Singletrack

Trillion has informed us that all these issues have since
been resolved with later prototypes, and that there are
substantial changes due for production models, so we set all of
that aside and got on with testing the Prime to see how it rode
on the trail.
The Ride
Following Trillion’s sizing advice, I tested the M/L frame size
based on my 175cm height. With its sloping top tube and
short seat tube, I was able to fully appreciate all 170mm of
travel on the Reverb dropper post – unusual for a rider of my
height. With the saddle slammed out of the way, it becomes
so much easier to move around the frame for cornering and
descending, and I’ve since struggled going back to anything
with less than 150mm of drop.
With the longest fork on test, the Prime feels big the
moment you board. Due to the external headset and 160mm
29er fork, the Prime has a substantial stack height of 634mm,
putting the grips up quite high – about 50mm higher off the
ground than the grips on the Nukeproof. Reach is decent,
with the M/L frame measuring in at 448mm (422mm for the
S/M and 470mm on the L/XL sizes). To quicken up steering,
Trillion has built each frame size around a compact 33–35mm
stem length.
All told, with the uber-stiff 780mm wide Renthal
handlebar and 27.5in wheels fitted, the Prime feels big and
bold. It has a very stable and sure-footed feel that makes
an over-the-bars excursion feel very unlikely. The Yari forks
complement that feel, with the bulky chassis and smooth
action keeping the front wheel tracking true.
With the Prime being wheel-size ambidextrous, I subbed
in 29in wheels to see how the bike would handle. Immediately
apparent was the increase in BB height, which lifted 1.5cm
to sit 33cm off the ground. I also had to pull the dropouts
rearwards to accommodate the larger diameter wheel. With
this set-up the Prime felt calmer overall, and I had no issues
with pedalling through deep blown-out ruts thanks to the
extra ground clearance. However, the whole bike just felt a
little too cumbersome for my liking.
To remedy this, I left the 29er up front and put the
27.5in wheel back into the rear. This dropped the BB
height back down, shortened the chainstays to 430mm, and
slackened off the head angle a touch to 64.5°.
Once back on the trail, the Prime felt the best it had
throughout testing. It’s still too tall at the front, it doesn’t
climb particularly well, and you really need to boss the bike
about to make the tighter corners, but it’s very solid. Commit
to the Prime’s ‘tip and dip’ cornering style, and it’ll sling in
and out of high-speed corners well. And as your confidence
(and speed) increases, the wheels begin to skip over the top
of the chatter, which feeds into further acceleration to let you
really pinball downhill.
However, like other big forked hardtails, the 160mm of
travel up front can lead you into a false sense of security. So be
prepared to handle your way out of some dicey trail situations.
The head angle also effectively steepens as you sag through the
travel, and I’m not totally convinced the Prime needs such a
big fork. Retaining the slack head angle but running a shorter
130–140mm travel fork would help to preserve the Prime’s
dynamic geometry at speed, while also lowering the overall
ride height too.
While I’m making suggestions, the arty brace on the back
of the seatstay looks neat, but it is both a mud collector and a
physical barrier for running a shorter chainstay length.
Overall
Being a prototype frame, there’s only so many conclusions we
can make about the Prime’s performance. There’s no doubt
that it’s a burly and capable steel hardtail, but I’d like to see
further refinements to the frame and geometry. The bike sits
tall at the front, and it isn’t immediately intuitive to ride. And
while the wheel size flexibility is nice, the Prime chassis does
feel somewhat compromised to afford such allowances.
However, there have been enough moments of brilliance
on the trail where the capable Prime has demolished sections
with far greater speed than a hardtail should, that we’re excited
to see what changes are to come for the production versions.
We’re also big fans of the UK-manufacturing ethos and the
company’s bold plans, and if Trillion is indeed heading where
it says it is, this will be a name to watch.
Frame
Fork
Hubs
Rims
Tyres
Chainset
Rear Mech
Shifter
Reynolds 853 & Colombus Zona Steel
RockShox Yari RC 29, 160mm Travel
Mavic XA Elite, 100x15mm F & 148x12mm R
Mavic XA Elite 27.5, Hookless, UST Tubeless
Mavic Quest Pro UST 2.4in Front & Rear
SRAM X01 Eagle 32T
SRAM X01 Eagle 12-Speed
SRAM X01 Eagle 12-Speed
Cassette
Brakes
Stem
Bars
Seatpost
Saddle
Size Tested
Sizes Available
Weight
SRAM XG-1295 Eagle, 10–50T, 12-Speed
Hope Race Evo E4, 180mm F & 160mm R
Renthal Apex 35, 33mm Long
Renthal Fatbar Carbon 35, 780mm Wide
RockShox Reverb Stealth, 170mm Travel
Fabric Scoop Flat
M/L
S/M, M/L, L/XL
12.13 kg (26.86 lbs)
61