Alex Fayolle’s Polygon Collosus DH9: custom shock with ‘lockout’ for Fort William
We take a closer look at the bike that took the win at Lourdes
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All eyes will be on Polygon rider Alex Fayolle this weekend at Fort William after the French rider unexpectedly took the win at Lourdes last month.
While poor weather obviously played a role in scuppering the hopes of many at Lourdes, it was still very interesting to see a bike — an alloy bike no less — with a far more diverse range of components than is usually seen on the top steps of the podium.
Walking through the Fort William pits after timed practice on Friday we spotted Fayolle and decided to take a closer look at his truly unique bike.
From the (ludicrously expensive) Trickstuff Direttissima brakes, Suntour RUX fork and Kenda Hellcat tyres to the fully custom shock, this bike is a real hodge-podge of parts that are clearly working for Alex and his team.
Fully custom shock with lockout
Fayolle’s DH9 is outfitted with a gold anodized shock that is handmade by his mechanic Hugues.
While producing your own shock obviously opens up an enormous number of tuning options for the team, most interesting is the inclusion of an on-the-fly low speed compression adjustment that acts as a semi-lockout.
Operated by an old Saint shifter — which itself has seen a little bit of customisation with grip tape on the thumb paddle to improve feel in wet conditions — the effect the adjustment has on the feel of the shock is really quite remarkable, during a cursory car-park squidge.
Hugues claims that Fayolle likes to use this ‘lockout’ on faster, less rough and pedally sections of the course and fully expects him to use it on the infamous Motorway section towards the bottom of the brutal course this Sunday.
Polygon Collosus DH9 spec
- Frame: Polygon Collosus DH9
- Fork: Suntour Rux
- Shock: custom shock with ‘lockout’
- Headset: VP J301AC
- Brakes: Trickstuff Direttissima
- Shifter lever: Shimano Saint
- Rear derailleur: Shimano Saint
- Cassette: E-13 integrated cassette
- Chain: KMC DLC10 black/red
- Crankset: E13 LG1R
- Wheelset: E13 LG1R
- Tyres: Kenda Hellkat Pro 27.5×2.4
- Handlebars: Spank Spike 800
- Stem: Spank
- Pedals: Crank Brothers Mallet
Keep your eyes peeled for a full tech gallery, more pro-bikes and lots else as the weekend unfolds here at Fort William.
Authors
Jack Luke is the deputy editor at BikeRadar and has been fettling with bikes for his whole life. Always in search of the hippest new niche in cycling, Jack is a self-confessed gravel dork, fixie-botherer, tandem-evangelist and hill climb try hard. Jack thinks nothing of bikepacking after work to sleep in a ditch or taking on a daft challenge for the BikeRadar YouTube channel. He is also a regular contributor to the BikeRadar podcast. With a near encyclopaedic knowledge of cycling tech, ranging from the most esoteric retro niche to the most cutting-edge modern kit, Jack takes pride in his ability to seek out stories that would otherwise go unreported. He is also particularly fond of tan-wall tyres, dynamo lights, cup and cone bearings, and skids. Jack has been writing about and testing bikes for more than five years now, has a background working in bike shops for years before that, and is regularly found riding a mix of weird and wonderful machines. Jack can also often be seen zooming about with his partner aboard their beloved tandem, Cecil.
