All of the tubing which is used on the Zula and Kwela frames is proprietary to Morewood: Patrick [Mr Morewood] and Fabien [their French design engineer] have spent many nights and days going back and forth, running FEA tests, dealing with suppliers, testing and prototyping to get to the final product: the tubesets which each of these frames use. Each of the tubes are drawn, butted and then pressed [NOT hydroformed] to their final shape. After this they are carefully inspected and sanded smooth by hand in order to ensure the smoothest, finest finish.

The tubing, once passing through all of the processes mentioned above, is then processed and made ready for the next stage in the production cycle: cutting and mitring. In this process the tubes are cut by machine [some using laser] to length with all of the various shapes and angles needed in order to fit together correctly before they can be transferred to the welding department for welding. Morewood take care of all of the mitring and cutting of these tubes in-house on specially made and modified machinery, cutting out the reliance on other parties and ensuring that quality standards can be met by their own skilled workmen and women.

The Zula features a few new idea’s and design concepts for Morewood, the most striking of which is obviously the swingarm box; replacing their characteristic design of CNC machined swingarm plates, Morewood has refined their design significantly on the Zula and uses a svelte, ultralight and incredibly stiff box which is lazer cut pressed and formed to shape before being welded together. This process is also used on the shapely seat-tube gusset seen on the left. In addition to this process, these parts also feature a new welding technique employed by the Morewood welders where the welds are carefully smoothed to give a more aesthetically pleasing finish where the two pieces are joined.

The singarm tubes, seen on the right, also pass through the same drawing, butting and forming process as the top and down-tubes, in addition to this the seat-stay is bent using a CNC bending machine. This one-piece seat-stay locates perfectly into the swingarm box adding further to the uniqueness and significance of the frame design. Despite what many may think on first appearance, the Zula is somewhat unique as a single pivot as it employs a drop-chainstay design whereby the chain runs over the chainstay THROUGH the swingarm. This increases the triangulation of the swingarm improving its overall stiffness as well as allowing flex where needed to increase the durability and fatigue-life of the frame.

Once the down-tubes have been cut and mitred to length they are sorted into sizes and then cable-guides are fitted as well as the rivnuts for the water-bottle cage. The Zula, available in 4 sizes: small, medium, large and extra large, is able to fit a water bottle into the triangle of ALL frame sizes making it an ideal frame for longer, multi-day events where hydration is imperative. If riders wish to mount an additional water-bottle however they will need to mount the bottle behind their seatpost. Something else to note is the cable-routing on the Zula, both brake and derailleur cables run neatly along the down-tube of the frame in a continuous format meaning there is less likelihood of contamination.

Again, evidence of its commitment to offer premium product, Morewood CNC machine all of their own plate for swingarm plates, dropouts, shock mounts and even machine their own derailleur hangers. Morewood do all of their CNC programming themselves and most of the jigging is designed and made by Patrick in order to improve efficiency and keep production flowing as smoothly as possible. Regardless of the time of day or day of the week it is very rare when the CNC machine at Morewood is sitting idle, this machine clocks up a significant count of work-hours, and its handlers, programmers and operators all ensure that the output is the best, most accurate it can be.

Morewood employs 3 skilled and dedicated welders, each of these welders work tirelessly to produce sufficient frames each month to meet the demands put on Morewood by its consumers world-wide. Distributing to 28 country’s is a big task and requires a significant amount of time, effort and work to make sure lead-times are met and customers are happy. Added to this the stress of knowing what rigours their bikes are put through, the welders have a tough task. Whats more is that hiding behind their masks Leon, Russell and Charl get little credit for their time and labor. Every Morewood owner ought to know that these three people had a significant part in making the frame which you love to ride.

How many people think the frame which they are riding is straight? Every single Morewood frame which passes through the factory in Pietermaritzburg is carefully checked, tweaked and straightened throughout the welding process and again after annealing during the heat-treatment process. This time consuming task ensures than when frames are finally assembled they are as close to perfect as possible. This hands on approach also gives the frame its characteristic ride, look and feel, and its this same attention to detail that Patrick and his crew employ that makes their product truly special, and truly South African.

My Excel spreadsheet of customers who have placed Zula frames on back order doesn’t seem to be getting any shorter, and the rate of its growth doesn’t seem to be slowing either. So here is a interesting thought: by the end of December the number of Morewood frames in the South African market would have doubled! Doubled from what? Well by the end of December there will be more Morewood frames in South Africa than ever sold over its 8 years of producing and selling frames. This to me, coupled with the constant compliments and congratulatory emails and phone calls which I have received, speaks louder than anything. For the first time in eight years the South African consumer is noticing this little company in Pietermaritzburg who have been tirelessly designing, racing and producing frames for customers all over the world. For the first time many people are embracing what is South Africa’s ONLY truly South African bicycle! I thank you all from the bottom of my heart! I hope that each and every Morewood sold brings to its owner a sense of pride in owning something truly unique, truly South African and truly special.

Now if I could just get my hands on one…

Happy trails,

Andre

There is not too much excitement expected this year from international brands as far as new products and releases are concerned, aside from the SRAM XX group which for most is old news by now there is not too much else on the horizon for the show, Morewood are debuting three new frames at the event however including the Zula and Kwela, their official entry into the XC/ Marathon racing market. Now for us in South Africa this will not come as much of a surprise seeing as Roan Exelby and Dave Lieman have been racing aboard these frames with great success for most of the season, but for the Euro’s this will certainly turn heads, especially seeing as Morewood is viewed very much as a niche, core brand within their riding circles.

Now that Eurobike is finally upon us there is a fair amount of information which I will be at liberty to release regarding these Marathon/ XC frames from Morewood. Expect an “official” press release detailing information, geometry, pricing and ETA later today.

“…owning a Morewood is akin to running an Apple Mac, or grinding your own coffee beans: slightly left of field and the mark of a connoisseur…”

Patrick Morewood has been building bikes by hand in Pietermaritzburg for over a decade, and in that time has built a reputation for no-nonsense downhill machines that look the part, and do the job too.
In South Africa, owning a Morewood is akin to running an Apple Mac, or grinding your own coffee beans: slightly left of field and the mark of a connoisseur.

Sure, more than 90 percent of Morewood’s sales are in the company’s overseas markets (mostly in the US and Europe), so it was only with the introduction of the five-inch-travel Shova bikes a few years ago that they began to make a name for themselves in South African cycling, outside the cliquey downhill market.

The Shova is a truly great trail bike – robust and plush. The bike that can bomb any trail, but a little porky for the South African mindset, which seems hell-bent on racing everything and anything. Few Morewood owners tackle the Epic on their Shovas, even though it would be a wonderful ride, because we have created a whole category of bikes for these long events: marathon bikes. Generally, they are skinny and lightweight and have four inches of travel. And they are usually expensive and fragile. This is an area of the scene Morewood has been looking at for a number of years, realising that the Shova was never going to be seen as a race machine. For them the main dilemma was how. It would be easy to fly to Taiwan, speak to a couple factories, and have a carbon frame made up. But that is not their MO. The company has been built – and has thrived – on its bomb proof reputation, and the fact that all the frames are built by hand in South Africa. Patrick has since been joined by two more welders to keep up with the demand. Aluminium, hand-built here, was the only way to go.

Guru

And so it is that i meet Morewood’s marketing guru in Tokai forest early one morning. Bleary eyed, we drag the bike out of his rental, and the first thing that strikes me is the simplicity and the raw beauty of the bike. Sweeping curves, a seductive red paint job and a beautifully crafted swingarm certainly get the growing love affair off to a cracking start. It is completely different to anything we have seen from Morewood – no oversized square tubes, no Doppler effect graphics – this was the gorgeous cousin come to visit.

The Faerie Garden at Tokai is the first opportunity I have to pedal the bike in anger, outside the car park. It is a twisty, tight singletrack climb, with switchback corners, muddy roots and the sort of thing wicked race organisers love to throw in for excitement. The ride up was a revelation.

Stuck in Morewood-is-heavy mode, I was blown away at how light and nimble the bike was. This, of course, is because it is light and nimble. At just 10.4kg, you will have to shop extravagantly to match its weight. A quick peek at the spec sheet on this page will show you that the standard built leaves plenty of room for further weight savings, but the guys at Morewood are happy with the balance between sveltness and reliability they have here.

And the geometry just plain works, with the front end staying pinned to the ground on the steep stuff and the rear wheel digging in and demanding traction from the terrain.

Coming back down, and we hit the woop zone with this bike: if you want to get through technical terrain fast, look no further. Steering is precise – often the Sid Team fork can feel a little soft, but not here – and the aggressive, low position just made railing the corners fun, fun, fun. It is difficult to tell you how the rear suspension coped with everything, but that is exactly how it should work – the back end was as smooth as butter, with only the occasional chatter under hard braking. If anything, it was too smooth, because it made us wonder whether the fork was okay;it felt harsh by comparison.

Super plush

“…this bike is totally ready for multi-day and 24-hour racing…”

Climbing back up again we focused on the rear some more.It is super plush, but without soaking up all your pedaling energy. Standing and honking will produce some bob, as will mashing the pedals when seated, but then there is no suspension setup that doesn’t – or at least not on that actually works.

Much of the development of this bike was done in conjunction with local racing legend Roan Exelby, and two aspects come through directly from him; this bike is totally ready for multi-day and 24-hour racing, and the days of the hardtail as a race machine are numbered. The extra control and comfort – now that the weight of the bikes has dropped – makes such a big difference that the more and more top racing snakes are going this way.

In fact, Morewood and Exelby have been doing plenty of testing on the new bike (and the old hardtail Roan was riding), and the raw data has shown that the full-suspension bike fully-open, is up to three seconds faster – in blind testing – over 10-minute loop.Extrapolate that over a six-hour race and factor in growing fatigue on the hardtail, and the difference is marked.

As a single pivot, the simplicity is wonderful, and i am glad Morewood has stuck to its guns here – the last thing most of us are looking for in a bike is a complicated suspension system that requires heaps of maintenance. Morewood believes in an oversized sealed bearing pivot, and has spent years perfecting it for the demanding downhiller market. Here, it will be reliable and strong, and if you do decide to ride through grinding paste, will only cost about R250 to replace the working parts!

Beast

A bike that could comfortably win the Absa Cape Epic.

Eventually, it was time to return the unnamed beast. We did so reluctantly. Morewood has a real winner here: it is practical, simple, balanced, reliable and, above all fast. A bike that could comfortably win the Absa Cape Epic. But also a bike that will give a regular rider years of fun Morewood’s ethos is to build bikes that maximise riding time and enjoyment. It has managed that here, with a bike that is simple to service, easy to ride and great fun.

It is a real world beater, and if Morewood can shake the image that its bikes are overbuilt and heavy tag, they will fly from the shops. Already, there are more than 40 pre-orders on a bike that isn’t even available yet – the one we rode is one of four prototypes – and it hasn’t even been shown to the German, French or American markets.

Sweet

“…here is a bike that rivals any, and outperforms many…”

The most important bike in South Africa? Let me tell you why I say that, quickly. we are besotted with overseas equipment and bikes, and often we don’t realise that these objects of lust are built by tiny factories in barns in the middle of America. They are built in far smaller, less professional operations than right here, on our door step. And here is a bike that rivals any, and outperforms many, of those ultra-desirable boutique brands (outside South Africa it is actually a desirable boutique brand) and it is made right here. I promise myself not to use the phrase “local is lekker” in this review. I am struggling.