Sunn Bikes coming to australia...

[BJ-]

Alright guys, heres the deal...

Im in the middle of setting up the importing/distributing of Sunn Bikes to australia. But what id like to know is. When Sunn becomes availble in australia whos going to be interested in them?

Ill be focusing on the new Radical and Kerns but will happily get other models in if people are interested.

The Radical will come in 2 models. The highend model shown in the pictures and the other a slightly cheaper version. (Similar to the Sunday Team) The Kern will come in 2 versions and each should be coming in 2 models. The Kern LT will sport 165mm of travel whilst the Kern will have 140mm. Both will share the same geometry.

Things arnt finalised for the lower-end models but the high-end models builds and weights have been confirmed. I dont have the builds yet but instead here are the weights. Radical – 16,5 kg, Kern LT (165mm) - 13kg, Kern (140mm) - 13kg.

Prices will be very competative with what your seeing on the market at the moment but at this point ill have to get back to you all on what they will be.

The companys name that will be handling this and hopefully a few other brands in the near future is: Rota. Which means 'Wheel' in latin. There is no website at the moment but ill let you know when its up and running.

Hopefully ill have a Radical before christmas to take to all the remaining national rounds so you guys can get a look at it and see what it can do. Im stoaked because these things are going to be fast...!

In the meantime check out the rest of the pictures at: http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Sunn-Kern-Radical-2007.html

This is just a heads up of whats to come and the information i have at the moment is rather limited but ill do my best to answer any questions you guys might have.

(Sorry if i put this in the wrong section)

Cheers. Id love to hear your thoughts...

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/328/pbpic1069086xg6.th.jpg (http://img137.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pbpic1069086xg6.jpg) http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/4544/pbpic1069087fb0.th.jpg (http://img137.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pbpic1069087fb0.jpg)

[Robb]

I use to love riding my Sunn exact back 5~ years ago. Fantastic Steel hardtail frame.
Would love to have something similiar again.. :)

[at the drive in]

I would definetly be interested in one when i update my downhill bike which will most likely be next year, im looking forward to test riding one and hearing some reviews

[ironhorse_sunday]

hell yeh id definatly go one of thier hardtails n stuff thier products look like the bees knees u bring them to auz man :)

[BJ-]

hell yeh id definatly go one of thier hardtails n stuff thier products look like the bees knees u bring them to auz man :)

Consider it yours homie...!

Thanks for the comments so far. Im glad people are interested.

In responce to ajays PM. Framekits will be available, details on them will be posted later. What i do know is there will be 2 models available. 1 will have the custom X-Fusion shock pictured in the release photos.

Cheers, heres another picture.

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/185/sunn7210900iz1mg2.th.jpg (http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sunn7210900iz1mg2.jpg)

[TwoDogs]

spam......

[Matt H]

what's the leverage ratio on those things?
the eye of the shock looks like it's directly attached the the pivot point ahah

[FuTAnT]

They look rather pretty. Very simplistic lines. Clean.

Any more info on the linkage design? I can't exactly work out what's going on. Just generally interested to see how it works.

[BJ-]

They look rather pretty. Very simplistic lines. Clean.

Any more info on the linkage design? I can't exactly work out what's going on. Just generally interested to see how it works.

Hopefully these pictures will help answer your questions.

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/1489/195049777el7.th.jpg (http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=195049777el7.jpg) http://img477.imageshack.us/img477/5540/dsunn2bc3.th.jpg (http://img477.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsunn2bc3.jpg)

[FuTAnT]

Hopefully these pictures will help answer your questions.

Ah, rather interesting. Looks like it could work quite well. I'm all for different linkage designs.

[Matt H]

it kind of works like horst lin doesn't it?

[floody]

it kind of works like horst lin doesn't it?

Nope.
It kind of works like any other single pivot bike, its just the link is driven differently and may have different shock actuation ratio changes etc.

Google GT RTS...

[top_dog]

I'd be keen if:

1) you could buy a frame and Roco or DHX.
2)They were competively priced (around $2500 frame and shock)
3) The front triangle was steel
and
4)They were made in France. (doesn't really matter that much, but it would be nice)

[antstep]

Was Nico V involved in the development of that rig? The Radical that is.

16.5kg is a really light bike to go do any "sweet jumps" on, isn't it? (Light for a DH rig in other words. Impressive if it can take the abuse. Or is my Demo9 just really heavy?)

I never owned a Sunn, but I always wanted to.

[jbg]

is there a price and arrival date on frames yet? also do you have spec on-
-sizes
-shock
-frame materials
-travel length
-complete bike & frame kits
and..........are the two dh frames the same design or is the cheaper one different cuz they had one that looked like a turner dh

they look awsome sure we will see a few of these getting around the dh races soon

[FuTAnT]

Was Nico V involved in the development of that rig? The Radical that is.

16.5kg is a really light bike to go do any "sweet jumps" on, isn't it? (Light for a DH rig in other words. Impressive if it can take the abuse. Or is my Demo9 just really heavy?)

I never owned a Sunn, but I always wanted to.

Compare the physical quantity of material in the Demo 9 linkage system and swingarm as compared to the Sunn and you can see the weight difference pretty easily.

[tu plang]

Hopefully these pictures will help answer your questions.

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/1489/195049777el7.th.jpg (http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=195049777el7.jpg) http://img477.imageshack.us/img477/5540/dsunn2bc3.th.jpg (http://img477.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsunn2bc3.jpg)

more more more. i take it theres another "swinglink" style linkage on the inside of the downtube?

[starship303]

SUNN Radical?! Oh man i used to love these things, but thought Sunn bikes went belly up years ago. Good to see they have been kicking on (or is it just a name resurrection? shows how much i know :rolleyes: ). Always loved the Radical's super-simplistic lines, and they were always rather competitive race bikes. These new ones look great too.

Anyway, to give you feedback, yes i would consider looking into one (if of course i was in a position to, which at the mo i ain't :( ).

Good luck with it mate.
Cheers,

[udi]

i take it theres another "swinglink" style linkage on the inside of the downtube?

Nope, the rod is just a shock end screw on as far as I know.
If that is the case, it doesn't say a whole lot for shock compatibility, and you'll need a different rod/link for different shocks.

[BJ-]

Was Nico V involved in the development of that rig? The Radical that is.

16.5kg is a really light bike to go do any "sweet jumps" on, isn't it? (Light for a DH rig in other words. Impressive if it can take the abuse. Or is my Demo9 just really heavy?)

I never owned a Sunn, but I always wanted to.

Last i heard Nicho was with Lapierre. So maybe but i would say its unlikely...

is there a price and arrival date on frames yet? also do you have spec on-
-sizes
-shock
-frame materials
-travel length
-complete bike & frame kits
and..........are the two dh frames the same design or is the cheaper one different cuz they had one that looked like a turner dh

they look awsome sure we will see a few of these getting around the dh races soon

The new Radical will have 190mm of travel and will be availble in 2 complete models and will also be available in framekits. The high end model and a mid end model will both be competative with the Sunday World Cup and Team models, price and spec wise.

Im not releasing specs or pricing just yet incase things change because I dont want to dissapoint anyone. and im in the process of acquiring the specifics on the frame (geometry, the suspension design in detail, BB widths and shock sizes etc), so please bear with me for the moment.

Ill post them up as soon as i know.

and no, there is only 1 version of the Radical. Chase me down at nationals and ill give you a run on mine. It should be a beauty!

Thanks for the kind words starship.

Is anyone interested in the Kerns?

Cheers guys...

[THE YETI]

The bike looks SICK, i love it. But this suspension design is very old school, so the fact that its still run means its either very outdated(not likely) or they had it spot on the first go:D which explains alot. Would i be wrong in saying that this exact bike WAS at one stage the factory bike ridden by the likes of Anne Caroline Chausson etc. The bikes were designed by Olivier Bossard were they not? I'm sorry if i'm a bit off, i remember reading it in a magazine and i can'tfind the article.
So correct me if i'm wrong.

[BJ-]

The bike looks SICK, i love it. But this suspension design is very old school, so the fact that its still run means its either very outdated(not likely) or they had it spot on the first go:D which explains alot. Would i be wrong in saying that this exact bike WAS at one stage the factory bike ridden by the likes of Anne Caroline Chausson etc. The bikes were designed by Glenn Bossard were they not? I'm sorry if i'm a bit off, i remember reading it in a magazine and i can'tfind the article.
So correct me if i'm wrong.

I wouldnt go as far as saying its the exact bike that they ran. It has more travel, its made from a different material, its lighter, lower/longer, runs a different shock/chainguide system and looks TONS better.

But i would say its an updated version of the old school beast that took François Gachet, Nicolas Vouilloz, Cedric Gracia, Fabien Barel and Mickaël Pascal to countless wins back in the day.

I heard that bossard had something to do with the shock but other than that i have no idea. Ill find out for you though, thats a question id also like the answer to.

Cheers.

[THE YETI]

Ok the article has been found.

You were right in saying Vouilloz helped produce this bike. He and 'Olivier' Bossard worked together to design A bike, but this is the V-process bike not the radical.
Sunn did go belly up in 1999, so i'm not sure how its come to be back producing frames.
Bossard actually liked to build a bike with less travel, on occassion he would drop a bike to 120mm depending on conditions.But placed 170mm on all his team bikes to give them better feel.
This bike is obviously going to be alot better due to advances in technology, but when a rider like Vouilloz says its the best bike hes ever ridden.
The design has been proven and speaks for itself.

[red_dog]

Interesting to see the frame has a post mount brake set up.
The rear shock sounds a little iffy, is it something Sunn are looking to improve, as in a better known shock company

[THE CHENZ]

Had a ride on a Desert storm paint job Sunn back in 97`,what a rig, but i`d like to know more about this Kern`s model.
Any pic`s of it BJ?
Sold quite a few Bmix`s (26") back in the day, Pm me quite interested in Sunn`s offering`s.
Later.................:D

[THE YETI]

Had a ride on a Desert storm paint job Sunn back in 97`,what a rig, but i`d like to know more about this Kern`s model.
Any pic`s of it BJ?
Sold quite a few Bmix`s (26") back in the day, Pm me quite interested in Sunn`s offering`s.
Later.................:D

The kern LT is aimed at the Enduro Market. They do look like sweet bikes either look at http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Sunn-Kern-Radical-2007.html or heres some pics of the Kern's.

[THE YETI]

the Kern is 'Meant to climb'. And at 11.5Kg (with peddals) its obvious why, they are also reported to climb very well despite their 140mm of travel.

The Kern LT is the more enduro designed bike, with 165mm of travel and a slight weight increase to 12.6Kg its still a competative weight and oh so sexy.

The Radical is considered a PURE race bike, and at 16.5Kg with pedals and 190mm of travel. It will be interesting to see how these thing ride, considering the rap that vouilloz has given them in the past. They have shedded alot of weight from the original design.It is now stronger and lighter with 20mm extra spring on the rear.
Can't wait to see how they perform on the track.

[Matt H]

i'm assuming they get affected by brake jack, being single pivot and all, yet they don't come with a floating brake?

[THE YETI]

i'm assuming they get affected by brake jack, being single pivot and all, yet they don't come with a floating brake?

Well i'd like to give an answer, but theres not alot of info on these bikes AT ALL. So perhaps bj can get us an answer. I agree, its odd

[BJ-]

Had a ride on a Desert storm paint job Sunn back in 97`,what a rig, but i`d like to know more about this Kern`s model.
Any pic`s of it BJ?
Sold quite a few Bmix`s (26") back in the day, Pm me quite interested in Sunn`s offering`s.
Later.................:D

The Kern LT is aimed at the agressive All Mountain crowd, like the Santa Cruz's Nomad. The Kerns builds arnt confirmed at this point but what we can probably count on them being specced with is: X-0 Derailuer/Shifters, Truvativ controls, a Fox 36 Fork and an i-Beam saddle/pole combo.

Ive included a picture with both the Kern and Kern LT side by side.

i'm assuming they get affected by brake jack, being single pivot and all, yet they don't come with a floating brake?

Braking forces effect the suspension on all suspension bikes, some just more than others.

Sunn obviously feels the Radical doesnt need one. Personally i prefer bikes without them. I have a Morewood Izimu DH at the moment and would never use the floater, simply because i prefer how it feels without it, not to mention it adds weight to the bike, complicates the rear end and 'typically' restricts you to running a narrower rear hub.

If you required one though, im sure Brake Therapy could hook you up. Im yet to hear of a situation where theyve refused to jerry rig someones bike up with one. They even have FSR bike kits.

Morewood, Orange, Commencal and GT to name a few havnt included floaters on there new 2007 Single Pivot DH bikes.

Ill happily ask Sunn for you though...

Rota will also be bringing in Sunns new Carbon Road Bikes, Ti XC Hardtails and 4x and Dirtjumping Hardtails.

Check out www.Sunnbicycle.com for more info.

The Radical and kern are still undergoing testing and wont be availble untill next year but the rest of the Sunn 2007 line-up should be touching our shores soon.

Sunn wont be the only brand were bringing to Australia. We will update you on the status of these other brands were currently trying to get on board.

Cheers.

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/2043/kernresizedjk5.th.jpg (http://img218.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kernresizedjk5.jpg)

[THE YETI]

Im sure the people would like an update on whats happening with the sunn's. Also, who is interested in the kern and kern Lt?? Doesnt seem to be alot of interest as of yet.