Mondraker Prayer: Playful pious man

As agile as an enduro bike and as forgiving as a downhiller. The Spanish bike manufacturer Mondraker attributes this character to its new freerider "Prayer". This is made possible by an agile geometry and an exceptionally sensitive four-bar rear triangle.

The secret of the "Prayer" lies in the rear swingarm. Mondraker has designed this so that it works sensitively over the entire 160 millimetres of suspension travel. This is made possible by the low gear ratio of 2.5 : 1, which means that the shock is under less pressure and can work more sensitively. The spring performance should be precisely tuned to the track and the rider's weight. Mondraker promises noticeable differences between the individual settings of the Marzocci Rocco suspension element. To ensure that the fun of the sensitive suspension behavior is not diminished by drive influences, Mondraker relies on the Horstlink in the chainstay, which has been tried and tested thousands of times.

Practical equipment reduces defect risk
Thanks to a low center of gravity and agile geometry, the Prayer is ideal for playful slope styles and varied freeride slopes. To ensure that the bike can withstand the high loads, Mondraker uses hydroformed tubes made from 6061 aluminum. The standard Maxle thru-axle on the rear wheel provides additional stability. Mondraker equips the "Prayer with two chainrings on the crank so that riding uphill doesn't turn into torture. And to prevent a bump from leading to chainring caries, a solid polycarbonate bashguard protects the drivetrain. The new Shadow rear derailleur from Shimano's XT groupset, which is less susceptible to impacts thanks to its slimmer design, also serves the same purpose.

Much bike for little money
The new Freerider is available as "Prayer Air" with an air shock and in the cheaper "Prayer Coil" version with a steel suspension element. Apart from the slightly cheaper wheels and cranks, both bikes are equipped identically. The price of both bikes is worth a sin. The version with the air shock rolls out of the store for CHF 4,299, the model with the steel spring for the bargain price of CHF 3,699. Mondraker also offers the Prayer Coil as a frameset including shock, headset and rear thru-axle for CHF 1,899. According to Christoph Prior from Swiss importer Primus Sports, both bikes will be available from the beginning of March. However, pre-orders via specialist dealers are already possible now.