BARRACUDA A2FX
No one’s seen this bike before – it’s still a prototype – and you won’t find the final version in stores until next spring at the earliest. But it would appear that Barracuda, the year-old upstart from Durango, Colorado has developed an impressive full-suspension.
The Barracuda FS mates its standard Tange Prestige front triangle with aero-shaped top and down tubes to an eye-catching FS assembly that features a low-pivot three-point multi-link rear triangle and arced linkage arms made of Easton VariLite 7005 aluminum and a Riese Racing Technologies 3:1 hydraulic shock, anchored by mounting plates joined to the front triangle just above the bottom bracket shell. Ultimately, founder Dave Southwell says he may settle on some type of bumper [elastomer] for the production models “because bumpers are more simple and user-friendly”.
Maybe so, but I found the prototype’s current setup to yield very good overall handling. The tail is rather solid and doesn’t wander while carving deep into a turn. Off-camber turns definitely tell the story of a rear suspension in terms of lateral stability and the Barracuda was up there, but not quite as firm as the Manitou FS, but what is? Standing out of the saddle and jamming on the Barracuda, the rear end had less of a tendency to compress than the Manitou FS because of the linkage, but it’s not as solid as the Specialized FSX. This “production prototype” had a moderately soft response which Southwell says will be more adjustable for the production models, “regardless of what damping system we settle on”. Another nice feature is its relative lightness. At 26 ½ pounds, it’s right there with the Specialized and Cannondale. It will be interesting to see how the production models pan out, but the prototype is definitely one of a growing group of bright stars in the full-suspension constellation.
God knows what the price of this one will be. Even Southwell demurred on the subject, saying only that it would be “competitive”. But if this bike takes off like their race team, then take a number.
