The Thömus Lightrider World Cup is a carbon XC bike many people are conversant in however have by no means laid our arms on. The long-lasting purple racing body has been everywhere in the entrance of the boys’s and girls’s Cross Nation World Cup for years. We’ve featured Lightriders in our Professional Bike Checks for a couple of years, choosing them out on the UCI XCO World Cup.
Thomus Lightrider World Cup carbon XC mountain bike
I largely knew the body as “the bike Matthias Flükinger and Alessandra Keller experience” with their Swiss Powerhouse Thömus-Maxon skilled MTB workforce.
Extra lately, the primary Thömus idea retailer opened in Santa Monica, California. So, we’re guessing you’ll see them round your native trails and race begin strains quickly. In any case, we thought that was a strong sufficient impetus to get one in for a complete evaluate.
Who’s Thömus, anyway?
That’s the primary query I used to be requested on the trails, “who’re they?”
I inform you one factor; they aren’t newcomers to the biking world. Thömus SA was based in 1991 and has at all times had a eager eye for biking expertise, and producing distinctive bikes for a small producer. They’re a widely known model of their area in Switzerland, and are quickly gaining extra international reputation with the assistance & success of the Thömus Maxon workforce, plus newfound USA distribution.
You may bear in mind them for growing the primary highway bike with built-in cabling or launching the Lightrider e-Final, the world’s lightest dual-suspension electrical mountain bike on the time. Additionally they have deep path cred, and a historical past of race efficiency and innovation.
Thömus Lightrider World Cup XC MTB
The Thömus Lightrider World Cup is the model’s flagship carbon XC race mountain bike. The design is race-focused with some intelligent bits of tech and suspension readability. Its World Cup hardtail counterpart, the TomCat, sees much less digital camera time however remains to be on standby within the Thömus Maxon workforce trailer for much less technical programs. The Thömus Lightrider World Cup is amongst 5 accessible within the Thömus acoustic MTB line.
Body Tech Particulars
The carbon Lightrider World Cup body is powerful. Most of that’s the outsized down tube and seat tube junctions. This sturdy design permits for glorious energy switch but leans closely on the suspension to offer a balanced, supple experience.
Standing over the Thömus Lightrider World Cup, I observed how dramatically sloping the highest tube is. The design jogged my memory barely of the earlier Trek Prime Gasoline, but with a a lot stiffer entrance finish.
For higher or worse, the cabling runs internally by way of the headset. The routing is neat and, paired with the Acros-Parts stem/information, is barely noticeable. The one downside after all, is sophisticated bearing substitute and issue in getting a super-slammed stem with out additional modification.
The body’s rear is equally overbuilt, with most beef within the ‘chain staying’. When the chainstays hook up with the seat tube junction, they’ve an sculpted look that flares upwards. Throughout my many muddy check rides on the Lightrider, we discovered that this slight flare helps preserve mud from accumulating, actsing like a mud scraper.
The beefiest a part of the body needs to be that backside bracket junction. Thömus makes use of a press-fit BB, and the bike is often constructed with a Shimano spec (particularly for the workforce). So that you’d not often see a BB30 crankset on it. Our check experience got here with a SRAM groupset, although; and the DUB press match BB was a superb match with bearing measurement and longevity.
Check Bike Construct: Thömus Lightrider World Cup
You’ll find 3 specs for the Thömus Lightrider World Cup on the worldwide web site for Thömus. Since our check bike got here from the brand new Thömus Idea retailer in CA, they deal with part specs & full builds on a per-rider customized setup. The Thömus Idea retailer successfully operates like a motorcycle studio, providing the bottom body, after which placing collectively every construct to swimsuit the rider and their particular person wants.
Our evaluate experience is the “race and experience something” construct with a 120mm fork and a bit extra playful tech than full-on race-focused trimmings. Consider it as an XC+, a Marathon, or a Superlight Path setup.
Our evaluate experience arrived with a SRAM GX Eagle setup, one thing not supplied on the worldwide Thömus web site.
The construct for our evaluate experience is definitely extra marathon-focused, with a package that may take the abuse of a protracted time out on the path without having fixed consideration.
I favored this concept, however I additionally wished to see what a full-on World Cup race construct would unleash — extra on that later.
Full Specs: Lightrider World Cup
- Body: Thömus Lightrider World Cup Dimension: MED (18″)
- Naked body weight: 3.6lbs
- Fork: RockShox SID 120mm
- Shock: SID Deluxe Final
- Shifting: SRAM GX Eagle 12 Pace
- Cassette: SRAM XO (XX pictured)
- Brakes: SRAM Stage TL 180F/160R
- Wheels: DT-Swiss XRC 1501 (240 hubs)
- Tires: Maxxis Ardent 2.40X29′
- Bars: Thömus Full Carbon 680mm
- Stem: Acros-components 80mm
- Saddle: Selle Italia SRL Carbon
- Dropper: KS-LEV-Si
- Weight: 26. lbs as constructed
- Value: $7,800 (as pictured)
The Journey
I began using the Thömus Lightrider World Cup when the climate was dreary, and the paths had been nonetheless lined in snow. I assumed it wasn’t superb circumstances for a race bike, however I used to be improper. The Thömus Lightrider World Cup is greater than a full-throttle race machine; it’s additionally a playful bike with laser-focused responsiveness.
Within the “race mode” with a 100mm fork, the Lightrider WC has a steering angle of 69.1º. Our evaluate experience is a 120mm fork and kicks the headtube again barely, giving the bike an extended leash to get a bit extra rowdy. I’m a bit reluctant to say that the 120mm fork on the Lightrider World Cup brings it into down nation territory?
However it’s extra like an excellent succesful, extraordinarily race-focused cross-country bike.
The inventory and supple suspension assist spherical off some uber-stiff tube designs. The beefed-up headtube and backside bracket are excellent for hammering out the watts. When the suspension is locked out, the bike strikes — quick.
The sensation on the open highway is legitimately just like the stiffness of a highway bike.
What I favored most concerning the Lightrider has been the versatile nature of the bike. I by no means felt over or under-biked when heading out on a experience. Sure — that is barely particular to the construct, however the body is a grasp of many. I felt assured on the drops (one thing I admittedly horrible at) and nonetheless tremendous fast on the climbs.
The one factor that held this construct down barely was the wheels. Sure — they’re tremendous beautiful wheels, however they’re barely heavy for the rocket climbing skills of this bike – particularly paired with the two.4″ Ardent tires.
I put by myself Roval Management CL wheels, pulled off my private XC race bike, to combine it up and went for my regular check spin. The wheel swap made the bike climb approach higher. The velocity going uphill and the body’s responsiveness made me need to push extra on these assents.
It made me marvel how this bike would carry out with an all-out race construct…
Closing Ideas
The Thömus Lightrider World Cup is a premium race machine at coronary heart and on paper. However what shocked me about this body and setup is the flexibility and grasp of many vibes skilled on the paths. Not solely in path terrain, however journey setup and past, the Thömus Lightrider World Cup is a motorcycle that may be many with the experience quiver of substances.
Undertaking XC
Driving the Thömus Lightrider World Cup within the marathon construct we obtained has solely made us need to expertise the bike in its pure type — a full-on race machine. So we’re taking the body and doing a bottom-up rebuild with race bits from Fox, Shimano, FSA, and DT-Swiss. Keep tuned!
Search for a long-term evaluate in midsummer and construct pictures on our Instagram.
