First ride on the SIMPLON Rapcon | SIMPLON

Working at SIMPLON comes with special perks, especially for true bike enthusiasts. Employees love to take the opportunity to test new models – like the Rapcon – before everyone else. We asked long-time SIMPLON employee Jörg how his first ride on the SIMPLON Rapcon felt.

What do you like most about your job at SIMPLON?

A huge perk of working at SIMPLON for me is that we can witness the development of new bikes from the very beginning: From the idea to the initial drawings, 3D prints and prototypes to the first assembly of the standard model – we get to experience it all. 
As exciting as it is to follow the development process, a true bike freak has to constantly live in bittersweet anticipation. Waiting for the moment when you can finally ride the bike yourself and rave about it in public can be tough. But it's worth it.

Why were you looking forward to the Rapcon in particular?

I was especially excited for the new Rapcon. Please don't get me wrong, the 2017 SIMPLON Rapcon is a great bike, but it is a bit outdated. An updated geometry with more reach, a flatter steering angle and a shorter seat tube – which the successor model features – had been on my wish list for a long time. And the fantastic storage box, chainstay length adapted to the frame size and impeccable cable routing are the cherries on top.

What makes the SIMPLON Rapcon the perfect choice for you?

Being 1.78 metres tall, I immediately felt comfortable on the SIMPLON Rapcon in size L. Although I have relatively short legs, the seatpost with 170 millimetres of travel works very well for me. If I wanted to, I could even opt for the 200 millimetres version in the configurator. Otherwise, I generally tend to go for a longer frame and I'm really happy that there's no long seat tube to restrict my choice of sizes.

And how did the first ride feel?

The sitting position on the Rapcon is pleasantly central. This allows you to go fast in flat terrain, and the mountain bike also rides comfortably and effectively during climbs, even on steep ramps. In addition, the Fox Float X2 shock allows you to engage an optional pedalling platform as a climbing aid. However, the rear triangle remains very quiet when riding uphill even without engaging it, which saves me having to reach for the platform lever. And that is exactly what I expect from a good full-suspension MTB. Since I was having trouble with my knee on the day of the ride, I pedalled extremely one-sidedly and unevenly. But even that didn't seem to bother the rear triangle of the SIMPLON Rapcon.
Once I reached the top, it was time for the enduro bike’s speciality: the downhill. Since I chose a trail on my local mountain that I ride very often, the testing conditions were perfect. The extremely slippery ground as well as my injured knee obviously influenced my performance. Several times I deviated strongly from my tried and tested line. The impressive thing is: Although I moved down the trail in a completely unrelaxed and absolutely suboptimal way, things didn't feel iffy once. I realised: The SIMPLON Rapcon perfectly compensates for any mistakes. Although it was probably one of my worst performances on this trail, it didn't feel like it at all.

What’s your final verdict?

What remains after the first ride is an even greater sense of anticipation – namely for my very own SIMPLON Rapcon. After just one ride, I can already say: It's so worth the wait!

SIMPLON Rapcon: a multiple-award-winning choice

With his enthusiasm for the Rapcon, our colleague Jörg is in good company. ENDURO Mountainbike magazine was well impressed too and named the Rapcon the best enduro bike for 2022 in its test report. And finally, the MTB received the coveted Design & Innovation Award from the award’s renowned jury of experts. The Rapcon’s most outstanding features: the bike’s safe and agile handling and its clean design.