2024 BUDGET BIKE ROUNDUP

POLYGON COLLOSUS N7 REVIEW

Words by Travis Reill  |  Photos by Dusten Ryen & Brian Niles
Sponsored by Leatt & Tifosi Optics

To say that Polygon’s Collosus N7 is the outlier in our budget bike roundup is a bit of an understatement. While all other bikes on test are firmly in the “trail bike” category with roughly 130mm of travel and moderate geometry, the N7 takes it up a notch. Long, slack, and low, the Collosus N7 is ready to take on anything the trail throws at it. Especially if the trail is pointing down. At the joint lowest price point on test, how will Polygon’s Collosus N7 stack up against our other budget bikes?

QUICK HITS

• 170mm IFS six-bar suspension
• HTA 63.5°
• STA 77°
• REACH 480

WE DIG

WE DON’T

ABOUT THE POLYGON COLLOSUS N7

Polygon has been tackling the budget-friendly trail bike category with its Siskiu series for years. A few years ago, they stepped back into the long-travel arena, equipping their enduro race team with a long-travel beast. This would eventually be released to the public as the Collosus N9. However, Polygon felt they could help our wallets even more, releasing the N7 and keeping around $1000 in our pockets.

FRAME AND FEATURES

Polygon uses a 6061 ALX hydroformed and triple-butted aluminum frame on the Collosus lineup. Internal cable routing is secured at the ports to help prevent rattle, keeping this alloy steed looking clean. The derailleur cable leaves the front triangle, entering the driveside chainstay before exiting just before the rear axle. On the non-driveside, the brake hose is left exposed but secured and tucked nicely behind the chainstay, maintaining the clean aesthetic Polygon was going for.

The N7 also has downtube frame protection features, with a shuttle pad near the headtube and a bash guard near the bottom bracket. The chainstay has a guard to protect the tubing and keep chain rattle on the quieter side. Frames come in four sizes, from small to X-large, and the color is velvet cake red.

SUSPENSION

For the Collosus, Polygon switched things up from the suspension platform found on their Siskiu bikes. Independent Floating Suspension (IFS) is Polygon’s six-bar suspension design, found on these big rigs. Predictability is the goal for IFS as the N7 goes through all 170mm of its travel while also focusing on pedal and braking forces, pedaling efficiency, and wheel path control.

GEOMETRY

A slack 63.5° headtube is paired with a reasonably upright 77° seat tube to keep the rider in a comfortable pedaling position. The N7 has a BB height of 353mm, with a drop of 27mm, and chainstays are consistent across all sizes at a compact 435mm for its 29” wheel.

Reach increases a steady 20mm across frame sizes, starting at 440mm on a size small and topping off at an even 500mm on an X-large. Our size large on test has a reach of 480mm. The wheelbase on a large is 1266mm. Frame Stack jumps up from 621.9mm on a small to 639.8mm on the X-large, with our size large’s stack measuring 634.1mm.

BUILD SPECS

Polygon does a decent job of balancing overall price and value. For suspension, a base-model Rockshox Zeb is paired with a Rockshox Super Delux Select +, both set at 170mm of travel. Shimano takes care of most of the 12-speed drivetrain, with a Deore M6100 derailleur and shifter. Shimano MT150 cranks and 32T chainring work with a Sunrace CSMZ800 11-51t cassette and a KMC X12 chain to keep the N7 rolling.

Tektro is in charge of stopping the Collosus N7, with 4-piston/2-piston caliper front and rear HD-M735 brakes and 203mm rotors. A WTB Volt saddle sits on top of a TranzX dropper post, with 170mm of travel for large and X-large, and 150mm for small and medium. Aside from the Vee Flow Snap 2.6 tires, most other components are Entity, Polygon’s in-house brand. This includes the 32-hole and 35mm inner width Entity wheelset, 35mm stem, and 780mm handlebars. Total bike weight tipped the scales at 39.1lbs/17.7kg for our size Large.

THE DIRT

The Polygon Collosus N7 is a big bike for rowdy terrain. Its slack headtube, long wheelbase, and 170mm of travel easily put it in the “enduro” or “park bike” category. While the bike easily smashes over technical terrain, 435mm chainstays help the N7 get off the ground a bit easier than a big bike with a longer rear end. The slightly shorter rear end also helped the N7 feel a little snappier in the corners and overall handling—at least, as much as a heavy 170mm bike can.

Climbing Polygon’s wallet-friendly enduro bike was the least pleasant in our group test, but this did not come as a surprise given the focus more towards the descents. That said, the seated position is comfortable and the suspension platform has reasonable pedaling support, helping to offset its high weight. It’ll certainly get you up the hill if you’re prepared to take a little longer to get there.

While much of the Collosus N7’s stability can be attributed to the amount of suspension and the Polygon’s platform, all of our testers agreed that the N7 had the best-performing fork and shock on test. Despite the RockShox Zeb not having as many adjustments as other “super-duper ultimate select” models, it performed great and made for a happy partner for the Super Deluxe Select + rear shock. Yes, they have less adjustability than higher-level Rockshox suspension, but much more adjustability when compared to the forks and shocks spec’d on the other budget bikes. If we truly needed 170mm of travel for the riding we were doing was another story, but the suspension was plush, supportive, and inspired confidence at high speeds.

Speaking of components, the Collosus N7 was the bike that our testers felt they would need to change the least, aside from the brakes. More powerful brakes were something we wanted on all of the test bikes, and the more descending-biased character of the Collosus N7 demanded the most powerful of all. That isn’t to say that the Tektros were horrible, but a 4-piston front and rear would have been nice, especially since they eventually lost some power in long, steep descents. And while the N7 may not need much in the way of component upgrades, it leaves room in the budget if you were to do so, being that it is the most affordable bike on test.

Sourpatch especially enjoyed the Collosus N7 when we took our shootout to Oakridge, Oregon, for some shuttle laps. And while the N7 was fun to rip down the trails in Oakridge, it seemed like we were a little over-biked, even there. I (Travis) found myself getting fairly fatigued riding the N7, even on the descents. Granted, the bike was a tad long for me, but the real issue was trying to maneuver 39 pounds down the trail. When I switched to riding some of the other budget bikes on test, I was able to ride a bit faster and put the bike in the lines I wanted much easier.

The Wolf’s Last Word

The Collosus N7 is definitely a bike with a specific use case. For many trails, it is probably too much bike and wouldn’t be the bike we’d reach for if we had a long pedal ahead of us. However, for some of the steeper, chunkier descending or for times at the bike park, it is an impressively good value and well-performing option.

Price: $2,299
Website: Bikesonline.com

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