Review: NS Snabb 150 Plus 1

The 29er Snabbs come in two travel options, one with 130mm and one with 150mm but both 29er variants are made from 6061-T6 aluminum tubes. We've been spending time on the 150 Plus 1 bike that retails for €4199 and is garnished with a host of high-performing kit like Fox's 36 EVOL Float FIT4 3-position lever fork and DPX2 shock, Shimano's XT 11-speed drivetrain and KS' Lev Integra dropper post.

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Construction and Features

NS claims that the Snabb is a 'mission accomplished' bike on all fronts with sorted geometry, great performance and reliability coupled with fine handling. Obviously, a lot of thought and attention to detail have gone into this bike – the one-piece rocker arm that actuates the shock looks mighty sleek, and the trunnion mount does away with the traditional bulk of eyelet bushings. All of the frame's bearings are hidden behind alloy dust covers that double up as the fastening bolts.

The front and rear axles run Boost spacing (15X110mm front and 12X148mm rear), and while the rear axle requires two Allen keys to remove, the front uses Fox's standard 15mm QR set up. The bike's geometry is about as modern as it comes with sizing that is true to its descriptor; a large bike will fit large people. NS has sensibly chosen to run a threaded 73mm BB with ISCG-05 chain guide mounts, and the rear brake is attached using a post mount.

Cable routing is either external or internal, and there are bosses and screws (but no cable mounts) supplied with the bike to attach externally routed cables. The test bike came with the cables routed internally, but given a choice I'd prefer to run my cables on the outside, and it's great that this option is there. There's also room and bosses for a water bottle cage. NS do recommend only running up to a 32t chainring on the bike and claim that a 2.3" wide tire is the largest 29er rubber that'll fit the frame. If you want to go bigger, there's room for a 27.5+ 3.0"tire.

Geometry & Sizing


The Snabb's geometry numbers aren't Pole-level radical, but they're a welcome, relaxed and modern set of figures that tick all of the boxes people seem to be looking for from a long travel, do-it-all 29er. The large (NS' biggest size for the Snabb) has a reach of 480mm and between each size of Snabb, the reach figure increases by 25mm increments from 430 for the small. The large Snabb's front center (with the stock 160mm travel fork) is 816mm, while all sizes of the bike get a 440mm long chainstay, which puts the wheelbase at 1196mm (S), 1225mm (M) and 1256mm (L) and is more than long enough for a bike of this nature.

Other important numbers include a fairly slack 65.5-degree head angle, an effective seat tube angle of 75.7-degrees, which is relatively steep, and a BB drop of 35mm. Combined, these figures put this bike at the sharp end of aggressive.

Suspension Design

The Snabb range all use the same suspension layout. A short rocker link attaches to the seat tube and seatstays which drives the shock. This system is a Horst Link design, where the rear axle is attached to the seatstay, rather than the chainstay. Uncompressed, the bike's anti-squat is at 124% (with a 32-tooth chainring and in gear number 1 on the 46-tooth cassette), but at around 30% sag (or 45mm into the bike's travel) the figure is approximately 103.5%. This means, in theory at least, the bike will, to a small degree, resist 'squatting' or compression forces when pedaling. After that, the anti-squat drops off in a linear fashion, but if you're that deep into the travel it shouldn't matter anyway.


The bike is progressive to around 115mm of travel (approximately 76% of the bike's travel), after which it becomes slightly regressive, a suspension curve that's designed to pair well with an air shock.

The trunnion-mounted Fox Performance DPX2 3-position adjustment air shock offers reasonable levels of adjustability with relatively little effort and strikes a good compromise between performance and economy.

Test Bike Setup

After incrementally adding more air, I ended up with 105 psi in the fork and 220 psi in the rear shock with the same compression settings and volume spacers but slightly more rebound damping at both ends (+2 clicks). Everyone I spoke to suggested that these settings were abnormally high, and although the bike wasn't absorbing small bumps particularly well, its mid-stroke and bottom out resistance were more akin to my preferences. After some more fettling, I added a further two 10cc orange volume spacers to the fork (a total of 30cc of volume spacers), removed 10 psi and ended up running 95 psi of air pressure, with the same compression and rebound settings. I also doubled the size of the volume spacer in the shock to the blue 0.86 inch spacer and reduced the air pressure to 180 psi while retaining the same rebound settings.

It is certainly worth noting that I do like my bikes to be set up on the stiffer and more aggressive end of the spectrum. I am comfortable sacrificing some small bump compliance for improved mid-stroke and bottom out support and am aware of how this can affect a bike's feel. However, my setup preferences are universal and consistent for all bikes that I ride, giving me a good baseline for performance comparisons.

I've been riding this bike on a mix of trails – from South Wales' finest steep, loamy and rooty wonders to manmade trail center loops, the UK's famous BikePark Wales and a short but sweet stint in Morzine. The conditions have been a mixed bag as well, ranging from total slop to hero dirt and, more recently, dry and dusty hardpack.

Climbing

There's no denying the 29-inch wheels are easier on the climbs compared to smaller hoops, whether that's picking your way up a technical ascent or blasting up a fire road. Thanks to the larger outer circumference, they roll over obstacles better and maintain their speed. When climbing, the Snabb 29er benefits from the bigger wheels' characteristics because the rest of the bike is so downhill-orientated.

That said, the long front center, average chainstays, and slack head angle don't hinder uphill progress. When climbing up fire roads to the trailhead you barely notice the bike's downhill-orientated geometry, although the relatively steep seat angle is entirely welcome on any climb. On more technical, slower climbs things can become concentration-intensive. At very slow speeds the length of the bike means it becomes unwieldy if the trail you're riding needs precise wheel placement around stumps or rocks, but switchbacks aren't a problem as long as you're committed to powering around them rather than jackknifing or doing a three-point turn.

If you pedal like a hamfisted baboon then there's not enough support in the Snabb's suspension design to stop bob, but that really shouldn't come as a surprise. In reality, the rear suspension goes relatively unnoticed when climbing – I left the shock in its open mode while ascending on and off-road and it didn't feel like my legs' power was being drained through the bike. If you're into making exceptionally swift climbing progress, flicking the shock's compression lever did all-but eliminate rear suspension movement on climbs and flat sections, but the ride quality, grip, and comfort suffered.

My main gripe with the Snabb's ability to climb lies in its gearing. Coming directly from a 27.5"-wheeled bike with SRAM's Eagle cassette and 32-tooth chainring, the Snabb's 46-32 tooth setup required some considerable soul-searching and teeth-gritting to make it up the steepest climbs that I'd normally breeze, although a cost-effective expander cog upgrade or a quick chainring swap would solve this problem. Although with the latter option, your overall (and therefore hardest gear) will be lower with a small front ring.

Overall the Snabb is a perfectly good performer on the climbs and I had no complaints about the bike's geometry on the hills, but an increased range of gears would have helped my legs on particularly steep ascents.

Descending

Out on the trail and between my legs, the Snabb feels like a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde affair. Point it in the right direction, hit your lines with pristine accuracy and pump every backside and you're rewarded with masses of speed and ear-to-ear grins knowing you've nailed a section of trail and are riding at your best. The bike actively encourages you to really give it your all over any terrain. The geometry inspires confidence, especially at speed; the front center and chainstay lengths combine in a coherent and balanced package which means you're not constantly second-guessing what the bike is about to do when you're hurtling along flat out.

However, when the trails get rough, twisty, steep, or more nibbly some issues do rear their heads. When braking hard or hitting catch berms on steep trails the bike's fork had a considerable penchant to dive through the first 60% of its travel. Even after spending much longer than normal setting it up, I struggled to discover if a balance between small bump compliance, mid-stroke support and bottom out resistance exists.

The bike's front end felt best with way too much air, which in turn sacrificed small bump compliance, but it did mean the fork had the mid-stroke support that was missing with lower pressures and air volume reducers. Even adding more compression damping couldn't replicate the same confidence-inspiring feeling I got from higher pressures. I believe it would be fair to say that with the higher end Fox FIT GRIP2 4-way adjustable damper, as found on the 36 Factory fork, would have been much easier to adjust and set up to overcome these problems. You can upgrade the damper through Fox if you're looking for more performance.



Unfortunately, to balance out the fork's low sag levels I was forced to run the rear shock harder than I would normally have liked. While the rear suspension didn't feel like it was missing mid-stroke support or bottom out resistance when I was running more normal pressures, the bike's ride dynamic of having a hard fork and soft rear end didn't work well together. Once I'd settled on 180psi in the shock I found that rear wheel grip was more than acceptable on medium to big one-off hits and undulations, but trail chatter and small bump compliance wasn't as good as I hoped even considering the harder-than-usual spring rate. And, to be totally fair, this could be partly down to the bike's setup which could be controlled with more adjustable suspension or different shock tune. That said, the overriding feeling you get from the bike when crashing through rough and fast sections of trail is a slightly nervous unwillingness to iron out smaller bumps and a noticeable decelerating effect if you've not got your wits about you or aren't concentrating 100% on the trail.

To that end, the Snabb isn't a plow bike or a point and pray machine. You need to be totally attuned to the bike's feedback and hit your lines with laser-like accuracy and commitment, but when you do, you're rewarded with exhilarating speed. However, if you're tired or bumbling along the bike doesn't do much to compensate for a mediocre skill set and won't dish out speed served on a platter. If you do get off-line the world as you know it won't end, and it's unlikely you'll end up in a pile on the floor, but kiss goodbye to any hard-earned pace and conquer-all superman feelings the bike had teased you with just moments before. It's a bit of a shame because with the right suspension or custom tuned dampers bolted to the Snabb I'm sure that the bike's split personality could quite easily be reconciled into one hard-hitting and seriously fast EWS-winning (although not while I'm riding it) bike.

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How does it compare?

Right now, long travel 29ers seem to be the go-to ride for the hard-riding trail or enduro fanatic, and with good reason. But, just because bikes share wheel size and travel figures doesn't mean they'll ride the same way. If you compare the Snabb to Norco's Range carbon 29er you'll notice some similarities: 150mm of travel, 65.5-degree head angle, long wheelbases, reach figures and similar suspension designs. But, they behave like different beasts on the track.

The Range C2's large size comes up marginally smaller than the Snabb, but we're talking millimeters rather than centimeters, and despite the smaller numbers, Norco's bike doesn't feel more skittish or less stable than NS' offering.

On the trail, the main differences can be felt between the two bikes' suspension platforms. The Norco is eager to iron out bumps and forgive sloppy or lazy riding – speed does come easier to the Norco, but as soon as you're riding at full-chat and are 100% focused at the task in hand, the NS has the upper edge. The Range doesn't require a special code to unlock high speeds, though, and the tradeoff for this is that it feels decidedly inert.

If you're looking for a 29er that gets on with the job without making a fuss, maybe the Norco is a safer bet than the Snabb, but it's unlikely you'll feel as exhilarated or challenged by the ride.

Technical Report

Schwalbe Magic Mary (F) and Nobby Nic (R): Equipped with a go-to combination of grippy Schwalbe rubber, the Snabb's tires offer impressive grip on all but the most extreme terrain. Out front, the Magic Mary lives up to its name – gripping on ground that would make other tire manufacturer's wince. The Nobby Nic does a great job of providing controlled braking and the profile of the side knobs mean they don't flex or distort too much on harder surfaces. The tire's casings are quite thin, and out of the box the Snabb comes set up with tubes. I've managed to puncture both the front and back, thanks to small, sharp rocks penetrating the tire's carcasses.

SRAM Guide R Brakes: Unfortunately SRAM's 180mm Guide brakes specced on the 29er Snabb didn't feel best-suited to this bikes' 'send it' attitude. Compared to their bigger sibling, they feel rather lack-luster and it strikes me as a strange move by NS to fit a trail orientated brake to a bike that is going to spend most of its time being ridden in anger downhill. That said, even after some torturously rotor-burning braking, their performance wasn't reduced, so the lack of power was, at least, consistent.

NS own-brand Bars, Stem, Grips & Saddle: NS' own brand contact points easily match the performance of big brand name offerings while helping keep the overall price of the bike down. The bars specced on the Snabb aren't listed on NS' website as a stand-alone product, but at 780mm wide they're big enough for most. I did find that while they had enough back-sweep, there wasn't much up-sweep, so if you like your bars rolled forwards or backwards they'll look a little odd to the eye. The Hold Fast grips didn't leave my hands yearning for Renthal's super tacky lock-ons, but they aren't going to be setting any records for comfort either. The saddle was comfy enough on the climbs, but like the grips, isn't going to be setting a new standard for performance. When these parts wear out, you'll probably want to change them rather than replace them like-for-like, but they're more than good enough for this to be a low-priority upgrade.


NS Enigma Roll Rims on NS Rotary Hubs: Once again, NS' own-brand offering performed without a hitch. The rims were wide enough (30mm - measured, internal) to give the tires a great profile with a solid edge for cornering and built in such a way that I didn't notice flex or twang without them being too harsh.

KS Lev Integra Dropper Post: The post has performed faultlessly and its lever actuation is light and predictable. It does require a full-travel push to get the post to rise at the correct speed, though. Pushing the lever 3/4 of the way through its travel will make the post extend, but at a slower speed.

Shimano's XT Drivetrain: The fantastically performing, easy to set up and utterly dependable 11-speed XT consistently leaves me with a smile on my face. Push the shifter and the gears change time after time in exactly the same way. Compared to SRAM's Eagle it is missing 4-teeth which does mean you've got to push harder on really steep climbs, but I'm inclined to let this go because there isn't a faff-heavy set-up process and an ultra-sensitive and small B-tension sweet spot required for seamless shifting, and you can always upgrade with a smaller chainring or an expander cog for your standard XT cassette.

Is this the bike for you?

The Snabb 150 29er ticks plenty of boxes for the speed-obsessed, ultra-accurate inner-racer. Under the right rider with some key settings dialed it's quite a weapon and will swallow up pretty much any trail you can throw at it.

Pinkbike's Take

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