2021 Forestal

Siryon Diode

While there’s a long line of brands promising lightweight, mid-powered e-bikes, Forestal has already delivered not one, but two models, both with 29in wheels. There’s the 150mm travel Cyon for high-speed trail riding or the 170mm Siryon for smashing out laps on the most rowdy descents. And it’s the latter that we’re testing here, to gauge how it sits among the best electric mountain bikes. Need to know: With 170mm travel Ohlins suspension front and rear, the Siryon is primed for anything The compact, lightweight motor delivers an impressive 60Nm torque Battery capacity is limited to 360Wh, but there’s also a 250Wh range extender Crankbrothers Synthesis E11 carbon wheels have front and rear dedicated rim widths and spoke counts And by mid-powered, that means both platforms use a compact 60Nm, 250W Forestal EonDrive motor, powered by a 360Wh integrated battery that can be boosted to 610Wh with the optional 250Wh range extender. That’s almost as much power and more battery capacity than the first generation e-bikes, all in a sub 20kg package. Forestal’s 3.2in integrated top tube display gives the cockpit of the Siryon a Tesla feel to the electronics, even though the brand is based in Andorra, not silicon valley. The touch screen display is the biggest we’ve seen and because the bike also has a built-in GPS unit, you’ve got maps right in front of you if you need them. There’s also a find my phone style geolocation feature, should you be unfortunate enough to have your bike stolen. You’ll need an Android phone to make the most of the bike’s functionality though, as the iOS app and range extender aren’t available just yet. In addition to a world of metrics available on the display, there’s also a handlebar remote that indicates battery life and the level of assistance, so you can switch the display off if you find it distracting. There are four modes: Eco, Sport, Race and Nitro. In Eco mode, with rider input matched, the Siryon was 10% faster than the Kenevo SL up our test climb. Now, given that the stock battery capacity on the Forestal is only 40Wh more than on the Specialized so that seems like a good match. Get into the higher power modes however and the extra power of the Forestal, especially on steeper climbs really eats into the battery capacity. It’s probably why the new Fazua Ride 60 motor, also with 60Nm torque, comes with a 430Wh battery to give extended range. There are three models in the Siryon range, and all share the same full carbon frame that uses a blend of T1000, T800 and T700 fibres to tune the stiffness. The flag-ship bike tested here weighs 19.8kg with a water bottle cage and headset tool fitted but not supplied with the bike. You could easily build it lighter though, in fact the entry-level Siryon Halo at £8,499 is 1kg lighter, thanks to the RockShox suspension and mechanical drivetrain and dropper post. The EonDrive Motor uses Ti components …Continue reading »

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