First Look: 2015 Breezer Repack Team
The Breezer Repack has 160mm of all mountain/enduro travel with a unique mid-chainstay suspension pivot (click to enlarge).
Joe Breeze is one of the originators of the mountain bike and this bike is named after the first recorded downhill mountain bike race on Mount Tamalpais way back when. But there’s nothing vintage about the 2015 Breezer Repack Team which has 160mm of travel and rolls on 27.5″ wheels. It combines Joe Breeze’s own geometry philosophy with a new proprietary suspension system called MLink. Joe Breeze teamed up with the kinematics engineers at a company called the SOTTO Group.
Now, if you haven’t heard of the SOTTO Group, you’re probably not alone. They were formed in 2007 and they are owned by David Earle who is an engineeer, designer and long time bike enthusiast. Earle has a ton of experience in mechanical design, drive systems, linkage systems, analysis and manufacturing. Even if you don’t recognize his name, you DO know his work. He worked at Santa Cruz Bicycles as their Director of Engineering and he was also a Senior Design Engineer at Specialized Bicycles. Earle developed the ‘Switch’ suspension system (used on Yeti Cycles), pioneered VPP suspension design at Santa Cruz, designed the Blur and the Nomad and co-designed the VP-Free and much, much more.
Joe Breeze is a smart man and he left the heavy lifting of suspension design to the experts, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have direct input with his own expertise. Joe used the unique geometry of a 27.5″ wheel and calls it the “valley of confidence” which alludes to the fact that the axles are higher (compared to 26″ wheels). He also designed it with a steeper head angle which provides the advantage of a quicker handling bicycle that is fun, not sluggish. The Repack also features a short wheelbase and shortish chainstays to help keep it nimble.
The Repack was first introduced as a 2014 model and new for 2015, the Repack Team comes with a dropper seatpost and upgraded WTB tires. There is still no internal routing for a stealth style dropper, however. The bike comes in 4 sizes and there are two models of Repack below our top of the line Repack Team. The Repack Pro comes with a Shimano 2×10 drivetrain and Fox fork and shock for $3569 and the Repack Expert comes with a Shimano 3×10 drivetrain and X-fusion fork and shock for $2839. Claimed weight of the Repack Team is 32.18 lbs but our actual real world weight is significantly less at 31.41 lbs for our size medium (no pedals).
For an overview of the new Repack, check out this video of Breezer Product Manager JT Burke giving us the highlights.
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAuW7IkNOQs
Product Spec Highlights
- Main frame: Breezer D’Fusion Hydroformed Custom-Butted 6066 Aluminum, Tapered Head Tube, BB92 Press-Fit Bottom Bracket, ISCG Mounts, Sealed Cartridge Bearing Pivots
- Fork: Fox 34 FLOAT 27.5 FIT CTD w/ Trail Adjust, Kashima Coat, 1.5″ Taper Steerer, 15QR Axle, Lockout, 160mm Travel
- Rear derailleur: Shimano Deore XT 10-Speed, SGS, Shadow Plus Design
- Tires: WTB Vigilante, 27.5×2.3″ TCS (Tubeless-Ready)
- Wheelset: Shimano Deore XT 15mm Thru-Axle 32H CenterLock Front / Shimano Deore XT 12mm Thru-Axle 32H CenterLock Rear, WTB Frequency Race i23 TCS 27.5″ Rims (Tubeless-Ready), DT Swiss Spokes
First Impressions
We just received this bike in for testing and we only have one ride on it so far. But our initial impression is very positive. The first thing we noticed right away is that the MLink suspension has excellent small bump compliance that is noticeable everywhere. The climbing efficiency was very good, good enough to mask the not-so-light weight of the bike. We were able to get the suspension to bob a bit under hard efforts while climbing, but more tuning of the rear shock is in order before we pass final judgement on that. Our first ride did not include any big jumps or drops but the single rock garden in our ride was soaked up easily by the MLink suspension. The handling and cornering were not sluggish in any respect. This bike was easy to just jump on and ride fast.
Stay tuned for our long-term full review.
To demo a Breezer in person, you can catch them at the upcoming Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival (April 11-12) as well as the Sea Otter Classic (April 14-19).
For more information visit breezerbikes.com.
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