In the examination | Propain's Tyee enduro bike with a wild floating shock suspension design

Propain has been around longer than most people realize, the German company was founded in 2006 by Robert Krauss and Markus Zander.

Krauss, a downhill racing engineer at the time, came up with a unique suspension structure, called the PRO10. The first bike from Propain was the Rage downhill bike, and DH focused on this product for several years. However, the lineup has grown, and there are now 12 models across four categories, DH, freeride, enduro, and trail.

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The German company has just launched a new e-bike and has a range of supercharged children's bikes. Those who follow the bike industry closely will know Propain bikes from the likes of Remy Metailler, a former Red Bull Rampage rider who now blows minds with wild POV footage on technical trails around the Sea to Sky corridor in Canada.

Of course, Propain was also the start where the Meier-Smith brothers hit the World Cup for Propain Factory Racing before both signed with the Giant Factory Off-Road team in 2023. The brand also has its own DH racing team, Propain. Good Team.

Tyee Overview

Ride by Instinct sent us the recently updated Propain Tyee Enduro Bike. Released in 2023, this is the eighth iteration of the bike, and it's designed to take on paved enduro tracks while still providing riders with loads of fun carrying speed down flowing trails.

With integrated cable routing, variable geometry, unique brake calliper mounting, and double-sealed frame bearings, there's a lot to talk about in the Tyee.

There's extensive chainstay protection and beefy downtube protection; the Tyee has a threaded bottom bracket and tool mount under the top tube. A flip chip is located at the front of the rear triangle, allowing riders to swap between a 27.5-inch or 29er rear wheel.

However, the most eye-catching part about this frame is the upside-down rear shock placed behind the two-link suspension structure. Propain says the PRO10's fixed floating shock setup creates a more responsive platform with a forward curve, allowing riders to run a coil or air shock. Anti-squat and pedal kickback have been updated in this model to improve efficiency and the bikes ability to plow through rough stuff.

The rear cables are routed to the headset under the stem. Propain says this new design seals out any water and dirt, however, it makes replacing the cables a more involved job.

Propain Tyee geometry and setup

The Tyee platform is versatile and can be configured as a dedicated 27.5in bike, 29er, or hybrid wheel setup.

The Tyee will come as a 27.5in commuter bike in extra small to junior sizes. Medium size can choose any of the three configurations, and large or extra large frames can choose a full 29er or hybrid tire option. The Tyee has a flip chip designed to maintain geometry between hybrid wheel setups and full 29er/27.5in methods.

Riders can also choose to use a 160mm or 170mm fork on all sizes. The sheer amount of configuration is intimidating at first, however, if you start by choosing your correct frame size you can start narrowing things down from there.

What's different about Tyee is that you won't be stuck with the combo you choose when you buy a bike. You can always change the wheels or fork later. Granted, this will cost more to do, but it increases its flexibility and can help extend the life of your bike with parts renewal a few years down the line.

There aren't just wheel and fork size options to choose from, there are two frame material options as well. The Tyee can be purchased with an alloy or carbon composite frame and many frame and decal color options. This level of customization is rare and only adds to the boutique feel of the bike.

Geometric wise, the numbers are modern but make sense. With so many configurations available, we'll focus on the full-size 29er with a 170mm fork, as it's the bike we're testing. The head angle is 64.1°, with an effective seat tube angle of 77.1°.

Set our big watches at 633mm and the chainstay is 445mm. With 170mm open, the reach is 476mm, and the wheelbase is a respectable 1,264mm. None of these numbers stand out as too long, low, and loose or conservative. The Tyee sits well within its geometry.

Impressions of Propain Tyee's ride first

We have the Tyee Shred2 on test at the moment from local distributor Ride by Instinct, although we have to say it is a custom build. Weighing in at 15.47kg, this is a big bike, without a doubt, and we're already impressed with the efficiency and comfort offered from the PRO10 setup.

It's stable and can carry impressive speeds over rough, rough terrain. Stay tuned for our full review, coming soon.

Propane Tyee price and availability

There are a total of eight Tyee models available, four carbon and four alloy. The lineup for both alloy and carbon models starts with Price2Ride and then Shred2. Both models come with 170mm forks.

Next up is Phantom and Goldrush. These two top models have a premium 160mm fork, but remember, all four models can be driven with either a 160mm or 170mm fork.

An interesting difference between alloy and carbon frames is that steel bikes allow the option of using the headset cable route or by using standard cable holes on the side of the headtube. Carbon frames, on the other hand, only allow routing for the earphone cable, while the build kits for the equivalent carbon and alloy models remain the same.

Propain Tyee Goldrush

• Outline | Alloy or Composite Carbon
• Fork | Fox 36 Factory Kashima 160mm
• Shock | Fox Float X Factory Kashima
• Wheels | Crank Brothers Synthesis Enduro Carbon i9
• Tires | Schwalbe Magic Mary / Big Shwi nomtekhala
• Train | SRAM XX Eagle Transmission
• Brakes | Magura MT7 Performance 203 mm / 203 mm
• Bar and stem | SIXPACK Millenium 805, SIXPACK Millenium 35
• Seat | Fox Transfer Factory Kashima
• RRP | Alloy $12,999 AUD, Carbon $13,999 AUD

Propain Tyee Phantom

• Outline | Alloy or Composite Carbon
• Fork | RockShox Lyrik Ultimate 160mm
• Shock |RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate
• Wheels |NEWMEN Evolution SL A.30
• Tires |Schwalbe Magic Mary / Big Shwi nomtekhala
• Train |SRAM X0 Eagle Transmission
• Brakes |Code SRAM RSC 200 mm / 200 mm
• Bar and stem |SIXPACK Millenium 805, SIXPACK Millenium 35
• Seat |RockShox Reverb AXS
• RRP | Alloy $10,900 AUD, Carbon $11,750 AUD

Propain Tyee Shred2

• Outline | Alloy or Composite Carbon
• Fork | RockShox ZEB Ultimate 170mm
• Shock | RockShox Super Deluxe Coil Ultimate
• Wheels | NEWMEN Evolution EG30
• Tires | Schwalbe Magic Mary / Big Shwi nomtekhala
• Train | SRAM GX Eagle
• Brakes | SRAM Code R 200 mm / 200 mm
• Bar and stem | SIXPACK Millenium 805, SIXPACK Millenium 35
• Seat | BikeYoke Refresh
• RRP | Alloy $7,999 AUD, Carbon $8,999 AUD

Propain Tyee Price2Ride

• Outline | Alloy or Composite Carbon
• Fork | Formula Selva S 170mm
• Shock | MOD formula
• Wheels | NEWMEN 30 performance
• Tires | Schwalbe Magic Mary / Big Shwi nomtekhala
• Train | SRAM GX Eagle
• Brakes | Formula Cura 4 203 mm / 203 mm
• Bar and stem | SIXPACK Millenium 805, SIXPACK Millenium 35
• Seat | BikeYoke Divine
• RRP | Alloy $6,890 AUD, Carbon $7,890 AUD