In a Class of Its Own

WHAT: Foes Inferno WHERE: www.foesracing.com HOW MUCH? $2,207 (frame & Curnutt Ti-Spring shock)

All Mountain full suspension bikes are all the rage these days, which is interesting since very few people can clearly define what the hell All Mountain means. So far, most people seem satisfied calling any bike that weighs 28 to 32 pounds and sports five to six inches of rear travel, “All Mountain”.

Perhaps the easiest way to define All Mountain isn’t by describing what an All Mountain bike is, but rather, by describing what All Mountain isn’t. All Mountain full suspension bikes are definitely not intended to be no-holds-barred, big jump bikes. The components are too light, the frame walls are too thin....simply put, you still have to handle All Mountian bikes with care even though they have big travel. The Giant Reign, the Specialized Enduro, the Cannondale Prophet…these are all bikes that fit this definition.

Okay, here’s where the definitions get all fuzzy again. Eric, over at Foes Racing, called me last Fall and mentioned that Foes had a new “long-travel all terrain bike” in their line- up. The Inferno, Eric stressed, was not a freeride bike. Would I like to test one out for awhile? Sure, why not. I’m not a huge fan of full-on, chair-lift only freeride bikes as I live in seriously hilly terrain and I don’t have anyone to shuttle with—I have to pedal my sorry ass up the climbs and I ain’t doing that on some 45-pound speed sled.

When I pulled the Inferno out of the box, however, I had to scratch my head. True, it had three chainrings and a mix of decidedly-XC components bolted on it, but the Inferno seemed like a helluva lot more Mountain than your garden variety All Mountain bike. For example, the Inferno has 7.5 inches of rear travel—that’s a good deal more travel than what you’d expect to find on an All Mountain bike. Another point: the Inferno eschews the weight savings of an air-sprung rear shock for a titanium coil-sprung Curnutt model.

I didn’t have a scale on hand, so I can’t give you a solid estimate on the Inferno’s built up weight (Foes reports that the frame tips the scales at 7.7 pounds), but I can safely say that it weighed a good deal more than the Giant Reign, Raleigh Phase II and Jamis Dakar XLT that I was testing for BIKE at the time. If we were calling this bike a “freeride” bike, it’d be pretty light. If you’re calling it All Mountain, it’s pretty heavy.

The Inferno features a monocoque mainframe and a swing link (which reduces flex).

The Inferno’s 7.7-pound frame is constructed (state-side) from a blend of ALCOA 6061 aluminum tubing and Easton Manipulated Tubing. The main frame is primarily a beefy monocoque construction and the suspension design is a fairly simple single pivot—though Foes adds a swing link to the mix, which helps reduce flex between the swingarm and the main frame. Reducing flex between the two frame members also reduces stress on the rear shock…Foes doesn’t mention this, but that’s one reason why you’ll find swing links on a variety of full suspension bikes

beefy swingarm pivots on oversized, sealed aircraft bearings…probably overkill, but why the hell not. Our test bike was also outfitted with Foes floating brake caliper (this is standard on most Foes bikes and option on the `05 Inferno and Fly). Foes sells the Inferno as a frame-only bike, so the parts pick is up to you.

Issues of weight aside, the Foes immediately set itself apart, ride-wise, from every All Mountain bike I’ve tested this year. If Brent Foes says the Inferno isn’t a freeride bike, I’m not going to argue with him about it—the guy knows the strength limits of his own frames—but this bike sure as hell feels like a freeride bike. My typical test loop begins with a near vertical descent down a chute that banks right, then left, then right and then doooown all in something like 4 seconds. It’s an ugly mother of a drop in. As fate would have it, my first ride also took place on one of this winter’s massive deluges, so I couldn’t see anything but wet ferns and redwood branches.

The Inferno didn’t just ride itself down that drop (no bike ever does), but I was blown away by how confident I immediately felt. The combination of the thru-axle Nixon and the stout single pivot design add up to a bike that fears no evil and scoffs at the notion of flex. Just after the drop in, the trail narrows and you come up to a little drop—nothing major just a three and a half footer. I hardly felt it on the Inferno, which was good since I couldn’t see with all the rain and I wasn’t lofting my front wheel at all.

As the Inferno is a single pivot bike with a ton of travel, I was a bit concerned about brake jack, but the floating brake caliper kept the rear suspension smooth and unrestricted, even when I was death-gripping the brake levers.

Foes floating brake caliper is an absolute must on this single pivot design.

If you’re considering this bike, be sure to get the floating caliper. In fact, I honestly wouldn’t recommend a long-travel single pivot bike without one. If you’re buying a long travel bike for the descents, you might as well get every inch out of your suspension and you can’t achieve that if the rear end is stiffening up every time you hit the brakes (which also happens to be the times when you most often need your suspension working at its best).

What didn’t I like about the Inferno? Climbing. Even with the platform-equipped Curnutt rear shock (and yes, Curnutt invented the whole notion of platform suspension), the bike is a beast on the climbs. In fact, getting out of the saddle and pedaling, even on mild, rolling terrain, is like setting a steaming bowl of Kryptonite in front of Superman—I could just feel my power slipping away with every rise.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve definitely ridden bikes that are heavier and bikes that were certainly more impacted by pedaling—particularly when we’re talking about bikes with 7-plus inches of travel, but if you’re interested in the Inferno solely because Foes describes it as “light”, well, you’ll probably be a bit bummed.

There are a ton of lighter, more efficient All Mountain bikes and there are a ton of heavier, more pogo-ey freeride bikes…and then there’s the Inferno. And that’s kind of where I left off as I handed the bike back to Brent Foes at Sea Otter. The Inferno isn’t an All Mountain bike and it’s not a freeride bike. So what exactly is it? I guess it’s in a class of its own. Potential buyers just need to ask whether the Inferno’s class of bike fits their own riding style.