mountain bikes: Test: Bulls Wild Ronin 2 – Versatile trail bike with a high fun factor

Test: The Bulls Wild Ronin 2, with its light carbon frame and consistently high-quality equipment, offers a lot of bike for well under €4.000. As part of the Riva Bike Festival, we tried out how the bike in its version with 29-inch wheels performed in the difficult terrain around Lake Garda.

The Bulls Wild Ronin is not a new bike. It is entering its third season, but at this year's Bike Festival in Riva we were able to see for ourselves that the lightweight carbon trail bike is still ultra-modern in 2018. For our test drive, we grabbed the top model, the Wild Ronin 2, which offers really exceptionally high-quality equipment for a price of just under €3.600 - but more on that in a moment.

In 2018, the Wild Ronin is only available with 29 inch wheels. Thanks to the generous tire clearance, there is also room for plus tires in the rear if desired. The thick tires are a little more forgiving, offer a lot of grip, but are also a bit more sluggish and tend to buckle in corners if you drive aggressively. In any case, we welcome the decision by Bulls to only use 29 inches ex works for the Wild Ronin. Speaking of aggressive riding style: The German enduro champion and Bulls team rider Christian Textor also competes in races on the Wild Ronin.

Bulls Wild Ronin 2 – The Framework

The frame of the Bulls Wild Ronin 2 is made entirely of carbon: main frame and rear triangle. It weighs just under 2kg - a top value. Design and shape are modern and Bulls relies on a lot of understatement for the decals. There are no conspicuous labels, which is good for the optics. The black parts of the frame have a raw look and the carbon mats shimmer in the light - sexy!

A supported single-pivot linkage is used for the rear triangle – a system that has proven itself time and again and, among other things, is also convincing due to the low lateral forces on the bearings and thus promises a long service life. The brake caliper assembly is also one of the nice details: It sits well protected on the chainstay. Unfortunately, the Bulls do without frame protection on the down tube and in the bottom bracket area. The carbon frame is defenseless against stones being thrown up and hitting the bottom bracket hurts twice as much. Here you should definitely improve after the purchase.

When it comes to the geometry, Bulls doesn't go to extremes: the seat and steering angles are moderately steep or slack, the main frame is rather short by today's standards and the chainstays are quite long at 445mm. The dimensions are more reminiscent of a classic all-mountain than a trail bike - at least on paper. But that doesn't have to be a bad thing, as was shown during our driving test.

Bulls Wild Ronin 2 – The Equipment

€3.599 is an attractive price for a 140mm bike with a full carbon frame. At this price point, however, the Bulls Wild Ronin 2 packs really high-quality equipment onto the lightweight trail chassis. The chassis comes from RockShox. The Deluxe RT rear shock is joined by a Pike RC on the front wheel. Very nice! Elsewhere in this price range you often "only" get the much cheaper Yari fork, even with an aluminum frame.

Otherwise there are many Shimano XT logos on the Wild Ronin 2. The entire drive including the crank comes from Shimano's proven top group. The fact that you opt for a 2x solution with front derailleur benefits the range. Braking is also done by a Shimano XT system, which is combined with 180mm discs at the front and rear. Heavier and downhill-oriented riders should perhaps consider a 203mm disc at the front, which offers a few more reserves, especially with regard to fading.

Of course, nowadays a 140mm bike should not be without a retractable seat post. The LEV Integra from Kind Shock with 150mm adjustment travel has been tried and tested for many years and goes very well with the light Wild Ronin 2 - it weighs around 100g less on average than comparable dropper posts. The cockpit relies on OEM parts made of aluminum, which leave a good, albeit very simple, impression. Ergonomically, however, there is little to complain about: the stem is pleasantly short at 50mm, the handlebars at 760mm are a good width for a bike like the Wild Ronin.

There are also OEM parts for the wheels. The rims have an inner width of 30mm and are fully tubeless compatible. Very good prerequisites for the 2,35″ Schwalbe tires – here you have the all-rounder Fat Albert in the front and rear, in the front in the softer rubber compound with lots of grip, at the rear the focus is on low rolling resistance. All in all, a successful combination that the majority of drivers should get along with very well.

Bulls Wild Ronin 2 Drive Report

We chose the Naranch Trail near Arco as test terrain for the Bulls Wild Ronin 2. This offers the typical Lake Garda flair: lots of rocks, steep, technical passages and tight bends. Again and again, flowy passages mix in between the banging and provide some variety. In short, really difficult terrain on which the Wild Ronin could really show what it can do.

The Bulls bike mastered the way to the trail without any problems and even without activated shock lockout, there was hardly any bobbing. The bike climbs correspondingly light-footed, which is due to the low overall weight on the one hand, but also to the seating position and the frame geometry on the other. The Wild Ronin is an excellent example of how long chainstays can have a positive effect on uphill passages: The front wheel always stays firmly on the ground, the rider sits centrally over the bike and has an efficient pedaling position. If you don't want to torture yourself unnecessarily in particularly steep places, you will be happy about the wide range of the 2-speed drive.

On the trail, the bike is very agile and playful: the compact wheelbase makes it easy to maneuver through narrow passages, the chassis offers a lot of pop and obstacles invite you to pull off. The Bulls skilfully prances over difficult terrain, but also requires an active driver. In any case, for a bike with 140mm, it performs excellently on such a demanding terrain. However, the “bare” underside of the down tube gave us a bit of stomach ache: Stones thrown up by the front wheel kept crashing against the unprotected frame. We couldn't find any damage, but if you like to ride your bike quickly and in the right terrain, you should think about additional protection.

Our tester was 1,70m tall and sat on a size M bike: It was a good fit in terms of the frame length, but on steep sections it would have been nice to be able to sink the saddle a little deeper, but the saddle tube suits our taste a little too long. Nevertheless, the compact trail bike skilfully maneuvered through the steep switchbacks even on tricky passages.