With more than one instance of musical significance, No. 22 Bicycles’ Little Wing seems to be named after the Neil Young version of the famous song. Opening with “All her friends call her Little Wing, she flies rings around them all…,” the lyrics seem purpose built for a bike designed to carve laps around a velodrome.
Representing No. 22’s second model, the original Little Wing track bike just received a face lift. Already a Red Hook Crit proven favorite of track racers around the globe, there were a few features of the Little Wing that the team at No.22 felt could use improvement. Now with more adjustment, a new seat mast cap, and a new fork, Little Wing is set to fly.
No. 22 Bicycles is a brand that we will probably be hearing a lot from in the foreseeable future. Started in Canada by Bryce Gracey and Mike Smith, the company recently hooked up with former titanium craftsmen from Saratoga Frameworks (which was born from the end of Serotta) to produce their titanium frames in the U.S. with incredible quality.
The newest Little Wing continues the beauty with a Made in the USA 3AL-2.5V titanium frame. Sold as a frame only for $2,099, Little Wing also has a new frameset option for an additional $400 that includes their all new house branded carbon fork and a Chris King 44mm Inset 8. Replacing the ENVE fork on the previous Little Wing, Mike points out that the fork is made specifically to their specifications by their OEM partner in China. While they try to source everything they can domestically, in cases like the fork a U.S. sourced product wasn’t an option. The fact that the ENVE fork they use on their other frames is also made in China made the move “a point of real internal debate for us,” according to Smith.
While the Little Wing is a track bike through and through, the new fork will be available both with and without a mounting hole for a front brake.
The rear of the bike is all track though without the ability to mount a brake. The same water jet cut brake bridges will be found on their upcoming Broken Arrow disc cyclocross bike as well.
Follow the seatstays down and you’ll come across the new one piece track ends. Originally 3/4″ in length, the new dropouts have a full inch of room to adjust the hub position which should make it easier to change gear ratios without having to break the chain. The hooded dropouts are also machined from a solid 2″ round bar of 6/4 titanium which makes for a seriously strong and precise rear end.
A seat mast is nothing new for the Little Wing, but the new cast seat mast topper certainly is. After investigating all manners of manufacturing including 3D printing, No. 22 settled on a cast titanium piece that houses ENVE saddle clamp hardware. Not only is the new topper 40g lighter than the previous version, but it also uses a decreased minimum with a shorter overall length which means the saddle can get a full inch lower than the last design allowed.
Carrying a 10 year warranty against manufacturing defects, Little Wing frames are offered in 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, and 60 cm sizes.
22bicycles.com
