rons bikes blog dot com

the lines of this bike really feel right to me. maybe you too. likely if you are reading this we have some things in common.

—– Scroll down to the bottom of the page if you aren’t interested in my anecdotes and just want the FACTS! (geo etc) —–

It’s been several decades since I have been excited about a new mountain bike. It was all I’d think about as a teenager — my identity to a large extent. new tech mountain bike guy/kid. I had to have the newest and lightest stuff — often times wedging the Mountain Bike Action into the binder of my school books during class. I was learning the real knowledge!

I worked at a shop in between my weekend fishing job so that I could employee purchase and then flip bikes after a season on mtbr.com. I was on top of the world!

this was a strange era between steel and carbon — and it did not last long with how quickly the planned perceived obsolescence virus was inoculating itself into just about every consumer good. I followed the tech crumbs all the way until 2001 when a crash on a fashionable free ride hardtail spiral fractured my humerus. after an 8 month recovery on a recumbent with my arm (more of an atrophied chicken wing) in a sling, my perception of mountain biking changed dramatically.

I was only 21 (actually), and after 8 months outa the saddle, I knew more than ever that I didn’t want that to happen again. i wanted to ride mountain bikes for as long as my body would let me, and I knew that if I kept hucking my uncoordinated self like the bike industry wanted me to do, then I would probably spiral fracture my other arm and not be able to wipe. blame it on the industry!

my new/old approach to off-road riding became physical form in thee form of a rigid 26″ mountain bike. spent the remaining 3 years of college riding rigid, and impressing people by simply just keeping up with my suspension friends. it was challenging, but possible — but most importantly it was low stakes challenging. I could navigate techy climbs and descents, but never felt out of my comfort zone. more importantly, the simplicity of the machine I was astride, really began to resonate with me and my riding style. I became a trail scholar — reading the trail like only a rigid rider can/needs to. you don’t roll/slam over things, you find ways around them. it’s fun and intentional!

I caved and got a bomber z2 fork around college graduation and then moved back to the east coast. in 2006, I got my first 29er … a Gary Fisher Rig. it was rigid, aluminum, and purple. a rare production 29er with rim brakes. still have it! I remember being in awe my first ride “wow this thing rides better than my 26 inch front sus!”. the big wheels did a lot of work on the trail, made me not miss my complicated front end at all.

around this time things in mountain biking really began to evolve for some and devolve for others. I disassociated, instead feeling more drawn to the euro roadie aesthetic where bikes still looked like bikes and remained largely uncomplicated pre aero era. this is when I turned my back on mountain biking — it had become a different sport.

about 8 years ago one of my high school friends who’d kept up with the times started talking about new school MTB geo. basically a longer front end via longer TT and slacker HT with a steeper ST for better climbing. I built a bike like that and used it for touring. was actually the first ronsbikes bike offering — the Warthog Wash Wiper. a pretty extreme bike for reasons other than the geo, but including the geo also. well I liked it, and now those geo numbers are pretty basic for modern mountain bikes these days.

relatively short chain stays, 75 ST, 65 HT. this thing held a line! but it was by no means a nimble XC machine. I loved hacking the rigid platform though — the geo gave me a taste for how you can manipulate the useful modernity of a bike, without complicating it with the trappings generally associated with progressive design. but this is a touring bike, and I don’t do much of that these days.

fast forward to the ALUMALITH I did with Crust and Frank the Welder. a popular bike. I so popular that I vacillated on whether or not I should just make another run of them without changing anything. but I wanted more out of it. I wanted to make something more contemporary and lighter. I also wanted it to be a 29er (the alumaltih is 27.5″). it still needed to work with all the different handlebar combos — drop, flat, and sweptback.

enter the EVOO. smooth, aromatic, vegetal….with a spicy aftertaste. extra virgin. this build above weighs 22lbs without any sort of carbon. its shockingly light, and concept proven on both east and west coast trails. you will keep up with your friends and look a lot cooler doing it. okay specs!

SPECS AND GEO

Frame: Dedacciai 7005 Aluminum (about 1800g)

Fork: Columbus steel “taper traxxx” (about 900g)

Made by: Frank the Welder in Bellows Falls VT

Clearance: 700×45-29×2.4 tires

Stealth Dropper Routing: not pictured, but yes

Seat post size: 27.2

F Der clamp: 31.8-32

Seatpost collar size: 31.8-32

BB shell: 73 English

1x compatible: yes

Spacing: 135 rear, 100 front. QR

Finishes: buffed aluminum with silver fork, or red powder ($200 upcharge)

ETA: NOW!

Custom Ron’s builds available: yes, for around 5k total including frame/fork (email me)

BB drop: 60

okay, hopefully that is enough to make an informed decision! feel free to email me ronnie@ronsbikes.com with any questions.

PRE ORDER OPEN UNTIL NOVEMBER 10th.

ORDER HERE AT RONS BIKES DOT COM

XO RR