Test: Bulls Copperhead 3 2022: When you think of Bulls, you quickly think of carbon fullys and e-MTBs, but the Cologne-based sports brand also has a lot to offer in the cheaper market segments. The Copperhead 3, for example: priced at the lower limit of the middle class, in terms of equipment it is surprisingly complete and valuable. In the Velomotion test, the new 2022 aluminum hardtail proves that it can offer a lot to both demanding athletes and fast everyday riders.
They are robust in sports and in everyday life, offer plenty of reserves and are extremely versatile - no wonder that mountain bikes are very popular. For ambitious off-road athletes as well as city drivers who want to be fast on the road without a lot of ballast. Put your rucksack on and off you go – many people prefer that to a heavy touring bike with mudguards, racks, etc.
Mountain bikes are not only versatile, but now also extremely diverse. Cross-country, trail, all-mountain, enduro - the list of the individual types, which can essentially be distinguished by the suspension travel and are tailored to specific areas of use, is long. And then there is the classification into hardtail (only suspension fork) and fully (full suspension) - not to forget that e-MTBs have long since conquered large market shares.
The archetype: the aluminum hardtail
Of course, this is already too complicated for many – they want an all-rounder, not a specialist; they just want a mountain bike. They want a bike like the Bulls Copperhead 3 2022.
And honestly, who can blame them? Because Bulls, the brand of the dealer association ZEG, which has been at the forefront of MTB racing for years (without putting its athletes on outrageously expensive bikes in the five-figure range), has done everything right with the moderately priced aluminum hardtail and shows an example of how it is Bike has to look like that offers sporty off-road fun as well as everyday use.
Bulls Copperhead 3 2022: Solid aluminum frame with modern details
Let's start with the solid aluminum frame, which is comparatively light thanks to triple butted (and thus thinner in the middle) tubes and equipped with some nice details. Shift cables and hydraulic lines are routed in the down tube; the head tube is conical and thus tailored to modern suspension forks with large bearing seats. Threaded holes on the rear triangle allow mounting of carrier and mudguard. The bottom bracket shell has a classic BSA thread - a decades-old standard that is unsurpassed in terms of spare parts supply and maintenance. Mounted in it is a crankset of the latest design with a large hollow axle, which will not (elastically) deform, even for strong riders.
Circuit up to date
The choice of gears with two chainrings at the front and an eleven-speed ring gear at the rear, which results in an extremely large range of gear ratios, is also very up-to-date. If you really let it rip downhill, you can still put pressure on the pedal at 45 km/h; on the way up there are steep sections where you can pedal at a pedestrian's pace. And if someone never uses the very easy gears, a narrower, graduated sprocket can simply be fitted. With only two chainrings at the front, you can also operate the gears much easier than a triple crank, which was common in the past (and still is in the lower price range).
Air suspension fork with all the trimmings
The "Shimano Deore/Deore XT" components, which set the standard in this price range, are solid and reliable. Wear and tear is not a big issue here, and if something breaks, individual parts can be replaced quite inexpensively. Of course, reliable hydraulic disc brakes are also part of a modern MTB, and last but not least you have to talk about the suspension fork, which makes serious off-road sports possible in the first place. Bulls specifies a model from the major manufacturer RockShox - a light air suspension fork that can be optimally adjusted to the rider's weight and that can be sensitively adjusted for compression (compression) and rebound (rebound). RockShox even provides an app that gives recommendations for air pressure and rebound settings. The fork can be blocked by pressing a lever on the handlebars (remote lockout) – practical, for example, if you switch to the out-of-saddle position. Another contemporary feature of the fork is the thru-axle: It ensures a secure, precisely defined fit of the wheel and also stiffens the fork as a whole. On the other hand, the fact that a classic quick-release axle is used on the rear triangle is technically okay.
Tubeless conversion possible
Bulls fulfills another wish of mountain bike fans interested in technology: The wheels – solidly constructed with 32 spokes, but not super light – can be ridden with tubeless tires, which prevents defects in real off-road use, improves traction and reduces rolling resistance. On easy tours and in everyday life you can of course continue to ride with a tube.
With light and mobile phone on the handlebars through everyday life
Speaking of everyday life: the Bulls Copperhead 3 2022 is innovative here with adapters for special battery lights on the seat clamp and stem. The MonkeyLink lamps are something like a cross between "fixed" and "detachable"; they can be attached in a flash and then hold securely and without twisting. If the lights are not mounted, you slide in reflectors – which, by the way, still have to be permanently attached to the bike. The plug connection from SP-Connect for a smartphone holder on the stem is also practical, under which small hooks keep the shift cables and brake lines in check. So the cockpit looks much tidier.
Just a mountain bike? Viewed in detail, the Bulls Copperhead 3 2022 proves to be extremely well thought out. It shows that the basic form of the MTB, the hardtail, is far from obsolete - and also that an inexpensive bike can be fully equipped for off-road use on the one hand and potentially suitable for everyday use on the other.
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