Introduction and First Impression: Breezer Supercell 29er

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Breezer Bikes surprised us all last year with the introduction of the Repack, a 160mm, 27.5 trail/enduro bike aimed right at the heart of the full suspension market. Now it’s following up with a 29er version, with 120mm of travel and the same unique M-Link suspension system.

Back in February I was lucky enough to shake off the Pennsylvania snow and head west to Fairfax, California, (the “birthplace” of mountain biking”) to join none other than Joe Breeze for a special presentation.

There I got a sneak peek and a first ride on the Supercell, which continues the Breezer tradition of naming bikes after weather events. Joe Breeze himself was kind enough to give us a tour of the trails surrounding Mt. Tamalpais, and a tour of the new bike.

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Just like the Repack, the Supercell is built around Breezer’s proprietary M-Link suspension design. The brainchild of the Sotto Group, the M-Link places the chainstay pivot in the middle of the stay. According to Breezer, this addresses some of the drawbacks of placing it at the rear like a Horst Link (lack of torsional stiffness) and from placing it near the bottom bracket like a short-link bike (extra wear and binding on the bearings).

In practice, the M-Link is composed but still very active, soaking up small bumps without feeling soft. At no point on either bike was I reaching for the platform or lockout on the Fox Float rear shock. (Look for my long-term review of the Repack and its M-Link suspension in our special 25th Anniversary issue of Dirt Rag, #176.)

The Supercell retains the overall design of its Repack stablemate, but grows the wheels to 29 inches and shrinks the travel back to 120mm. While the Repack is aimed at the enduro/all-mountain end of trail bikes, the Supercell is much more of a daily-driver, designed for the kind of trail riding most riders tackle on a regular basis.

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I found it perfectly suited for the trails we rode around Camp Tamarancho. By resisting the trend of ever slacker head tube angles, Breezer designed the Supercell with as short a wheelbase as possible to keep it nimble. The 70 degree head tube angle, moderate front-center and 17.6 inch chainstays keep the overall length in check and limit the amount of lean needed for a given radius corner. It also uses the 51-mm fork offset that is now found on a number of 29ers, including Trek’s bikes (G2 geometry), Salsa’s Split Pivot bikes and the new Ibis Ripley.

Other relevant details are: four available sizes (S-XL), 74.5 degree seat tube angle, 336mm bottom bracket height, BB92 press-fit bottom bracket, sealed cartridge bearing pivots, and 142×12 E-thru axle. Supercell bikes should be available at Breezer dealers in April.

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