After years of requests, Turner Bicycles is finally jumping into the cyclocross scene with the new Cyclosys, featuring a TIG-welded aluminium chassis and lots of liberally shaped tubing. Also coming from Turner is a refreshed Burner trail bike and the second coming of the Sultan 29er, which can now be had in 27.5+ flavours.
Going in circles with Cyclosys
Turner may be late to the cyclocross party but the Cyclosys looks like it’ll hit the ground running with thru-axles front and rear, disc brakes, and clearance for 43mm-wide tyres (claimed) despite suitably stubby 425mm chainstays. At least for now, both thru-axles stick with the currently standard 142x12mm and 100x15mm dimensions. Meanwhile, a PF30 bottom bracket shell will leave sufficient room for an aftermarket eccentric should anyone want to go with a singlespeed setup.
Turner is finally adding a cyclocross bike to its range for 2016
The Cyclosys will mark a series of firsts for Turner, too. In addition to it being Turner’s first-ever non-suspended frame, the Cyclosys will use more liberally shaped aluminium tubing than usual, including a flattened top tube underside to help lessen the sting of shouldering, a flared seat tube for added drivetrain stiffness, and asymmetrical chainstays to boost tyre and chainring clearance without having to resort to a machined yoke.
While other Turner frames use external cable routing, the Cyclosys will also instead go fully internal with convertible aluminium ports to accommodate a wide range of drivetrain and brake configurations. Especially interesting is how the front derailleur cable pops out of the frame through a port on the backside of the seat tube above the bottom bracket shell. This not only allows riders to use standard bottom-pull derailleurs but should also collect less grass and debris than traditional setups that route the cable underneath the shell.
The internal cable routing setup can be configured for a number of different drivetrain and brake setups
Geometry is definitely on the modern end of the spectrum with 65-70mm of bottom bracket drop, depending on size, and a comparatively slack 70-72 degree head tube angle for more stable cornering.
While Turner generally manufactures its frames in the United States, the Cyclosys will instead be built overseas. Some Turner fans will undoubtedly be disappointed but on the upside, the retail price for the Cyclosys will be much lower than usual for Turner at US$1,475 for the frame and TRP carbon fork or US$3,676 with a Shimano Ultegra groupset, DT Swiss R32 clincher wheels and a Thomson cockpit. Turner says the Cyclosys should be available no later than late summer.
The Cyclosys will be built with liberally shaped aluminium tubing
Revamped Burner set alight
Also new from Turner is a refresh of its classic Burner trail bike, still with 140mm of travel but with a more aggressively shaped aluminium main tubes and a bigger 62mm-diameter tapered head tube that now leaves enough room for an adjustable-angle, hidden-cup headset.
Turner has updated the Burner for 2016 with a new tubeset and a shorter seat tube
Geometry carries over essentially intact from the previous version but Turner has shortened the seat tube by 25mm to provide more clearance for dropper seatposts, plus the base of the seat tube now includes a port to accommodate stealth-style routing.
Burner frames will start at US$2,295 and should be available now.
Sultan PLUS goes mid-fat
Last year’s Sultan 29er chassis rolls into the 2016 model year unchanged but thanks to the generous tyre clearance it already had from the outset, it’s now also being offered as a 27.5+ machine. This means that riders can now basically get two distinctly different bikes with the same frameset: a faster and lighter 29er trail bike for more heavily trafficked singletrack or a more adventure-hungry 27.5+ setup if you want to do more exploring, all with virtually no change in rolling diameter or frame geometry.
The Turner Sultan carries on unchanged but thanks to the liberal tyre clearances already built it, it's now also being offered in a 27.5+ setup
Turner says the Sultan has room for tyres up to 3in wide. However, the rear end carries on with currently standard 142x12mm rear hub spacing so 2.8in-wide tyres would create fewer issues with the chainline. An upsized Boost 148 rear end is likely coming later.
Sultan frames will retail for US$2,295 and are currently available.
International pricing is TBA; we will update as and when we have more.
For more information, visit www.turnerbikes.com.