We’re slowly getting the parts together for the MtnBikeRiders.com Ultimate 29er build up. The next piece that came in this week is the frame. For this we contacted Vassago Cycles, a boutique frame manufacturer in south Orange County. Vassago Cycles is a relatively young company in the mountain biking world but they’ve taken a totally different approach to building 29ers. Oh, and they only build 29ers!
Vassago Cycles decided that instead of taking a 26″ frame and converting it into a 29er (the easy way out), they would start from scratch. This led to a lot of research and development with the culmination of their hard work being the Wet Cat geometry.
For our buildup, Vassago sent us the frumious Bandersnatch. The Bandersnatch, of Lewis Carroll fame, is a beautiful steel grey geared frame. Here is what Vassago has to say:
The legendary beast that travels the land at incredible speed, devouring everything in it’s path. If you didn’t pay attention in school, have no fear. It doesn’t really matter.
What you really need to know it the Bandersnatch is a gear-specific, 29er, with all the fixins at a price the wife will never even notice.
* Vassago 29er specific Rtech tubing
* Rtech, rust inhibitor treated tubing
* Gusseted headtube for extra strength
* Brazed vertical dropouts for extra strength
* Removable CNC V-brake mounts
* ISO standard disc brake mounts
* Vassago Wet Cat Geometry
* Portion of proceed donated to IMBA to fight trail closures
Check out some of the pictures below:
Head tube/Top tube/Down tube juncture
Bottom Bracket’s 68mm shell
Standard ISO Brake Tab
Vertical Brazed Dropouts
For more info on Vassago Cycles, click here.
For more info on the Bandersnatch, click here.
