First Look - NS Soda Air
22 April 2013 | By AngusMcIntosh | 1 CommentAt the begining of last week we took delivery of the brand new for 2013 NS Soda Air into the office for test and review and we are very excited it! So much so, I couldn't wait until the end of the month to publish anything on the bike... With great pleasure, I bring to you a First Look!
We gave you a sneak peak on the MoreDirt instagram feed! Which you can follow here for all the latest hot kit arrivals and see what we get up to on our travels…
The NS Soda Air is aimed at the enduro side of things but NS say it will happily cope with bikeparks, downhill runs or an entire day of climbing which lets face it, has become a very fashionable equation in the bike industry. One bike that can do it all… Where have we heard that before!
At this moment in time I can’t say if the Soda Air is capable of all or even any of this as of yet after a short blast onboard but rest assured when we publish our final review I will endeavor to leave no stone unturned.
The NS Soda came on the scene a few years ago developed in conjunction with Sam Pilgrim as a freeride, slopestyle, bikepark, do it all bike. It was built around a big burly frame with strong components. That was by no means the lightest out there but it was one of the most fun.
Fast forward a few years the Mountain bike industry is obsessed by “enduro” bikes that can pedal back up the other side after ripping down a hill and it left the NS Soda stuck in the stagnant middle ground… It wasn’t a bonafide downhill bike that could win races nor was it able to comfortably be hacked around a trail centre very easily.
Maciek Kucbora, the Polish mountain bike wizard who worked on the Soda Air for NS had started to see a few guys running much lighter set ups on their NS Soda’s to make the bike fit todays requirements he had a brainwave. That’s when the NS Soda was born.
Built around a revised Soda frame that is 50grams lighter than previous years . The Soda Air utilises Rockshox’s Monarch Plus shock and Lyrik Solo Air R Forks combined with an NS cockpit and wheelset, Octane One grips and Ti. railed saddle, Sram X7 Drivetrain with Descendant Cranks, Avid Elixir 5 brakes with 180mm rotors front and back, E thirteens LS1 chain guide and like every good enduro bike a dropper post.
| NS Soda Air | |
|---|---|
| Frame: | Soda FR w/152-177mm (6-7") adjustable rear wheel travel, A6061-T6 custom formed and butted tubes |
| Fork: | Rock Shox Lyrik R Solo Air, 170 adjustable travel, 20mm axle |
| Shock: | Rock Shox Monarch Plus R |
| Wheels: | NS Trailmaster Rims on NS Rotary Hubs |
| Tires: | Maxxis Ardent |
| Brakes: | Avid Elixir 5 |
| Cranks: | Truvativ Descendant, alloy 36t chainring, 170mm |
| Rear Derailleur: | SRAM X7 medium cage rear, 10spd |
| Chain guide: | E13 LS1 (no bashguard) |
| Shift Levers: | SRAM SX5 10spd |
| Seatpost: | Kind Shock Dropzone 425mm, 125mm travel |
| Handlebar: | NS Evidence |
| Stem: | NS Quark Pro 31.8 |
There’s some pretty high end stuff to come specced on a bike as standard especially when the Soda Air only has an RRP of only £2699.99. At that price, with that kit, I see it as a straight out of the box enduro winning bike.
I can’t wait to spend the next few weeks on the Soda air. I’m hoping to take in a good mix of riding including a Forest of Dean uplift on the downhill tracks some good miles at trail centre’s and probably a few other surprises.
Stay tuned for our full review to be published on MoreDirt.
NS Bikes are ditributed in the UK by Hotlines...
