MONDRAKER CRAFTY CARBON RR – PRODUCT FEATURE

 

The Mondraker Crafty Carbon RR e-mountain bike is today’s star of our regular fast bike feature! Following our successful BIG Demo Weekend back in March some of the best brands available at Wheelbase came together again in May for our BIG Demo Day at Hamsterley Forest in the North East of England; one of the brands in most demand was Mondraker, with the Crafty Carbon RR proving to be particularly popular with our customers. Our freelance photographer James Vincent managed to wrestle one away from the demo fleet just long enough to shoot it for this feature, so lets get into the details…

E-mountain bikes are now so firmly established within most brand’s range of bikes that in a lot of cases there’s multiple models to choose from, enabling you to find one that perfectly suits your style of riding. Mondraker are one such brand, who now offer e-MTB options across a wide choice of mountain bikes including their trail, enduro and even their long-travel ‘super enduro’ models. The Crafty Carbon RR sits within their enduro sub-range of e-mtbs and features plenty of plush suspension, with a magic mix of components as  well as Mondraker’s iconic ‘Forward Geometry’; if you forget about the e-bike motor for a second and just consider the bike itself, then it’s clear to see that this is an authentic enduro bike!

The Mondraker Crafty Carbon RR is a capable Enduro bike that just happens to have an e-mtb motor.

 

The Mondraker Crafty Carbon RR features a full carbon frame sporting 150mm of suspension travel on the rear facilitated by the Spanish brand’s excellent Zero Suspension kinematics, matched up with a burly Fox 38 fork upfront featuring 160mm travel which is ready to absorb the sort of big hits that this bike will quickly coax you into riding. This rather pimped-up model in the Crafty range included Fox Factory Kashima coating on the Fox fork, rear shock and even the Transfer dropper post, with fork and rear shock tuned specifically to accommodate the increased forces of an e-MTB.

Constructed from Mondraker’s Crafty Stealth Air Carbon the Crafty RR also features the Spanish brand’s sorted ‘Forward Geometry’.

 

At the heart of the Crafty Carbon RR is Bosch’s brilliant 4th generation Performance Line CX Smart System setup with a large capacity 750Wh battery making ‘range anxiety’ a thing of the past. This latest iteration of Bosch’s market-leading motor is 48% smaller than its predecessor and at 2.9kg is 25% lighter too. With reduced drag thanks to a dramatic redesign of its internals the Performance Line CX motor is also now more efficient, increasing battery life by up to 18% and freeing you up to ride further for longer with liberal use of EMTB and Turbo modes to get you up and over steep, technical terrain.

Bosch’s Performance Line CX motor really helps to open up your riding; you’ll be amazed what you can get up and over on the Crafty Carbon RR.

 

The Crafty Carbon RR’s 750Wh battery sits internally within the downtube, protecting it from the elements and helping to keep the bike’s centre of gravity nice and low while also enhancing the overall aesthetic of this powerful e-mountain bike. It’s worth us reinforcing the point too, that the whole drive system and that large-capacity 750Wh battery really proved itself during our Hamsterley Forest demo day, with riders asking a lot of the bike throughout the day. Despite some liberal use of Turbo mode there was always plenty of battery life showing on the Bosch Kiox 300 display at the end of each ride; when it’s finally time to replenish the battery the Crafty Carbon RR can be quickly and efficiently re-charged via a port conveniently located near the headtube.

A super-efficient Bosch Powertube 750Wh internal battery encourages you to ride further for longer.

 

The 750Wh internal battery can be quickly and efficiently re-charged via a conveniently located port near the headtube.

 

The Bosch controls are discrete and user-friendly, with a mini remote to select your chosen mode and Kiox 300 display to relay all the vital stats.

 

Moving on to the Crafty Carbon RR’s chassis, it’s not too bold of me to say that Mondraker really did revolutionise mountain bike handling when it introduced its super-short stem and longer-reach top tube ‘Forward Geometry’. Pretty much every other mountain bike brand has now followed the lead with this sort of progressive geometry; slack headtube angles combined with steeper seat tube angles and longer reach are now not as niche as they used to be, in fact they’re the norm. While Mondraker were the first brand to take this design approach it’s worth highlighting that they’ve continued to refine their frame angles and measurements throughout the years, arriving at what can rightfully claimed to be one of the most stable, nimble, confidence-inspiring rides out there.

Mondraker pioneered modern progressive geometry; their ‘Forward Geometry’ has inspired a revolution in mountain bike frame design.

 

A bike of this status, sitting high up in the Crafty Carbon sub-range of e-mountain bikes should boast a pretty bling component spec and this bike does not disappoint. Complimenting that Mondraker Stealth Air full carbon frame and powerful Bosch Performance Line CX Gen 4 Smart System motor is a premium collection of components including FOX Factory rear shock, suspension forks and dropper seatpost all featuring the super smooth Kashima coating. The bike’s drivetrain is a magic mix of SRAM components including an X01 Eagle rear derailleur paired with a positive shifting GX Eagle trigger shifter.

Elsewhere there’s a SRAM Code RSC hydraulic brake-set featuring powerful 4-piston brake calipers which quickly and efficiently scrub off speed when you need to pull on the anchors and control your speed through tight, technical terrain. With large diameter 200mm brake rotors and steel-backed sintered pads the braking system on the Crafty Carbon RR is super-dependable in all riding conditions. Rounding out the bike’s spec is a bombproof pair of Mavic E-Deemax S 29er wheels designed and constructed specifically to cope with the additional forces incurred from a top-flight e-mountain bike; shod with a pair of burly Maxxis Minion DH tyres the Mondraker Crafty Carbon RR comes ready out of the box for the sort of full-on, aggressive riding an e-MTB like this encourages you to do.

Check out our details shots below of the key components on the Mondraker Crafty Carbon RR below, with the bike’s full specification listed at the bottom of this feature…

A Fox Float-X factory shock with Kashima coating combined with Mondraker’s Zero Suspension kinematics gives 150mm of plush travel on the rear.

 

A 12-speed SRAM X01 Eagle rear derailleur performs flawlessly, quickly moving up and down the wide ratio 10-52T cassette.

 

The light-touch SRAM GX Eagle trigger shifter precisely selects your chosen gear in an instant.

 

165mm Race Face Aeffect ebike cranks adorned with a SRAM Eagle 34T chainring completes the simple yet effective drivetrain.

 

The SRAM hydraulic brake levers have a lot of fans thanks to their instant bite with minimal lever-pull.

 

Powerful SRAM Code RSC 4-piston brake calipers scrub off speed quickly and effectively in all conditions.

 

The Mavic wheelset featuring straight-pull spokes laced to Mavic Boost hubs and E-Deemax S 29 rims are fast-rolling and super-tough.

 

It’s great to see Mondraker spec’ing a pair of burly Maxxis Minion DH tyres; they’ll be able to handle all of the aggressive riding you can throw at them.

 

The Ride…

Jumping on the Mondraker Crafty Carbon RR at one of our recent Wheelbase Big Demo days gave me a real chance to get a feel for how this powerful e-mountain bike handles out on the trails. The efficient Bosch drive system helped make short work of some of the steeper climbs on my ride, quickly depositing me at the top of some of the most technically demanding downhill trails I could find.

Riding some downhills portions for the first time, with no knowledge of what was coming up meant that on occasions I had to hold back a little, but during my second ride on the same trail I was really able to let go of the anchors and see what this long-travel e-Enduro bike was capable of. All of that plush suspension, facilitated by 150mm of travel on the rear and 160mm up-front combined with those fast-rolling large-diameter 29er Mavic E-Deemax e-MTB-specific wheels shod with burly Maxxis Minion tyres quickly encouraged me to hit sections with more speed and more confidence.

The Mondraker Crafty Carbon RR is an e-MTB that can be fairly described as a ‘fun-amplifier’. What do I mean by that? Well, the bike’s fantastic suspension platform and sorted trail geometry means that you’ll get more out of your riding when the bike is pointed downhill. Despite its ‘full-fat’ e-MTB specification with the 750Wh battery powered Bosch Performance Line CX drive system the Mondraker Crafty Carbon RR felt lively and surprisingly agile. The inclusion of the Bosch system just means that you ride further, faster and with more ease!

The Crafty Carbon RR is a great-handling Enduro bike that just happens to feature a brilliantly integrated Bosch drive system.

 

Mondraker Crafty Carbon RR £8,999.00

Full Specification:

• Motor: Bosch Performance Line CX (25km/h) Smart System
• Battery: Bosch Powertube 750Wh
• Display: Bosch Kiox 300 / Bosch Mini Remote / Bosch System Controller
• Frame: Crafty Stealth Air full Carbon, e-Bike Optimized Zero Suspension System, 150mm travel, Forward Geometry, internal non-removable battery, Boost 12x148mm rear axle, tapered head tube, one-piece Monoblock upper link, HHG internal cable routing, MAX capacity sealed bearings, oversize 17mm axles, integrated dropout speed sensor, exclusive plastic motor covers.
• Fork: Fox 38 29 Float GRIP2 Factory Kashima, 160mm, e-bike optimized, tapered steerer tube, Boost 15x110mm axle, 44mm offset, 68mm OD crown. Settings: high and low-speed compression, high and low-speed rebound, air preload.
• Rear Shock: Fox Float-X LV Factory Kashima, 205x65mm. Settings: compression 2 positions lever, low-speed compression, low-speed rebound, air preload. Trunnion top mount, 25x10mm bottom bushings.
• Wheelset: Mavic E-Deemax S 29, 30mm internal width, Maxtal welded, PFP, 28 hole, tubeless rims. Mavic straight-pull double butted, contactless lacing spokes. Mavic, Boost 15x110mm, IS 6 bolts front hub. Mavic, Boost 12x148mm, ID360 Ratchet system, IS 6 bolts, XD freehub rear hub.
• Front Tyre: Maxxis Minion DHF 29×2.6, tubeless ready, 3C MAXX TERRA, EXO+ Protection, 120TPI, folding bead.
• Rear Tyre: Maxxis Minion DHR II 29×2.6, tubeless ready, 3C MAXX TERRA, EXO+ Protection, 120TPI, folding bead.
• Shifter: Sram Trigger GX Eagle, 12s, X-Actuation 1:1, single click.
• Rear Derailleur: Sram X01 Eagle, Type 3 roller bearing clutch, cage lock, 1x12s, X-Actuation 1:1
• Derailleur Hanger: SRAM UDH
• Cranks: Race Face Aeffect ebike, 165mm
• Chainring: Sram X-Sync 2 Eagle 34T, alloy, narrow-wide, 104 BCD
• Chain: Sram NX Eagle, 12s, Powerlock
• Cassette: Sram XG-1275, 10-52T, 12s
• Saddle: FIZIK Terra Aidon X5 145mm
• Seatpost: Fox Transfer Factory Kashima internal, diameter 31.6mm, S size: 363.5x125mm, M/L size: 418.3x150mm, XL size: 475.1x175mm
• Handlebar: Onoff Krypton Carbon 1.0, rise: 25mm, width: 800mm, 9º backsweep, 5º upsweep, 31.8mm barbore
• Stem: Onoff Krypton FG 30mm, CNC, 31.8mm barbore
• Grips: Onoff Desert, 1lock-on, 135mm
• Brake Set: Sram Code RSC, oversized 4-piston caliper, steel-backed metal sintered pads
• Brake Rotors: Centerline 200mm IS 6 bolts one-piece rotor
• Sizes: S: 380mm / M: 420mm / L: 450mm / XL: 490mm

 

Written by Johnny Dodgin

Photos by James Vincent

 

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