Sunn Shamann S2 Review
The Sunn Shamann S2 is a full suspension XC/Trail bike featuring 100mm / 4″ of travel front and back. At £799 it has to be one of the best value full suspension bikes available and offers great budget performance.
The bike is reasonably lightweight at only 11.5kg and features responsive and plush suspension with efficient geometry and a good pedal platform with the pivot placement. Cartridge bearings mean smooth and durable suspension action long into the winter months. The Rockshox forks and rear shock are a great addition at this price and are a noticeable upgrade on the usual offerings at this price point from Suntour and RST.
The Monarch R rear shock is a fantastic bit of kit and offers trouble free and responsive and adjustable damping.
The bike is designed for XC and trail use with 100mm of travel and handles uphill slogs admirably with a good air sprung plushness on the downhills. The shamann is designed for long rides in the saddle and is happy on marathon xc loops and all day rides in the wild.
Brakes come courtesy of Avid and offer proper hydraulic breaking with good modulation and control. 160mm rotors front and back are a nice addition with some bikes only offering 140 on the rear. Bigger rotors mean better braking on decent’s and faster cooling.
The groupset is the ever dependable Sram X5/x7 which is pretty standard at £1000+ price point. A solid MTB group-set and offers good shifting and durability.
The tyres are a let down – offering great rolling on hard pack but really lack and grip and control on proper off road surfaces , roots and mud. Something to upgrade should you wish to get down and dirty with the Sunn.
The finishing kit is a mainly Sunn own brand with a branded saddle from SDG. Handle bars are a great width at 700mm and a bit surprising since most bikes come with max 680mm which is a little too skinny for most.
All in all a really good value XC suspension mountain bike featuring some great kit and a good platform to upgrade on. The 100mm of travel will be perfect for most riders looking to attack xc loops and trail centres. Resale value should hold for quite a few years making this Sunn a bargain at only £799.
Check out the full spec and some other reviews here…
Sunn Shamann S2 Suspension Bike
The Cross Country category is probably the most physically demanding but at SUNN they believe that performance shouldn’t compromise riding pleasure. This belief has inspired their XC range of ever lighter and higher performing bikes. The components have been optimised with the use of SRAM 10 speed transmission for lighter and more efficient shifting. The geometry and pivot placements have been designed to give the perfect balance of traction and acceleration. Add to this long distance comfort and you have the perfect marathon bike. With 100mm of rear travel the shocks are tuned to attain this perfect equilibrium and to give the rider a highly responsive ride feel. The frame itself is built out of lightweight butted Alpha tubing and features cartridge bearings throughout.
Features:
Frameset:
- Frame: Shamann Evo Alpha Tubing 100mm
- Forks: Rockshox Recon Gold Solo Air tapered 100mm
- Shock: Rockshox Monarch R 190 x51mm Sunn setting
Groupset:
- Chainset: SRAM S1000 38/24
- Bottom Bracket: PF 24 BB 92mm
- Brake/Shift Levers: SRAM X5 2 x 10s
- Front Derailleur: SRAM X5
- Rear Derailleur:SRAM X7
- Cassette: SRAM PG 1030 11/36
Wheelset:
- Wheels: UN Premium SL 17 26″
- Front Hub: QR 9 mm
- Rear Hub: QR 9mm
- Tyres: Hutchinson Python Original Wire 26″ x 2.00
Components:
- Front Brake: Avid Elixer 1, 160mm
- Rear Brake:Avid Elixer 1, 160mm
- Handlebars: UN 700mm 5mm
- Stem: UN Origine SL
- Saddle: SDG Fly RL
- Seatpost: UN Origine 350mm , 27.2 Ø
- Seatclamp: 31.8 mm Ø