Lal Katana
Demonstrating the potential of the Supre Drive
The Katana was designed and built at by Lal Bikes to demonstrate the potential of the Supre Drive. It shows how a bike can ride with the Supre Drive. The Katana was previously available for preorder as a frame and drivetrain combo, but that is no longer the case. We encourage other bike companies to offer bikes with the Supre Drive so that we can focus on the drivetrain.
The Supre Drive has the reliability of a gearbox combined with the efficiency and low weight of a derailleur drivetrain. The hydraulically damped chain tensioner keeps the drivetrain dead silent, while the Supre derailleur, with its ground clearance, eliminates the risk of bent derailleur cages.
The Katana combines an innovative suspension system, unmatched drivetrain durability, and a dialed ride feel. The rear travel is 130 or 150mm depending on the shock and rocker link installed. The front triangle is made of steel for a balanced amount of sprung weight, and the swingarm is made of carbon for stiffness and lowering the unsprung weight.
I can't describe the sounds emitted by the Katana, because they simply don't exist. The Katana is an order of magnitude quieter than anything I've ridden.
CENTERED WEIGHT
The carbon swingarm combined with the lightweight Supre derailleur make for a very low unsprung weight. Why does that matter? The lower a bike’s unsprung weight, the better the suspension performance.
SILENCE
You won’t realize how noisy other bikes are until you try the Katana. We improved the chain tensioner cartridge to make it more compact than the previous version while still being hydraulically damped. This type of damping is plain smarter than the clutch in regular derailleurs. Our hydraulic damper is far more durable, and it’s more effective at stabilizing the chain, making the Katana incredibly silent.
HIGH-PIVOT SUSPENSION
The Katana has a unique high-pivot suspension system. The carbon swingarm is engineered to flex by 3 degrees. This flex stay suspension lets us ditch a pivot and keep things clean and simple.
A HIGH PIVOT BIKE THAT PEDALS
The Katana pedals efficiently. It has high anti-squat in higher (faster) gears for more support when pedaling out of the saddle. At the same time, the Supre Drive is efficient, with its large idler pulley that’s positioned forward for reduces cross-chaining angles (like if the cassette was narrowed by two sprockets). These things combine to make the Katana a high pivot bike that pedals like none other.
THE VISION, REALIZED
The Katana is for the rider who wants a playful bike that balances the ability to hold a line, rail corners, and charge at high speeds. It’s for those who crave the performance of high-pivot suspension without sacrificing pedaling efficiency. And most of all, it’s for riders who want to have fun.
THE VISION, REALIZED
The Katana is for the rider who wants a playful bike that balances the ability to hold a line, rail corners, and charge at high speeds. It’s for those who crave the performance of high-pivot suspension without sacrificing pedaling efficiency. And most of all, it’s for riders who want to have fun.
THE FUTURE OF THE KATANA
In the following video, we explain our switch from offering the Katana frame plus the Supre Drive to offering only the drivetrain and asking that other bike companies offer bikes with the Supre Drive.
Technical details about the Katana
- Travel: 130mm or 150mm rear travel depending on the rocker link and shock installed. The suspension is high-pivot, so it punches above its weight. The recommended front travel is 150mm for the Katana 130 and 160/170mm for the Katana 150.
- Carbon swingarm: The swingarm is made of carbon fiber for its low weight and high stiffness. The swingarm is unsprung weight, just like the wheels and everything else that moves with the suspension. Decreasing unsprung weight improves suspension performance by allowing the wheel to react more quickly to bumps, maintaining better traction and control.
- Steel front triangle: The front triangle is made from high strength Reynolds 853 tubes. This steel front triangle has an excellent ride feel. The ideal amount of unsprung weight is zero, but the ideal amount of sprung weight (like the front triangle) is not zero. We believe that steel hits the sweet spot for sprung weight.
- Durability: The Supre Drive is the Katana’s core durability advantage because the derailleur is tucked far from the ground. At the same time, the Katana has huge main pivot bearings (double row, 13mm wide, 3002 LLU), and there are secondary o-ring seals for protecting the pivot bearings from contamination.
- Wheel size: The bike can be run as a mullet or full 29er. The change is made by swapping the rocker link that will also be available by itself.
- Shock size: standard eyelets, 190×45 for 130mm rear travel and 210×55 for 150mm rear travel with shock-specific rocker link
- Weight of frame: 3.5kg (size S3, no shock)
- Water bottles: Big water bottles fit in the front triangle.
- Dropper insertion: The seat tube is short and straight all the way down to the bottom bracket shell for excellent dropper insertion capability.
- Cable routing: Shift and brake cables are fully external. (The designer of this bike was once a local bike shop mechanic.)
- Drivetrain part compatibility: The current version of the Supre Drive is compatible specifically with Shimano 12-speed chains, cassettes, and shifters. The chainline is 52mm and the rear hub is Super Boost (like the We Are One Arrival) for reduced cross-chaining angles and an increased drivetrain lifespan. The tensioner arm works with chainring sizes from 28 to 34 teeth, and it requires a T47 bottom bracket (threaded).
Kinematics
Anti-squat
The Katana has a lot of anti-squat but with normal pedal kickback because of the magical effect of the idler pulley. The anti-squat increases in higher (faster) gears for more support when pedaling out of the saddle.
Leverage ratio
The leverage ratio is moderately high for a less damped and more energetic feel. The shape and height of the leverage ratio curve is similar to that of the We Are One Arrival.
Anti-rise
Although the Katana has a single-pivot high-pivot suspension system, the anti-rise is low because of the forward placement of the main pivot. Moving the main pivot forward reduces brake caliper rotation, bringing anti-rise in line with other state-of-the-art suspension designs.
Axle path
The axle path has a maximum horizontal travel of 15mm which we believe is the sweet spot for high-pivot bikes. This gives the benefits of high-pivot suspension—including square-edge bump absorption, maintained momentum, a stable wheelbase, and low pedal kickback—without excessive change in rear-center.
Katana recommended equipment
Cassette
The Supre Drive on the Katana is designed around a Shimano 12-speed 10-51t cassette. Any level, from Deore to XTR, will work perfectly.
Other brands of cassette (Gabaruk, E13) may be used, but shift performance may vary.
Chain
We recommend Shimano HG+ 138 link chains. The Katana requires slightly more chain than 138 links, so will provide a pre-cut section of XTR 12-speed chain and a quick link to attach to a 138-link HG+ chain of your choice, so you can focus on riding your bike instead of calculating the correct chain length.
Shifter
The Supre drive is designed to work with any Shimano 12-speed trigger shifter.
Rear wheel
The Katana features 157mm Super Boost rear hub spacing and can use a 27.5 or 29er rear wheel depending on the linkage installed. We chose Super Boost hub spacing because it offers a significant advantage in chainline and drivetrain durability. We understand that many people have chosen 148mm Boost as their preference. In hindsight, we may have gone with Boost instead of Super Boost.
Bottom bracket
The Katana uses a T47 Inboard bottom bracket. This is a common size of threaded bottom bracket that is much more durable than BSA due to its larger bearing size. There are many great OEM and aftermarket options available to choose from.
Shimano – 24mm spindle: Shimano does not offer an OEM T47 bottom bracket, but there are great options from Wolftooth, WheelsMFG, Praxis, and Chris King
SRAM Dub – 29mm: SRAM offers an OEM T47 option, and there are of course aftermarket options
Race Face / TRP / Hope – 30mm: Again, there are many great options – Wolftooth, WheelsMFG, Praxis, and Chris King