Joe Breeze embraces the latest mountain biking trends—enduro racing and 27.5-inch wheels—while at the same time invoking the sport's roots in introducing the new Breezer Repack all-mountain rig.
Likening today's enduro craze to mountain biking's first races in Northern California during the 1970s, Breeze said Wednesday at Eurobike that enduro "is injecting the fun back into mountain biking."
The Repack is named, of course, after the fireroad route in Marin County where the sport's forefathers, including Gary Fisher and Breeze himself, raced aboard the earliest fat-tired klunkers. Two miles of coaster braking, however, would cook all the grease in rear hub, requiring riders to repack their bearings frequently.
Delivering 160 millimeters of travel front and back, the aluminum-framed Repack features a new rear suspension designed by Sotto Group—most recently noted for creating the acclaimed Switch Link suspension on Yeti's SB-66 and SB-95 models.
Splitting the difference between Horst Link and Virtual Pivot Point or DW Link suspension, the bike's M-Link design places the chainstay pivot at the middle of the stay. According to Breezer brand manager J.T. Burke, this "longer links are better" philosophy delivers a stiffer rear triangle than Horst Link without requiring the bearing-stressing rapid acceleration and deceleration of shorter-link designs like VPP. The result is a balanced system with little pedal bob even without engaging a shock pedaling platform, Burke claims.
With a 68-degree head angle, Breeze admits that "we're at the steeper side of the spectrum" for enduro, but he is a believer that getting the rider's weight over the front via a slightly steeper head angle makes the bike more nimble and less likely to wash out in turns.
Another distinguishing feature for a bike in the growing enduro category is the absence of a dropper post on all three of the Repack models. Burke said Breezer considered spec'ing one, but that riders have such strong personal preferences when it comes to droppers—not to mention that it would add a few hundred dollars to the MSRP—that they decided to go without, and let customers decide for themselves in the aftermarket.
The Repack's other features include a post-mount rear brake, tapered headtube and oversize pivot axles—none smaller than 15 millimeters.
The top-of-the-line Repack Team (MSRP $4,399) comes outfitted with Fox Float 27.5 CTD fork and Fox Float CTD Boost Valve rear shock, both with Kashima coating, and full Shimano XT. The $3,599 Repack Pro gets a Fox 34 27.5 O/C CTD fork and Float CTD Boost Valve shock, with Shimano SLX. Lastly, the Repack Expert ($2,899) comes with X-Fusion fork and shock and Shimano Deore.
