Silverback Sesta Pro 2016

The Bike

The Sesta Pro mountain bike or I like to refer to it as the Black Beast! The Sesta Pro is created for fast cross country and marathon rides. What makes the Sesta Pro stand out is the stiffness-to-weight ratio of the frame. This provides a good platform for the BURST technology to do its job in providing seamless grip, control and comfort. But read more about the geometry and bike specs below, and decide for yourself. 😉

The Technology

• FRAME: SB Advanced Dynamics Carbon 29” Suspension, Tapered 1-1/8” – 1.5” Head tube, Press-Fit BB Shell, Full Carbon Rear Triangle, Carbon linkages, 142 x 12mm Thru Axle Integrated Dropouts, Replaceable Alloy hanger, XGuide Cable management System
• FORK: Rock Shox SID RL. 100mm Travel, solo air, Tapered Alloy Steerer, Remote OneLoc Sprint, QR15mm Dropout
• REAR SHOCK: Fox Float DPS, with three position adjustments. Also 90mm travel, 165mm x 38mm, Stainless Steel 10mm hardware
• HANDLEBAR: Sector plane, double Butted 6061 alloy. Matt black and 700mm in width.
• BRAKE SET: Shimano XT BL/BR-M8000 with an open hydraulic system, that packs a punch!
• SHIFTERS: Shimano XT SL-M8000, 1×11 Trigger, Black
• REAR DERAILLEUR: Shimano XT Shadow Tech Plus RD-M8000, Long Cage, 11 Speed

The Geometry

To give you a better idea of the geometry behind the Sesta Pro. I asked Raoul De Villiers, Head of Innovations at Silverback a few questions. 🙂

K: Why is a proper bike setup important?

Raoul: It helps to put the rider in an efficient position to limit fatigue over longer distances and also improves their pedalling movement for best power delivery from their body.

K: What about the Sesta Pro is unique in its Geometry?

Raoul: The Sesta bike was designed for cross country racing, and the geometry helps in this regard with short chainstays that improve cornering and maneuvering responsiveness. The longer top tube length and compact head tube also position the rider in a more stretched and forward position to help them keep the front wheel weighted during steep climbs and also helps the rider use more of the larger muscle groups in the lower body during pedalling.

Karlien: Tell us more about the angle of the seat tube of the Sesta Pro?

Raoul: The seat tube angle is positioned for two reasons. One is that the actual tube angles make the seat tube in a more forward position in the area where the tyre would be at full compression of the rear shock to enable short chainstays without the tyre touching the seat tube. The other reason is so that the virtual seat tube angle is quite steep, again helping the rider to stay forward on the bike in a more powerful position suited to cross country racing.

Karlien: Tell us more about the BURST suspension on the Sesta Pro?

Raoul: The BURST suspension design came about from the need of a really stiff and responsive cross country racing full suspension bike. It marries the benefits of a stiff single pivot design with the controllable leverage ratio of a multi-pivot bike by using a solid rear triangle with short double linkages to the rear shock. In this way the overall frame and suspension design increases the stiffness of the frame while allowing the suspension to soak up small bumps and large bumps equally well. At the same time this provides good trail feedback that helps the rider stay in tune with the ground surface for better rider response to the terrain.

The Ride

OK, so why do I call this the “Black Beast?” Let’s start with the frame and suspension system. The BURST suspension system felt like a soft cushion on your bum going  down on rocky descents. The Advanced Dynamic carbon frame provides the right amount of stiffness without losing too much of its agile features. This was the first time that I rode with a 1 x 11 groupset and oh boy, I loved it! 😉 It’s hard to go back to any other groupset.

Overall, the Sesta Pro blew me away! I liked the frame geometry and very good bike specs on the Black Beast. If you are a bit more serious about your marathon ride, I suggest you consider the Sesta.

[Sesta Team and Sesta Race also available in this range]

I took the bike out to Oak Valley and Paul Cluver, but you can read more about that in my post; Girl’s MTB Getaway.