Production Privee Shan - Tested

Production Privee
Shan

WORDS Mike Kazimer

Andorran steel Production Privee is a young company, created in 2010 by two former members of Commencal's research and development team. Based in Andorra (home to Cedric Gracia, and host of stop number three on the 2013 UCI World Cup downhill calendar), the company has been making a name for themselves in Europe with their stems and handlebars, and now with their first steel hardtail frame, the Shan. The Shan was designed with aggressive riding in mind, and is intended for all-mountain or enduro use with 150 or 160mm travel fork. With a 66 degree head angle, 420mm chain stay length, 72.5 degree seat tube angle and a 300mm bottom bracket height, the Shan's numbers place it squarely in the all-mountain / enduro category. Aesthetically, the Shan is eye-catching. From the head tube gusset to the curved seat tube brace, the frame has a refined, finished look to it. The welds are clean, and the paint is free of any blemishes. Production Privee had our frame custom painted red and white; the stock color is black and grey, with the limited edition bright blue and yellow Macaw version now sold out. Three new colors will be available for the upcoming December production run, with Production Privee promising to show something quite special.

Production Privee Shan details • Intended use: All-mountain, enduro riding • 4130 Japanese chromoly frame • Tapered head tube • ISCG 05 chain guide tabs • Replaceable dropouts: 10x135, 12x135, singlespeed • Sizes: S, M, L (tested ), XL • Frame Weight: 5.7 pounds • MSRP: $776 USD ($649 Euros )

Frame details The Shan is made in Taiwan from triple butted and heat treated Japanese 4130 seamless chromoly which goes through an electrodeposition treatment before painting to protect against corrosion. The Shan has a tapered head tube (with the company logo cut out of it) and takes an integrated Campy style headset. A section of wire mesh is taped behind the head tube cut out, likely to prevent larger trail debris from getting into the frame, although it also adds to the great looks as well. While the head tube cut out looks trick, for wet weather riding we'd recommend replacing the screen with something (a small piece of tube would work) to keep water from getting in and settling on the lower headset bearing. The frame's dropouts are replaceable, held on with two chainring bolts on each side, and can be swapped out to make the Shan a singlespeed if that's how you want to run it. ISCG 05 tabs encircle the bottom bracket shell, which takes a BB92 press fit bottom bracket. In the ever-changing world of bike industry “standards” the BB92 is not as prevalent as the traditional threaded bottom bracket shell, or the increasingly common BB30 style, which could make finding replacement parts a little more difficult. The addition of bolt-on housing guides was a nice touch – we ran our frame set up as a 1x10, which freed up a spot to run the dropper post's housing. One feature which we were surprised to find missing was a place to mount a water bottle cage. Hydration packs are fine, but sometimes it's nice to go light and fast, or to have a place for a drink other than water on a long ride.

Shan geometry • Head tube angle: 66° • Seat tube angle: 72.5° • Bottom bracket drop: - 30mm • chain stay length: 420mm • Wheelbase (sm, med, lrg, xlrg ): 1089, 1109, 1129, 1164mm • Seat tube length: 400, 430, 470, 510mm • Top tube length (horizontal ): 560, 580, 600, 635mm

Riding the Shan


Climbing
We built our Shan up with an eye towards durability and technical trail riding. With fat tires, wide bars, a short stem, 1 x 10 drivetrain and a 160mm travel fork, our bike weighed in right around 30 lbs - no lightweight, but acceptable given its intentions. The weight made seated pedalling on flat terrain feel a bit sluggish - the Shan is definitely not a cross-country race whip. However, we were pleasantly surprised by its climbing abilities. Once we got it up to speed, the Shan proved to be a capable climber, and felt surefooted on slippery, technical uphills. The wide bars gave us the leverage necessary to navigate the front end through jumbles of roots and rocks, and the weight distribution felt spot-on. We found it easy to keep our weight over the rear wheel for traction on steep uphills, even during out-of-the seat climbs. No, it doesn't have the additional traction that comes with rear suspension, but the Shan more than held its own in low-grip situations.


Descending
When the trail pointed downhill and speeds increased the Shan came to life. Any sluggishness felt on slower trails disappeared, replaced by a feeling of stability not often found in a hardtail. We're not sure whether to attribute it to the shaped rear tubing or the chromoly itself, but in any case the Shan has a decidedly less-harsh ride feel than other hardtails we've ridden. There was no visible lateral or vertical rear end flex, but the Shan did absorb vibrations remarkably well. This allowed us to carry good speed on sections of rough trail without feeling as if our teeth were being rattled out. Don't confuse this attribute with anything approaching actual rear suspension; the bike is still very much a hardtail, but it happens to be a forgiving hardtail. On steep, loamy trails the Shan was a blast to ride. It felt playful yet stable, letting us dive into bermed corners at full speed, then rocket out the other side without losing control.

We even took the Shan to the local dirt jump park to test its air-time capabilities. The bike doesn't have the geometry (or short travel fork) of a dedicated dirt jumper, but we came away impressed with its jumping performance. The sloping top tube made it easy to maneuver the bike, allowing us to toss in some style before getting realigned for landing. The Shan handled on-trail jumps and drops with aplomb - it was confidence-inspiring in the air, pushing us to hit jumps we normally reserve for full suspension bikes. There is no reason that a smooth rider couldn't do any of the average sized (or bigger) jumps on a trail so long as the transition was hit correctly.


Pinkbike's Take:

So who is the Shan for? Is there still a market for a 26'' hardtail? We think so. Aggressive riders looking for a hardtail that can handle rowdy terrain will find the Shan to be a worthy candidate. Set up as a singlespeed, the Shan would make an excellent, low maintenance foul weather bike. Water bottle mounts are on our wish list for future versions of the Shan, but as it is, the Shan is a well-executed all-mountain ripper. - Mike Kazimer

www.production-privee.com