Sinister Gruitr
 
While researching my Rider Profile of Frank “The Welder” Wadelton, I learned that Sinister Bikes has been working on a new 4.5-5.5 inch, single-pivot frame named Gruitr. Sinister says they expect to start receiving production Gruitr frames (which will retail for around $1,400-1,500) from their Canadian fabricator in January of 2008.What’s up with the Gruitr name, you ask? The following excerpt from the Sinister Blog reveals the answer to that question, and much more:

So, you’ve heard the hype and now it’s time for folks to get your orders in for the single pivot ripper called the Gruitr. The name pays homage to Rob Westover, the man behind so much of the Sinister goodness over the years. Gruitr is an acronym that stands for “get right up in there Robbie”! which is one of our little inside jokes that i made up and torture him with. The bike will be solid, reliable and thick skinned just like our boy Robbie. Robbie also says there is nothing better than 4.5- 5.5 inches in the rear for a good time so there you have it.

The Gruitr so far has been testing really well with 10 of the frames out there being used by many different types of riders and terrain. Everyone has reported that the geometry feels really great, it is very neutral handling and flies really well while holding up to abuse. on the downside it also has many of the inherent single pivot traits that we feel we have amended in the new version, the biggest being lateral flex. FTW and BTF made some changes to the rear swingarm and rocker plate to stiffen things up dramatically. Cable routing will also be improved for the final version so it is along the downtube and it will be set up for continuous housing. The bikes will also be painted, not powdercoated so look for some fresh color as well.

The bikes have been DH’ed, ridden on super aggressive trails, raced in x-c races and one even got 6th place in Pro at the Mt Snow Super D. They have all built up in the 26-35lb range depending on builds.

4.5 to 5.5 inches of travel with a target weight around 7 lbs with a shock
The bikes will be a serious contender in the aggressive trail/all mountain market and will more than satisfy peoples aggressive tendencies.