An MTB With the Perfect Balance Between Cost and Capability? Only VooDoo Has the Magic

Folks, the name VooDoo has been a staple of the European cycling scene since the early 90s, but these days can be found in garages worldwide. They achieved this by giving the public what they want and need: affordable and highly capable bicycles. All that brings us to the Bizango Pro, VooDoo's updated spin on one of their most loved hardtails.

Why should this spicy two-wheeler be on your to-consider list for this year's riding season? Well, to kick things off, VooDoo is showcasing a price tag of no more than $1,258 for a brand-new Pro, and that alone is a reason to listen up. If it isn't, wait till you see what components VooDoo threw onto this frame.

For starters, VooDoo crafts the backbone of this bike with nothing more than triple-butted aluminum tubes, ensuring a light but steady experience, not to mention strong. Throw on a tapered head tube, and we're ready to start adding on some gear.

But first, we need to take note of a few aces up the Pro's sleeve. The first is that sleek and dropped down tube that merges perfectly into the seat stay, offering ample clearance on drops. This is further supported by the inclusion of a dropper post-ready seat tube with internal cable routing to match (only for the dropper post).

Then there's the geometry, coming in with a rather slack head tube angle of 66.5 degrees while the set tube is set at 74.5 degrees across all four frame sizes. Chainstays are set at 435 mm, and that's a tad longer than we might be used to seeing on your average hardtail. The benefit of this lies in the ability of this component to flex a bit more than average when taking up hits with the rear wheel.

As for the rest of the magic that future owners are in store for, we can really see why VooDoo has been able to enter a market already flooded by timeless and consecrated brands like Trek, Giant, Cannondale, and countless others.

Starting with the front of this aluminum mountain goat, we can take in and fall in love with the RockShox FS-35 Gold fork with rebound and compression adjustment. That alone is a component that sells for around $600 directly from SRAM and is often seen on bikes double and even triple the price of the PRO.

Overall, up to 130 mm (5.1 in) of travel will be at your fingertips and taking you on the wildest of rides. Oh, and did I mention the fact that all we see is built around 29-inch wheels? Riding over roots, debris, and cracked ground should feel majestic.

More value is present in the shapes and sounds of a drivetrain from none other than Shimano. But what I found most neat about the setup is that it's still rocking a good old Deore setup tuned to 1x12 speeds and rocking an 11-51T range.

Sure, it's not the peak drivetrain on the market, but again, it's better than what other brands offer for this price, especially with the appearance of Shimano's newest do-it-all setup, the Cues. Shimano also handles braking with MT401 levers and pistons with 180 mm (7.1 in) rotors on the front and 160 mm (6.3 in) on the rear; at least, that's my understanding of the manufacturer's spec sheet.

Now, if we put all that together into one neat package, what do we have? Well, only what I can consider as one of the best punch-for-value packages on the cycling market; nearly a 3/4 of this hunk of wheeled goodness' value is made up of just the secondary components like the fork, drivetrain, and brakes. The rest is just VooDoo magic.

There's just one downside that I could find in this story. As I looked closer at the frame, I could make out nothing more than just one cage mount integrated into the down tube. The rest of the frame doesn't include any more mounts, so this one's not going to be your go-to solution for riding to the grocery store or riding to the edge of town, only to camp out overnight.

Still, these days, there are plenty of cargo-carrying options that don't rely on mounts to be used and include a triangle bag, saddle bag, and even suspension fork mounts. Figure out a way to hook a trailer, and the Pro actually does stand a chance at those long rides. Be sure to find the right tires for your travels.

But, all that would be like taking a wild stallion, taming it, and then keeping it locked up until it grows old and withers away, without ever showing the world its true potential. No, this one's meant to be taking you for ride after ride, crunching it uphill, handling jumps on your way down, elbow-scraping turns through banks, and if you make it out alive, do it all over again. So you better start warming up those knees because winter over the Northern Hemisphere is about to come to an end.