The Foxy is probably Mondraker’s most popular mountain bike to date. But as it morphed into a bigger hitting 160/150mm trail bike it left a vacuum in the range. A vacuum that has since been filled by the Mondraker Raze Carbon RR – a 130mm travel 29er that’s been designed for speed. Good enough to to make it into our list of the best mountain bikes? Well, just scope out that score!

Mondraker Raze RR need to know:

• Cables are routed through the headset top cap for a clean look
• Mondraker’s Mind telemetry lets you know exactly what the suspension is doing
• A Fox 36 Factory level fork with 150mm travel leads the charge
• The Zero twin-link suspension delivers 130mm of travel via a Float DPS shock

It’s not just tech – the ride is impressive too

The Raze is packed with all of Mondrakers signature features, including the Zero twin-link suspension, lightweight Stealth Air Carbon frame construction and Mondraker’s legendary Forward Geometry. Yes, Forward Geometry is now more of a legacy feature but the size L Raze is still the longest bike in test, its reach stretching 6mm out in front of the Bold and 13mm ahead of the Stumpy.

That’s not to say that Mondraker no longer has a USP, as the Raze RR comes equipped with Mind, Mondraker’s built-in suspension telemetry. Magnetic sensors on the fork and rocker link give real-time suspension data via the MyMondraker app. So not only does Mind walk you through the set-up process, the sensors calculate your suspension sag, so you get the best possible starting point. The only downside is that you need to have wifi or a 4G connection to use it, so it’s not always possible to get the data trail side. 

Once connected though, the suspension data syncs with maps, so you can see how much travel you’re using on different sections of trail. There’s also displacement curves so you can dig deeper into the specific trace for the front or rear travel in relation to each other, or, overlaid with altitude or speed. It’s an amazing piece of kit and all that’s missing are the velocity curves to help dial in the damping. Fingers crossed, that’s something Mondraker could add with an update. 

Mondraker Raze Carbon RR suspension

By running a 150mm travel Fox 36 Factory fork, the Raze is ready to take on all challenges and challengers. Initially, we went with Fox’s recommended settings which felt good, but Mind indicated that that the fork was too firm. We could also see in the app that we were never getting close to full travel. So we ditched the two 10cc volume spacers and dropped the pressure by 15psi. 

It was a similar story with the rear suspension, replacing the 0.6in volume spacer in the Fox DPS Factory shock with a 0.2in and again dropping the pressure. This allowed for the occasional bottom out, but the Mondraker Raze still had ample support in turns and when climbing. The bike also felt lower and more compliant than what we achieved without using Mind. 

Mondraker Raze Carbon RR components

In keeping with the Factory level suspension, the mid-range Mondraker RR gets a Kashima coated Fox Transfer post with 175mm of drop. We weren’t crazy about the Fizik Antares R7 saddle adoring the post but were sure some riders will love it. Mondraker also fits a smaller diameter 31.8mm carbon bar that’s dwarfed by the chunky CNC machined stem – it’s probably the only way to achieve the stubby 30mm stem length though. Still, the Mondraker frame isn’t so long that you couldn’t run a 40mm stem with 35mm clamp diameter and a bigger bar if you wanted to. 

DT Swiss XM1700 wheels are the benchmark for trail riding and no doubt contribute to the forgiving ride characteristics that the Raze presents. Freehub engagement wasn’t as fast as on the Syncros carbon wheels on the Bold but they still offered a superior ride quality. Interestingly Mondraker has used a tougher EXO+ casing Maxxis tyre up front, paired with a lighter EXO casing on the rear, when ideally it should be the other way around. It’s probably an availability issue rather than an oversight on Mondarker’s part. 

Mondraker Raze Carbon RR performance

Get the suspension dialled using the app that provides plenty of data

Because Mind gets you to a great baseline set-up that much faster, it wasn’t long before the silent, smooth running Raze felt cool and composed in every situation. Yes, the technology involved is complex, but Mind makes getting your bike working optimally that much easier. And even with the softer set-up, the Raze was still quick to accelerate and felt light under foot. It’s remarkably capable too, so you’ll never have to tiptoe down the trail.

Looking for more short-travel 29er mountain bikes? Check out: 

• Bold Linkin 135 Ultimate
• Canyon Spectral 125 CF 9