NAHBS 2010 – Speedvagen’s new cyclocross bike is pretty on the outside, but the real beauty is in the trick details throughout the frame. Speedvagens are built in stock sizes in batches of about 30, and this model starts at $3,000 for the frame, fork and seatpost assembly. If you’re able to make the trip to their factory in Portland, OR, they’ll do a custom one for $500 more.
The cyclocross bike uses some nifty cable runs to maintain a super clean look while reducing weight and simplifying the brake routing. Hit ‘more’ for tons of pics and details…
Up front, the brake housing runs into the bottom of the custom Edge Composites carbon stem, through an internal guide, then straight out the bottom and to the brake triangle, eliminating the holder that usually mounts on the steerer tube.
Out back, the cable runs along the top tube directly through the seat tube. This design is possible because of the semi-integrated seat tube with adjustable top assembly. The seatpost assembly allows for 20mm adjustment, and Sasha White, founder of Vanilla Bicycles / Speedvagen, says they take the customers’ measurements and set it to allow for 5mm downward adjustment and 15mm upward adjustment.
Trick stainless steel cutouts trace the lines of the dropout with the “V” logo.
Looking down, you can see the paint job with Speedvagen’s prancing horse logo. Both seat- and chainstays are curved for better heel clearance and to enhance ride quality.
The brake posts, rather than being welded on the backside of the stays, are run all the way through to increase stiffness and, White says, decrease flex in the stays under hard braking. They’re then adorned with Paul bushings.
They send their own bosses to Edge Composites to be integrated into custom forks, which run further back into the fork. White says this allows Edge to build a slightly lighter fork because less reinforcement is needed to support the typically front-only mounted bosses.
Finishing touches? How ’bout some custom painted Chris King hubs?
