This is the second encounter we’ve had with Chumba Racing bikes here at Farkin.net, having had the pleasure of swinging a leg over their DH race frame, the F4 (now the F5) around this time last year. The F4 was a phenomenal bike to ride and massively fun, so when the opportunity to test their “cross country” bike, the XCL came around, I jumped at the chance despite the fact that I am anything but a cross country rider.

You’ll notice that I put “cross country” inside “quotation marks” in the first paragraph and there’s a good reason for that fact that I want to get out of the way right off the bat. The XCL is not a cross country bike. Not by any stretch of the imagination of any marketing guru anywhere in the bike industry. With 125mm of travel at both ends, a Fox DHX Air rear shock, 20mm Maxle Pikes up front, 2.35” Slow Reezay Maxxis Minion rubber front and rear and a reasonably stout overall weight of 15.3kg there is just no kidding yourself into believing that the XCL was designed to cut laps of groomed cross-country race tracks in the shortest time possible.

So what is it then? The amount of travel would suggest that, in marketing-speak it falls into the category of either an Enduro Bike, or a Trail Bike. I couldn’t care less what marketing-speak tells me to do with a bike personally, so I’ll break it down for you a little.

The XCL is a mountain bike, a bike that climbs capably and bombs technical cross country descents like it’s its job, a bike that you can thrash all day, put away dirty and pull out a week later ready to do it all again, it’s a downhiller’s “second bike” that will handle everything from the occasional day of runs when the big bike is out of service to snapping gates on the 4X track and sessioning dirt jumps, a bike that’s light enough to be manageable when out on all-day epics but sturdy enough that you don’t have to worry it about it falling apart underneath you. Put simply, it’s a mountain bike that does what a mountain bike is supposed to be able to do and it’s an absolute blast to ride.

The Frame

Click here to visit chumbaracing.com for full XCL geometry specs

The frame on our test bike was a medium, which was a nice match for my 175cm frame as a trail bike. If I was looking at the bike as more of a 4X / do-it-all steed I’d definitely be tempted to try the small, just for a little more standover and flickability.

Our last Chumba Racing bike, the F4 was hand made in the USA and definitely failed to live up to the hype associated with such a label in terms of weld quality. The XCL as well as the majority of Chumba’s range is now manufactured in Taiwan and I can say, without a shadow of a doubt that the move has been a positive one as the welds on our test bike were positively dreamy. The XCL we tested also came in a slick, anodized black finish which is indisputably superior to paint in terms of durability and scratch-resistance, which was another nice touch.

Aesthetics aside, the XCL sports a genuine Horst Link rear suspension arrangement with a swing-link actuated rear shock mounted under the top tube. The Horst Link is a proven performer over many years and features in the line-up of a whole host of top brands. It may not have the latest-fashionable multi-link-virtual-pivot-fandanglery but it does produce a bike that’s supple, stiff, pedals reasonably well and stays reasonably active under brakes, a modern testament to the old adage that if it isn’t broke, why fix it?

The front triangle is heavily gusseted and looks ready to take a beating. The top tube / head tube and down tube / head tube junctions have been reinforced and the top tube has been dropped with a seat tube brace added to increase standover clearance. As all good trail bikes do, it sports a full-length seat tube to give full leg extension on the flats and allow you to drop the saddle for descents and, somewhat strangely, is designed around the use of E-Type front derailleurs.

Some riders will swear black and blue that E-Types are the devil and can never be set up as well as seat tube mounted front derailleurs however in this, my only long-term encounter with an E-Type it never once missed a shift or did anything untoward.

The whole bike is made from 6061 aluminium and runs on Enduro bearings at every pivot point. The suspension links also include what Chumba calls an ‘integrated stiffening rib’ along the back of each link, which ostensibly increases rigidity. Whether the result of the rib or not, the rear end of the bike was extremely laterally stiff for a Horst Link bike and overall, the whole frame was put together in a burly-but-understated way that inspired confidence in it’s longevity.

The Bits

Our XCL came specced with the ‘Base’ build kit available direct from Chumba’s importer, Plush Rides here in Australia, which you can check out here, with the only deviation being a 90mm stem that Josh kindly provided to appease my dwarf-like stature.

The build is definitely a nod to the XCL’s true intent as an all-day trail warrior, rather than the XC race whippet that the name would suggest. Rock Shox Pike 454 U-Turn Coil forks with a 20mm Maxle handled bounce duties up front and did so admirably. These forks are proven performers with a great feel, excellent adjustments, and a stiff, responsive chassis that can take a beating and hold a line through the rough-stuff. Rear suspension duties were handled by the Fox DHX Air, offering loads of adjustment and silky-smooth travel once the air pressure was dialled in correctly.

The combination Sram X9 / Shimano XT drivetrain performed like a brand new, high-end drivetrain should and the Avid Juicy 5s did a more than adequate of bringing things to a halt. I’d never ridden the narrower versions of Maxxis’ veritable Minion tyre combo before but was left quite impressed that such skinny little tyres could offer so much grip, even if it did come at the expense of climbing efficiency.

There were only a few things that really grabbed my attention on the build kit as being either brilliant or rather ordinary, so let’s get the ordinary out of the way first; the Chumba ‘home-brand’ front hub. While the hub itself rolled smoothly and generally performed a brilliant job of transferring input from the handlebars into directional changes, it was saddled with end-caps that were not attached to the hub in any way, shape or form, causing me to drop them and have them roll all over the shop every single time I took the front wheel off. Bastard things!

They were however offset by a few other Chumba ‘home-brand’ parts that were excellent in every way. Firstly, the Chumba seat-clamp had a beautifully smooth action and held the post in place without having to resort to caveman-like over-tightening. Secondly, seats on test bikes are a hit-or-miss affair at the best of times and usually a big miss but the Chumba branded saddle on the XCL agreed with my nether-regions in a manner that no test-bike-saddle before ever has. Genuinely comfortable without being too wide or overly-padded and the only test-saddle I’ve ever ridden that I didn’t immediately feel like swapping out.

The Ride

Time for the nitty gritty because all that blathering about finish and components mean doesn’t mean squat if the bike rides like a barge.

Luckily, it doesn’t, in fact the XCL is an absolute singletrack ASSASSIN. Never before have I ridden a trail bike that can absolutely devastate swooping, twisty, rolling singletrack like the XCL does. The combination of a head-angle that threads the needle between twitchy and slack, a roomy front-end, short chainstays and a low bottom bracket add up to a bike that carves turns and makes snappy direction changes with confidence-inspiring precision. I did notice myself clipping my pedals on the XCL quite frequently, despite it not having a particularly low bottom bracket on paper and I really can't find anything in the setup to account for it either as it was specced with 175mm cranks and thin pedals. It wasn't enough to scare me out of pedalling through rough sections or leave me in fear of being pitched over the bars, but it was enough to notice, particularly when getting over logs and such at lower speeds.

The precision steering combines with laterally stiff but supple and controlled travel at both ends to deliver a chassis that will hold its line through the roughest, nastiest cross country descents you can find and never leave you feeling short of travel. Point it down a full-on downhill track and it begins to feel a little out of its depth but recognise that it’s not a real downhill and nurse it through the really nasty stuff and there’s not a lot you won’t get it down. 

Pointed up a hill the XCL is more than capable but is by no means the greatest pedaller in its class, particularly with a crank-masher like me on board. The rear suspension remains active under power and delivers bucketloads of traction over the loose, extra dusty and rocky climbs that abound around Brisbane at this time of year but there is noticeable pedal-induced bob that was no-doubt exacerbated by the fact that I was running very little ProPedal and a lot of sag on the DHX Air.

Under braking, the Horst Link rear suspension behaved in the manner you’d expect of the design, remaining active enough to give you good control over braking bumps and chatter and never reacting with the full-on brake-jack feel that single-pivots and other 4-Bar designs suffer from. Don’t believe all that you read from marketing gurus, the suspension definitely stiffens somewhat under braking, but still performs markedly better than many other designs.

For a bike designed for cross country, the XCL jumped surprisingly well, not that surprisingly though really when you consider that 16.75” chainstays were the standard on dirt-jump rigs only 5 years ago and that with a 13.5” bottom bracket height, the XCL is a low and stable little beast. With a shorter stem on it, I’d have no hesitation in sessioning dirt jumps and racing 4X aboard the XCL.

The Verdict

Put simply, the XCL is a bike that could fill many different niches in your stable. Build it up as a trail bike, an enduro-racing weapon, a 4X machine or any combination of these roles plus any more you happen to dream up.

It’s solidly built enough that you don’t have to worry about babying it or taking it easy once the trail points downhill, in fact, it’s spot-on combination of razor-sharp handling and smooth, controlled suspension practically demands that you bomb it down descents as hard and fast as you’re able.

The burliness of the frame does however carry a weight penalty and the active suspension design and pivot-placement means that it’s never going to be the greatest pedaller or climber in the trail-bike market but you know what, who cares? Sure your mate might have a bike that’s half a kilo lighter and 2.75% more efficient a climber, at the end of the day, I can guarantee that the smile on your face will be at least 50% bigger* because when it comes down to it, the XCL is 100% fun to ride and to me, that’s what this kind of bike is all about. Fun. How fun? Well, I'm lucky enough to have a reasonable stable of bikes that includes a Freeride rig, a brakeless BMX for street and park duties and a reasonably specced roadie. Usually, during the limited afternoon riding time I have over the winter the BMX wins the crucial "What's the most fun I can have in the few remaining minutes of day light I have left?" test hands down. For the few weeks the XCL was in the quiver, the BMX didn't make it out once because the XCL made getting out to my local XC loop and hammering out a lap or 2 such a downright enjoyable experience.

*not a guarantee

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