Eighteen bicycles
In the shallow end was Matt Downs, showing off a high-clutch driven single-pivot. This steel prototype was welded together in their workshop in Sheffield. The frame material for the final production bikes has yet to be decided, but Matt is considering a variety of options, including aluminum and bonded carbon.
Rear wheel travel is 150mm and the frame is designed to work with a 160mm travel fork. This results in a head tube angle of 65° and a seat tube angle of 77°. This linkage provides a largely rearward axle path, although it does extend forward toward bottom-out. Rear center length when unloaded is 440mm, growing to a maximum length of 455mm with 120mm travel before being shortened again. The reach numbers correspond to the reach numbers of the 18 bike hardtails, such as the No9 Hardtail – so there are 450mm, 475mm and 500mm reach options to choose from.
18 Bikes is currently experimenting with using a floating brake arm to understand how varying the anti-rise can affect the bike’s behaviour under braking. You can see that on the non-driveside they have three possible mounting locations on the front triangle – Matt tells us that these give anti-rise values of 100%, 75% and 50%.
BTR Fabrications
Paul Burford (aka Burf) travelled from Frome in Somerset with his latest creation; the BTR Gasser. Weight madness will avert your eyes now; the frame Burf built in 2020 weighed in at around 6kg. He has yet to weigh this exact example. Needless to say, he couldn’t care less, putting much more emphasis on strength and durability. After all, this is a downhill bike with 190mm of rear wheel travel (shock is 250mm x 75mm) and a 200mm travel EXT Vaia fork. This summer, Burf will fulfil his childhood dream of riding Schladming on a DH bike of his own making. Pretty dope, I say.
The inherent bending of steel pipes and the impact profile made reinforcements necessary. Although it may seem excessive to many, Paul leaves nothing to chance because he understands the need for that bracket between the top tube and the down tube. Mounting the front shock to the downtube in this way can put a lot of stress on a point on the stub steel tube where the walls are thinnest, so adding this extra element and extending it up to the seat tube provides the extra reinforcement for Burf’s peace of mind.
Burf says he went with a single pivot with a linkage mechanism for stiffness purposes. The main pivot has a solid 20mm rod welded through the frame. Around it is a top gusset that mates with the seat tube and bottom bracket shell, again for reinforcement. Burf CNC machined a number of frame components; the linkages, dropouts, main pivot housing and seat clamp. Burf also made the bump stops, which have bosses in the frame to secure them.
Burf will launch a YouTube series on July 5 in which he documents the manufacture of this Gasser in detail. Follow his story here.
Craft bikes
Down deep, Craft Bikes showed off their very first titanium hardtail mountain bike. So far, all their hardtails have been made of steel. That said, it’s not the first time they’ve worked with the notoriously tricky titanium; several of their road and gravel models are also Ti. Co-owner Jim tells us he loves the challenges this brings. He and Chloe Griggs are responsible for the manufacture and supply of all Craft Bikes, from the workshop they have put together in the old garage at the back of the house.
The bike is home to a number of 3D printed parts, manufactured in New Zealand by RAM3D, the largest provider of metal 3D printing services in the southern hemisphere. The dropout is a good example of one of those parts. It’s designed around the UDH standard and the rear is Boost spacing to give a 55mm chainline for Transmission drivetrains.
Craft Bikes builds bicycles to order with a geometry specified by the customer and a construction kit recommended by Craft Bikes. This has 29″ wheels with 435mm chainstays, a 75° seat tube angle and a 65° head tube angle. As shown, this kit costs £10,700. Craft do not currently offer a frame-only option as they like to have some ownership over the final handling characteristics of the bike – i.e. they spec it with parts suitable for the way they want the frame to be ridden.
Dawley bicycles
In a nearby pool was Thom Dawley, riding the 115mm-travel Dawley T16. Made in Nottingham, the steel frame delivers its rear wheel travel via a flexible pivot. Deflection is pretty minimal, though. Thom says the rear end only flexes about 4mm through the entire travel, and most of that happens in the thinnest part of the chainstay, close to the dropout.
Thom is selling the T16 as a frame only, for £1,800 plus VAT, with a three-year warranty.
The bike is designed around a 120-140mm fork – as seen here it is built with a 130mm fork. As such, it has a 65° head angle and a 77° seat tube angle. The one you see here is a size small with a reach of 438mm. From there, the range numbers go up in ~12mm increments, so the longest will be around 510mm. Across that entire size range, the chainstay length is consistent at 440mm.
CDuro
The most unusual frame construction on display was on the CDuro stand, and Humphrey Carter, Head of Business Development at parent company CompoTech, was on hand to tell us a bit more about it.
This carbon fiber frame is made using a unique process developed by CompoTech called Integrated Loop Technology (ILT). It allows the structural composite component, that is, the tubes, to be bonded to a carbon fiber junction that is an integral part of the structure. These connections are most evident at the head tube as they wrap around it, and again at the interface between the top tube and seat tube. Humphrey tells us that the process makes very efficient use of materials, reducing overall production and labor time. One of the most important advantages, however, is that the ILT method results in a stronger bond, especially in areas subject to stress and high tension.
The frame, without shock absorber, reportedly weighs 2.2 kg.
The bicycle is called the Epona. It has a single pivot hanging platform and is available in sizes S-XL. The suspension travel of the rear wheel depends on the stroke length; as a complete 29er with a 230mm x 60mm shock, the rear wheel travel is 150mm. The frame is designed for a 160-170mm fork. As shown, the Epona has a head angle of 64° and a seat tube angle of 78°. The range covers a range of 450mm to 535mm for the S-XL sizes, with a chainstay length of 450mm.
CDuro is now taking orders for the Epona. The frame alone will set you back €3,860.
Atherton bicycles
Atherton Bikes made the trip from Machynlleth with the S.170 and A.170. Both feature a Dave Weagle suspension design; the aluminium lug-equipped S.170 delivers its rear wheel travel via a dual-link DW4 linkage, while the original A.170, with titanium lugs and carbon tubes, delivers its rear wheel travel via the DW6 platform.
The S.170 comes in just twelve sizes, while the A.170 comes in 22 sizes. The starting price is $5,119 USD.
About the S.170, Mike Kazimer said the following:
“Smashy” is a good way to sum up what the S170 feels like: it’s the kind of bike that encourages you to let off the brakes and plow through anything that gets in your way. That 180mm Zeb at the front is there to absorb the first blow, and then the SuperDeluxe Coil takes care of the rest. The weight that slows him down on the climbs translates into a solid, firm feel for the descents: the term mini-DH really applies here. While crushing everything feels like its main modus operandi, hitting jumps and natural doubles doesn’t feel like a chore: the overall wheelbase is long without being excessive, and the suspension design provides a good platform to launch from any point of to cancel the journey.”
Sour bikes
Jorgen from Sour Bicycles made the trip from Dresden. The Pasta Party you see here is made in Dresden, although many parts are cast or machined in Taiwan. This is a large size steel frame and weighs just under 2,400 grams.
The Pasta Party is an XC hardtail designed to be efficient, light and stable. It can be specified with a 110mm travel fork, but is shown with a 100mm travel fork. It can also be set up as a fully rigid affair with either a Sour’s steel party fork or their lighter carbon option. The BB is off-center and offers 8mm of adjustment; this also allows the bike to be set up as a singlespeed.
With an axle crown of 506 mm, the Pasta Party has a head tube angle of 68° and a seat tube angle of 75°. It is available in four sizes; S-XL, with a range of 410-489 m, with 435 mm supports across the board. The powder-coated frame costs €1,099 and the delivery time is currently 75 days. Warranty is three years.