It’s been a busy few months. The bike was finished for the Worlds and was on display at the show. The feedback was great and the interest was overwhelming, I still haven’t stopped replying to emails! The SPATS XC just went through its last stages of testing for strength and rider comfort and control. Brent Miller and the boys from Bike Culture in Canberra rode it for the last couple of months. The front Rock Shock was tuned and so was the XX cockpit for rider comfort, the bike was ridden against other well known bikes that boys like to ride and train on so the standard was high, but we were confident that the bike would meet the expectations of the boys. The feedback was great and we were almost on track. Every time I talked to Brent Miller there was always a list of small changes from a professional rider’s and mechanics point of view. Did I forget to say that Brent’s also a gun when it comes to building & tuning bikes? The SPATS XC Hydra came back with ten out ten for stiffness; the new Hydro-formed top & down tube was the latest in tube technology coupled with the Srams BB 30. We had been working with a tube company for the past 2yrs on this one so it was smiles all round when the boys were happy with the bike! It was back to the drawing board for a few small changes for the SPATS XC hydra, the geometry was tweaked the rear seat stay was drastically changed for strength and esthetics and the rear drop outs were re designed as well. Follow the pictures bellow and we will walk you through the changes. Enjoy!
The geometry was tweaked. We extend the effective top tube by 10mm taking it to 620mm which will add to the bike’s stability at higher speeds. The 10mm will also give the riders more options for choosing stem lengths and some more room in the cockpit.
We increased the head tube length by 15mm
The drop outs were also modified, the arc between the chain stay and the seat stay was increased and pushed further out to triangulate this area some more. It helped strengthen the area by spreading the load.
We wanted to change the rear Seat Stay to keep the lines of the frame flowing
The Chain stay was also modified so that we could improve ankle clearance. We also widened the tubes were they intersect the bottom bracket which will add to making the bottom end more rigged.
Tubes widened as they intersect the BB
Some more weight was taken out of the BB 30, small thanks to Rob Eva from SRAM Australia for supplying us the drawings for BB30 on this one.
