We’ve been busy racking up ride time on the SLACKR and have noticed a couple of characteristics emerge during our prototyping.

The SLACKR is our all day riding trail riding bike. To pull that off, we ensured this shreddy bike is also pedal-friendly and efficient.

We like to ride fun, technical, rocky, and rooty trails. Ledge drops and steep up-and-down rock gardens. Session a feature. Sprint a long segment up, down, or across. Balance, traction, and maneuverability are key to unlocking lines and maximizing the trail bike experience.

Let’s nerd out on that new SLACKR geo!

Slacker Where It Counts

This is the slackest bike we’ve ever made, and an homage to Austin’s gnarliest trails! We combined 150mm fork travel with a slacker, but not too slack head tube angle. The 76-ishº seat tube angles are steeper than a Sendero, but slacker than the industry trend. BB drop is low, but not too low.

Earn The Downhill

We love to crest a challenging climb. A park bike bike design wasn’t going to cut it. The SLACKR instinctively tracks uphill and can pick through the rocks. By keeping the seat tube angle balanced, we placed the rider’s saddle location above the center of the chainstay to get a consistent bite out of the tire on climbs. The angle offers efficient pedaling and is steep enough to get out of the way while descending quickly. Based on your chosen saddle placement, the range is roughly 1º in either direction of the listed effective angle.

Chumba’s Version of Long, Low, Slack

Our top tube/reach is a touch longer than the Sendero, so plan a 10mm shorter stem if the same bar width is used. The longer TT/reach plants the front end, and a short stem precisely controls the slack head tube angle. The wheelbase is predictable both at high and slow speeds, which is helpful for pivoting the bike through obstacles and weaving the front wheel through the best lines.

Of course, you know we are also riding this bike singlespeed, and it climbs like a goat while standing! The longer the front center, the higher the BB in our size range. The bottom bracket drop is custom per size to tune the balance of crank clearance and weight distribution.

The angles and feel are stable. Taking some focus off of balancing gives you more mental space to focus on the trail. You can turn that extra balance into great wheelie maneuvers up steep ledges and last-second line mends. Get the SLACKR on edge, and its playful side immediately shows itself. We did not expect the bike to be so playful during general pedaling, but it really shines through.

Carve It Up!

Point that bike down and carve up the corners. Our combination of 150mm travel, slack HTº, and lower BB team up to give massive traction, whether straight-lining or railing corners. The breakaway point seems limitless. So far, we’ve focused our riding on Maxxis Rekon 2.4”, Maxxis Forecaster 2.4”, and Vittoria Agarro 2.4” tires. Those are still really fast-rolling but much more aggressive than an XC tire.

The 150mm travel inspires confidence and improves fatigue when riding the tech. Once you get in a rhythm, the bike can easily flow through rough terrain. Add tire inserts to run low pressures for the smoothest ride.

Compared to the Sendero

It is significantly different than our other models and a natural fit for our MTB lineup. We often set up our personal Senderos burly for trail rides and then change to lighter parts for a race day. Adding the SLACKR to our bike quiver has allowed our Senderos to shed some weight and stay focused on downcountry/XC rides.

Both bikes are forgiving through tech and natural to find the sweet spot. It was easy to match our fit feel on the Sendero by reducing the stem length by 10-20mm on the SLACKR. Longer travel means adapting to riding with more stack, which is needed and welcome when you have 150mm of travel to utilize. The most significant geometry difference that stands out when riding the two back-to-back is the front center. Right away, you notice the SLACKR’s front wheel is further out in front. That has come in handy down some steep terrain, and it sure helps when trying to punch through a rock garden. Surprisingly, we’ve also found it an asset when climbing, making the front end really easy to mend to the best lines and giving you a bit more time before the rear wheel responds to an obstacle. Remember that once the 150mm compresses, the front-center difference between the models is significantly reduced. It feels predictable which is vital with so much travel.

In a head-to-head sprint, the Sendero is surely going to win out, but the SLACKR edges faster when the trail gets more rugged. We’ve been besting our own PRs on DH and techy traverse segments left and right. Both bikes are effective climbers and pedalers. Some bags loaded up for a “shred-packing” multiday trip will be a blast and surely going to happen!

The SLACKR is redefining our comfort levels on the trail, pushing us to try new lines and approach old ones in a new way.