Interbike 2008 - Tomac Snyper 140

Oct 8, 2008

Tomac bikes is the result of wanting to create bikes that are high performance, so that the end user can benefit from owning a race ready machine with no sacrifices to performance. The Snyper is the do it all trail machine that we're seeing more and more riders leaning towards these days.

Check out what Joel Smith has to say about the Snyper 140 inside:

The 140mm (5.5 inch) travel Tomac Snyper was born to carve up trails, both ascending and descending with ease. The crew set out to produce a bike that real bike riders would want to get onto and never get off of, something that you'd want to pedal all day, all over the place. This is that bike.

Joel talks about the Snyper 140:

Specs:
* 140mm rear travel, designed for 140mm travel fork
* Custom tuned Fox RP23 shock
* 6.8 lb/3.08 kilo frame weight with Fox RP23 shock, medium size
* 6069 T6 aluminum with forged aluminum links, dropout and chainstay yoke
* Optimized wheel path for minimal chain growth and linear shock action
* Low standover height with plenty of seat post adjustability
* Three sets of low-loaded bearings for easy service
* Single under down tube water bottle mount
* Available in small, medium, large and extra large

Geometry

	Small	Medium	Large	X-Large
HA	68.0	68.5	68.5	69.0
SA	72	72	72	72
Eff TT	21.3"	22.7"	23.9"	24.7"
CS	17.2”	17.2”	17.2"	17.2"
ST	15”	17”	19"	20"
BB	13.46”	13.46”	13.46"	13.46"

Notes from Tomac on why they have set up and built the Snyper in the manner they have:

"What we did is place the pivot in a location that would maximize pedaling efficiency, but not in a place that would create excessive pedal feedback or minimize the bike’s ability to absorb bumps. We used a Fox RP23 shock with XY secondary air canister because it’s more linear from middle stroke and has low initial stiction (because you are running lower initial pressures). The Snyper has a relatively flat shock rate, which maximized the character of the air shock. It allows the bike to pedal well, get full travel and still feel pretty bottomless throughout the travel."


"Because the bike tends to sit closer to the top of the travel under standard rider load, i.e. not wallowing in the middle, it pedals better and you get a sense that the bike has longer travel that you would expect. This also helps lessen the “hooking” effect I spoke of above because the suspension isn’t over-compressing, kicking the power into the pedals and disrupting your pedal motion so you can’t ride through rough terrain."

"With the Snyper, we concentrated on 140mm of travel because of the suspension components available. With 140mm, you can get a 32mm stanchion tube fork that is light and stiff, and you can use a lightweight inline air shock. If you go beyond this travel, you have to go to a (heavy) 36mm stanchion tube fork and a (heavy) piggyback reservoir rear shock. Just these suspension components add 2.5 lbs to the bike. That’s so self defeating because a trail bike is designed to pedal up, and ride down, rough stuff."


"Okay, so we figured out the travel, the pedaling, the bump absorption, etc…but stiffness was also such a major factor. We wanted a frame that was under 7 pounds, but have it be stiffer than anything in the category. The bike as it sits is 6.8lbs with shock for a large! This is the lightest in the category, but it’s also the stiffest because we use the full triangulated swingarm and the short link. Notice also the compact full triangulated front triangle…this is also for stiffness. A triangle is the stiffest lightest method, and this bike features dual compact triangles."

"At one point during the proto phase, all of the pieces came together. We created a bike that combined all of the above factors: it pedaled well, absorbed bumps great, didn’t hook, didn’t suffer from brake jack and dive, didn’t kick back into the pedals and was very stiff. It’s one of the few bikes that I would say is truly an all around bike. You can ride it anywhere, on any type of terrain and it excels. And, you can easily build a large up under 26 pounds. It makes me think there might be a day when 140mm might be the standard travel for trail bikes."


www.tomacbikes.com

Check out the review that Johnathon Allen did on the Snyper last season:
www.pinkbike.com/news/tomac-snyper-1401-review-2007.html