Rawland unveils two new adventure bikes
Originally posted on February 8, 2016 at 9:33 amRawland Cycles has been filling a niche in the bike industry for a decade now as a small brand that produces versatile models that don’t fit neatly into any particular category. “There’s this awesome new zone where I think the fun is,” said Rawland’s Creative Director and VP, Jeremy Spencer. If your idea of fun is getting off the beaten path, you’re probably going to like its newest models.
On Saturday it unveiled them both with a party at Portland’s Velo Cult bike shop. The new Ravn is built for what Rawland calls “All Road Enduro” with *gasp* 26-inch wheels. The Ulv is ready for the backcountry with 27plus wheels and tires. Both models use drop bars and can accommodate a range of wheel and tire sizes.
The Ravn, above, indeed uses 26-inch wheels with Panaracer Driver Pro tires and will fit a 650b x 42 tire with fenders. While it is optimized for those sizes, Rawland says, it can also fit up to 650b x 58 or 700c x 42 tires.
The Ulv, above, has even more clearance for a 27plus tire (in this case a Panracer Fat-B-Nimble on WTB’s massive Scraper rims) or even a 29-inch mountain bike tire. It also has additional braze-ons for bikepacking gear.
Both frames are built from custom-drawn and double butted 4130 steel tubes with thru-axles at both ends. The Ravn has a 142×12 axle while the Ulv is 148×12 Boost. Those rear dropouts are replaceable as well, so quick release or singlespeed options might be in the cards.
The key to both models is the low trail geometry, Spencer said. By lowering the trail the bike becomes much more stable with a load on the front end. Rawland said it wants riders to be comfortable on epic long rides and not have to use super-wide handlebars to maintain control.
“That’s what we love: fat tires and drop bars,” Spencer said.
In addition to the bikes are the brand’s own line of stems, seatposts and handlebars. The handlebar design takes cues from the classic Nitto designs, Spencer said, with a slight backsweep and very flat ramps and drops. Those parts, along with hubs, the rando rack pictured here and an upcoming porteur rack will be available separately in Rawland’s online store soon.
Other nice touches include routing for dynamo hub wiring (not included) inside the fork.
The bikes will be available around April for $2,999. Framesets may or may not be available separately in the future, Spencer said.
Update: 4.11.2016
Rawland sent us updated geometry numbers:
