I'm with Nothing2say on the drop-out side of things.They do look a bit funky to me,and i keep coming back to the word "why?".But i really like the look of the bike fully built and know you've spent some abusive sessions with her Mitch.So if ya've got a spare few minutes,would ya mind telling me how she rides,compared to say your Spesh P-Series of frames.I mean common sense alone tells me that this frame could manual forever,but could it?Is that back end a touch of an over tweak.Progress or what?
The reason why is that it allows the frame to ride like a Cromoly frame while benefiting from the light weight properties of aluminum. The TRD (Telescopic Rear Dropout System) allows the frame give up and down. We can all agree that cromo hard tails ride a lot smoother than a AL frame. Our frame rides the same as a cromo frame feel wise, but it is a lot stiffer up front and laterally (side to side) which in jumping and slalom racing makes a big difference. 14.2 inch chains stays, shortest in the industry does make it manual for ever. there is 1.5 inches of chain stay adjustment though allowing you to fine tune the length. its easily the best riding frame I've ever ridden and that's not me saying it because I ride for them, its the honest truth.
Oh i see,i know what ya saying m8,i used to run a cro-mo jump/street frame and cro-mo's do have noticably more give than over ali frames.They're a lot more forgiving too,so it makes a lot of sense to go down this route and semi-intergrate the two materials.It's taken a bit of time but this frame is growing on me,nice one for explaining the TRD system Mitch.
The frames will be $695. Complete builds start at $1969. They are super dialed. Under 24 lbs stock. The spec isn't 100% finalized but I know they come with Spank Wheels, Race Face Parts, Maxxis Tires. There will available upgrades as well. You can upgrade from factory things like the fork, wheels and such. Going to be awesome.