30 BB to maximise surface area, the top and head tube join to a forged and CNC'd formed 1-1/8th - 1.5" head tube. The rear dropouts suit the 135x12 (MAXLE) standard and features a sandwich type design that increases stiffness and durability of the rear dropout section. The dropouts are available in two sizes to suit 26" and 27.5" wheel sizes.
The ZION MPS2 will suit strong riders looking for a good pedalling platform but without sacrificing bump absorption through the mid-stroke. Competitive XC riders that have evolved to riding bigger trails but still would like a bike that is nimble and snappy on the climbs.
Gear and brake are externally routed and the frame features ISCG05 tabs to run either a 1x or 2x chainguide. If you want to run a 2x drivetrain you will need a S3 High Direct Mount front derailleur. Bottle cages fit on all of the 3 sizes.
We offer the Zion with X01 and X1 builds with the new lineup of 2015 Marzocchi Forks and rear shocks.