WE DIG
WE DON’T
WHAT IS THE SUPRE DRIVE DRIVETRAIN? | The Supre Drive is the Lal Katana’s party trick. Lal’s Supre Drive separates the traditional derailleur’s two jobs – shifting and chain tension – by moving the tensioner assembly to the middle of the bike, inside the rear triangle. A compact single-pulley derailleur at the axle only handles lateral chain movement across a standard 12-speed cassette. The system is designed to be used with Shimano chains, cassettes, and shifters. The Supre Drive derailleur weighs in 300g less than a Sram XO T-Type, thanks to the decoupling of the chain tensioner. Yay for less unsprung mass!
The mid-frame tensioner is hydraulically damped instead of relying on a mechanical clutch, which means there are no sliding friction surfaces to wear out, no clutch to service, and essentially no need to bleed or touch the system for the life of the frame. Because the tensioner is tucked up and protected, ground clearance is dramatically improved, and the risk of smashing or bending a derailleur cage is effectively removed. Reduced cross-chaining angles from the forward idler and 157mm hub spacing help to improve drivetrain smoothness and longevity, with studies showing the Supre Drive is more efficient than conventional high-pivot drivetrain designs.
On trail, the system is astonishingly quiet, about as close to a chainless sound as you’re likely to get from a chain-driven bike, with zero chain slap and only the occasional rattle from other components breaking the silence. Shifting is crisp and consistent, setup is straightforward with only limit screws to dial since the hydraulic tensioner manages chain gap, and over the entire test period, there was no need to touch barrel adjusters or chase ghost shifting issues. Drag remained comparatively minimal despite the extra pulleys.
While the Lal Katana bike that we tested is no longer going to be sold, Lal says their Supre Drive system is available for licencing to any brands interested. They will continue to support production of the unique drivetrain components, ensuring adequate supply for bikes and customers who opt to use the system.
ABOUT THE LAL KATANA
The Katana was Lal’s high-pivot trail bike prototype, which was built around the Supre Drive drivetrain as a proof of concept. And prove the concept, it did! Offering 130mm or 150mm rear travel, it was designed to be paired with a 150mm to 170mm fork. It paired a chromoly steel front triangle with a one-piece carbon rear end that utilizes flex stays. This is all wrapped around that unique Supre Drive drivetrain, producing a unique looking and riding mountain bike, that was a whole lot of fun.
FRAME AND FEATURES | The Katana’s front triangle is built from triple-butted Reynolds 853 chromoly steel. This is paired to a one-piece carbon rear triangle that Lal lays up in-house, featuring engineered flex stays to keep unsprung mass low. The rear carbon structure around the derailleur is a guard only, not structural, so damage there doesn’t compromise the integrity of the swingarm. An integrated rear fender doubles as both a mud guard and a removable brace if you want a bit more rear-end compliance.
Cable routing is predominantly external for brakes and shifting, with only the dropper entering the frame near the bottom bracket. The T47 threaded bottom bracket plus 157mm Supre Boost rear hub standard keep things stout. Dropper insertion is excellent, with room to slam a 250mm post in the tested size S3 frame. Lal offers dedicated rocker links for 29er or MX wheel configurations to preserve kinematics and geometry, though you can mix and match if you’re willing to accept tweaked geo figures.
The bike we had on test was a prototype frame, though it closely resembles the final production form. With no shock, the frame weighs in at 7.72lbs (3.5kg). The water bottle mounting location on the down tube allows for as big a bottle as you can source.
SUSPENSION | Out back, the Katana delivers 130mm of travel with a high-pivot layout that places the main pivot further forward than most other high-pivot offerings on the market. In the longer 150mm travel configuration, the bike uses a different rocker link and longer stroke shock. The leverage ratio skews toward the higher side, delivering 16.5% overall progression. This contributes to a firmer, more supportive underfoot feel, especially noticeable over high-speed chatter and braking bumps when you’re not riding deep in the travel.
15mm of rearward axle growth helps the bike feel like it’s driving forward through successive hits rather than hanging up, and when you really load the bike and push deeper into the stroke, it smooths out and feels composed and eager to keep rolling. There is no forward movement of the rear axle. The trade-off is small-bump compliance: finding a setup that balances off-the-top sensitivity with end-stroke support required volume spacers and compromise, and that ultimate “magic carpet” feel never fully materialized for the tester.
Anti-rise is lowered from a typical high single pivot design thanks to the forward placement of the main pivot, sitting at 94% at sag and dropping towards 80% at bottom out. The Katana has a high amount of anti-squat, but with minimal pedal kickback thanks to the idler setup. Anti-squat increases as you shift into harder gears for more support when sprinting out of the saddle, from around 115% at sag in the climbing gears and up to 180% in the hardest gears.
The Katana’s flex stays have 3º of flex built into the design, providing a bit of additional ramp throughout the 130mm of travel. This flex happens progressively; there is very little impact early in the travel to not sacrifice any pumping speed you might generate. The ride effect is subtle, but it aids in removing weight and complexity from the rear triangle.
GEOMETRY | On test in Size 3, the Katana has a 485mm reach, 435mm chainstays, 64-degree head tube angle, 78-degree effective seat tube angle, 639mm stack, and a 1263mm wheelbase, numbers that place it in the aggressive trail realm. The steep seat tube and relatively moderate stack delivered a comfortable climbing position, but can leave the front end feeling lower on the trail than the numbers suggest until you bump bar height to taste.
Out back, the short 435mm chainstays keep things lively and make it easy to snap through corners and play on side hits, but taller riders will need to stay disciplined about riding centered; drifting too far off the back can unweight the front wheel in flatter, faster corners. Overall, the fit feels spot-on for a modern trail bike, with only that lower-feeling stack and short rear-center requiring some ride position adaptation.
THE DIRT
CLIMBING | Despite the visual complexity of the Supre Drive and high-pivot layout, climbing performance is refreshingly uneventful, in the best way. The steep effective seat tube angle puts you in an upright, efficient position over the bottom bracket, and even though the front end feels a bit low, a higher-rise bar quickly brings things into a comfortable zone for long grinds. The Katana delivered plenty of traction when getting up and out of the saddle on technical climbs, and there was plenty of support to put the power down when the going got rough. There was a touch of pedal bob when you get out of the saddle, but it never crosses into distracting or energy-sapping territory.
Concerns about drivetrain drag from the extra rollers simply didn’t materialize on the trail; there’s no noticeable power loss or added noise on climbs, even when deliberately leaving the chain dirty to see if things would get sluggish. In terms of chain noise and drag, the system behaves much more like a traditional low-pivot bike, rather than an idler-equipped system. If the system were hidden from view, you would have no idea there was an extra idler wheel.
The overall bike weight at 16 kg (35.2 lbs) is higher than most in the 130mm travel category, but it did not hold me back from longer days in the saddle. The bike is more focused on descending performance than outright climbing efficiency. Shifting underload happens with nearly no fuss; the shifter feels light, and is very reminiscent of how Shimano derailleurs glide through gears.
DESCENDING | Pointed downhill, the Katana leans into its high-pivot character with a strong sense of momentum and stability through repeated hits. The 15mm of rearward axle path helps the bike feel like it’s rolling forward over chunder rather than stubbing its toe. When you drive into the bike and use your body weight, the suspension rewards that aggression with a supportive, speed-friendly feel.
The flip side is that at lower speeds, in high-frequency chatter, or when you’re cruising more casually, the rear end can feel firm and a bit harsh underfoot. Front-end feedback through the bars remains impressively muted thanks to the steel front triangle, so that chattery sensation lives mostly in your feet while your hands stay relatively fresh.
As someone who is picky about the initial stroke feeling, the supportive/sporty feeling I got from the Katana left me searching for a more supple character. I played with sag, compression, and volume reducers to balance out a softer feeling from the initial part of the suspension’s travel. It felt similar to VPP-style bikes, which, for me, are notably hard to get set up. The latter half of the travel handled repetitive big hits very well and left no desired feeling on the table. With the amount of volume reducers I used in the rear shock, there was a bit of a wall when it came to the last 20mm of travel, but this is generally a feeling I like. The midstroke had a great platform to press off for side hits and smaller roller gaps; generating speed on the bike was not an issue.
It’s important to note that the 150mm setup option offers a significantly modified leverage ratio, with increased progression. Paired with a coil shock, this 150mm setup could offer a considerably improved small-bump sensitivity, but we have not yet tested to confirm this.
The combination of the steel front and carbon rear end had a great balance of support in the corners and smoothness through rough terrain. The micro jitters of braking bumps muted the hand feedback, while the carbon rear end was stout enough to really load into corners without any vague feelings. While I am only 170lbs geared up and heavier riders may notice the flex out of the front triangle, it was not something I thought about when out on rides.
SUPRE DRIVE ON TRAIL
Out in the real world, the Supre Drive is the star of the show. It is impossibly quiet for a chain-based system, with chain noise effectively gone and any remaining rattles attributable to other components like the dropper. Shifting under load through rough sections is drama-free, and the lack of a traditional B-tension adjustment simplifies setup since the hydraulic tensioner maintains optimal chain wrap and gap automatically.
Over our long-term test, there were no required adjustments to cable tension, no clutch services, and no performance degradation, reinforcing Lal’s claims about durability and low maintenance. For riders who despise chain slap, derailleur anxiety, and constant tinkering, this drivetrain genuinely feels like a 10-out-of-10 execution, with only the unconventional looks standing out as a potential drawback.
WHO IT’S FOR
The Katana would have been for riders who want something truly different: a boutique, steel-and-carbon high-pivot trail bike built around the next-generation Supre Drive drivetrain, rather than another standard platform. If you prioritize silence, drivetrain durability, and a supportive, aggressive-riding-friendly rear end over cloud-like small-bump comfort, this bike will make a lot of sense. While the Katana won’t hit the market, the possibility of Supre Drive-equipped bikes existing is still there, and we would love to see more come to market, as we really believe in the performance of the system.
The Wolf’s Last Word
The Lal Katana and its Supre Drive drivetrain was one of those times where you are reminded that there is still room for real innovation in mountain biking, not just new paint and buzzwords. The Supre Drive drivetrain is nothing short of a revelation in silence and reliability, and we really believe it could be the future for high performance mountain bikes, especially in longer travel categories. 
Price: Pricele$$
Weight: 16kg (35.2 lbs) as tested
Website: Lalbikes.com
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ABOUT THE WOLF
Cole’s den is in Spokane WA, where he relocated a few years back. Growing up in the lush, loamy playgrounds of the PNW, his soul is forever tied to steep, rooty descents and that unmistakable squish of perfect dirt. After 19 years of shredding, Cole’s been on every kind of rig out there. Once a die-hard fan of big travel bikes, he’s now on a quest for the mythical short-travel do-it-all machine. And yes, skids may be for kids, but this middle-aged manchild is here to prove they’re also for anyone who loves having a damn good time.
Rank: Professional Amateur
Size: 6’1” / 185cm | 170lbs / 77kg
Social: @adventuresbycole
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