| The Kuwahara Team frame is constructed
from 7005 Series Aluminium, it features a hydroformed down
tube and integrated headset. The light weight frame has
an impressive black/white colour scheme finished off nicely
with a slick head badge and sticker kit along with a silver
lightning bolt to separate the colours. The lightning bolt
theme is carried through to the very unique rear dropouts.
The 21 inch top tube makes it best suited to riders from
around 165cm (5'4") to 180 cm (5'11") tall. After
spending some time on this bike myself I didn't have any
clearance issues, despite being 190cm (6'2").
The bike is jam packed full of goodies including cromo
handle bars, cromo forks, Tektro brakes, sealed bearing
cassette hubs, Sun Rhino Lite rims, Maxxis Holy Roller BMXception
race compound tires (20 x 1.75 front and back), two piece
Funn Hooka DH 180mm cranks with external bottom bracket,
sealed integrated Cane Creek headset, Funn Thrilla stem,
Funn Soljam Viper pedals, Funn seat and the very unique
Funn seat post.
I must admit this was the first chance I have had to take
a close look at the Funn products and I was very impressed.
The pedals stick like no other platform pedal I have ever
used, the pins are very long which was a little uncomfortable
for me at first, since I use the thin soled Vans shoes for
riding, but it was worth putting up with considering the
superior grip they offer. The stem was probably my favourite
of the Funn components with the pinch clamp for the forks
on the side, giving it a cleaner look while offering greater
clearance and removing the sharp corners that comes with
traditionally shaped stems. The bonus is that it's flipable
so you get a bit of adjustment if you find you need to raise
or lower your bar height. I hear that it's lighter than
the S&M XLT stem. Most importantly I didn't have to
worry about anything slipping and there was no sign of flex
in the front end. The two piece alloy cranks were a novelty
for me, having used cromo cranks for over 20 years now,
I was expecting a lot of flex and groaning, but nothing
and not from lack of trying either.
As a complete package the Kuwahara Laserlite Team is a
long way beyond an entry level bike however the price tag
isn't that much greater when you consider the quality of
the frame, parts and sealed bearings right throughout. Despite
unbranded standard cromo bars and forks the Team is a very
light complete bike. You may shave some weight by changing
the handle bars and forks, but you can just take it from
the shop floor straight to the track and be ready to race
without changing a thing. Well, maybe you would want to
put a quick release on the seat post clamp and clipless
pedals, if you are that way inclined.
How does it ride?
The mandatory test for me is to see how a bike rides around
my backyard track, hybrid dirt jump/race jumps and tight
turns are as good a test as any. Immediately I found the
bike handled very well. I started off gently by manualling
through the doubles, the Kuwahara passed that test with
flying colours. I stepped it up to jumping where it felt
very natural in the air, and well balanced and it handled
well around the corners too. I have to admit I liked riding
the Kuwa' so much I held on to it for a little while longer
than I needed to for the review, it got quite a work out
in the end. Acceleration was fine out of corners and down
the start ramp. I also had bmxultra.com team rider Jamie
Bullows have a ride while I took some photos and give me
a second opinion, he couldn't fault it either.
Next stop the race track. I found that the bike manualled
well over jumps, but when it came to just manualling on
flat ground I had a little trouble. I wrote that off to
the frame being a little shorter that what I am used to,
besides I don't manual on flat ground when I am racing anyway.
Again it was fine cornering and jumping, the real reason
to take it to the track was to see how it felt on the start
gate. I was expecting the bike to be a little loopy out
of the gate, I am not sure what I based that on, but couldn't
have been more wrong. Coming out of the gate off a good
snap the front end wanted to stay nice and low, which was
just perfect because you could focus on getting the power
down without having to worry about keeping the front wheel
down as well.
In the two or so weeks I spent on the Kuwahara Team the
only fault I could pick was the chain hit the seat stay
and started to chip some paint off, which is not uncommon
on race bikes. There are a couple of ways of fixing that
before it even happens. When the bike is new ask the shop
if they can check it out, they'll space things out and get
the alignment right for you saving you the time and effort.
There are also some products that MTBers use to protect
their frames too, it would be worth while checking them
out and protecting your investment, especially since the
Kuwahara is something that you could potentially be riding
for a long time.
Features include:
- 7005 Series Aluminium frame
- two piece Funn cranks with integrated external bottom
bracket
- sealed cassette hubs
- sealed internal headset
|
|
