Bulls Bikes Black Adder 29 carbon hardtail review
The Black Adder 29 from Bulls offers one of the most affordable ways to experience the RockShox RS-1 fork.
Lowdown: Bulls Bikes Black Adder 29
Bulls Bikes is a German brand that was started in 1997. They make all category of bikes, but first gained notoriety in 2007 when their race team dominated the Cape Epic event in South Africa. They established a U.S. center for operations a couple of years ago, which is now based in Los Angeles. For the U.S. market they are using a direct-to-consumer sales model.
Although we recently featured the electric side of Bulls Bikes model lineup from Interbike, it should be emphasized that they are not an e-bike-only company. Their mountain bike offerings include XC, all mountain, trail, and enduro bikes, and Bulls even offers a full blown DH racer for their European market. Reviewed here is the Black Adder carbon 29, a race ready hardtail featuring RockShox’s RS-1 inverted fork. We put this bike through its paces during a long term test. Find out how it fared in the full review below.
| Intended use: XC | Wheel size: 29er |
| Travel: 100mm front | Wheelset: SRAM X.0 hubs, Bulls/WTB rims |
| Weight: 22.55 pounds (size small) | Frame: Carbon monocoque |
| Drivetrain: Shimano Deore XT | Price: $2899 |
| Fork: RockShox RS-1 |
Rating:  4.5 Chilis-out-of-5 |
In the same league: Trek Procaliber 9.7, Specialized Epic Hardtail Expert Carbon WC, Giant XTC Advanced 29 1, Santa Cruz Highball 29 CC, Niner Air 9 RDO, Scott Scale 930
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Review: Bulls Bikes Black Adder 29
As direct-to-consumer bikes go, the Bulls Black Adder was shipped to us 95% ready to ride straight out of the box. After a quick bit of adjustment to the handlebars, stem and seatpost, and a pump up of the tires, it were ready to roll.
The bike is sharp looking. In a time when matte black seems to be the de facto standard, it was nice to see the white/black scheme with offsetting blue ano highlights. The standout component is clearly the RockShox RS-1 fork and the Black Adder is perhaps the most affordable way to experience this fork. That’s combined with a Shimano XT 2×10 drivetrain, FSA SL-K cockpit (carbon bar, seatpost, alloy stem) and SRAM hubs with WTB rims. It’s a quality build for sure.
The RockShox RS-1 fork is the spec highlight, as long as your bike transporting doesn’t require taking the front wheel off.
The Black Adder uses a bit different geometry than many other carbon 29er hardtails. Instead of trying to shrink the chainstays as much as possible, this bike uses a longer wheelbase to provide a more stable ride without sacrificing handling.
Since buying consumer direct is now more popular than ever, we won’t go into too much detail about the ordering process. Bulls ships the bikes in a well-protected box, and the bike comes ready to assemble with the need for just basic tools. The drivetrain was perfectly tuned, so it was just a matter of aligning the bars and stem, and dropping in the seatpost. It only took about 20 minutes.
At 22.55 pounds for our size small test bike, the Black Adder is a 29er hardtail that will not hold you back on the climbs.
The black and white graphics are easy on the eyes, and the frame is monocoque carbon, providing plenty of stiffness. The frame has a huge bottom bracket shell and a large downtube that ensures no wasted watts. Indeed, this bike loves to climb.
The RockShox RS-1 fork is definitely a conversation. It proved to be a great match for the frame, providing just enough cushion (100mm), and the bar mounted lockout is a welcome feature. Kept to its intended use, we did not experience any flex or lack of stability from the fork. But when hammering out of the saddle, you’ll want to use the lockout.
We were surprised how much we appreciated the Ergon grips with just the right amount of material to provide better leverage for climbing and hand comfort.
The geometry of the Black Adder is quite a bit different from most current 29er hardtails. While most other brands are touting short chainstays, Bulls goes a different route with a longer chainstay (455mm) the produces an overall longer wheelbase. The 70.5-degree head angle and 73-degree seat angle are more traditional numbers. The result is a ride that is extremely stable at high speed without sacrificing much in the nimble handling area. If you’ve been riding 29ers for a while, this bike will make you remember why you started riding them in the first place. The big wheel “freight train” effect is in full force.
Bike weight was 22.55 pounds, an impressive number considering the RS-1 fork is not the lightest on the market. This bike would make a good choice for the person who likes to enter more than the occasional XC race, but also wants something that is all around trail-worthy.
Continue to page 2 for more on the Bulls Bikes Black Adder 29 and expansive photo gallery »
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