IB14: Van Dessel’s New Carbon Road, Cyclocross & Mountain Bikes Debut – Plus Actual Weights

We’ve teased some renderings (here and here) from Van Dessel’s 2015 bikes that showed a few of the new features, but nothing beats seeing them in the shimmering dust of Interbike’s Outdoor Demo. On hand were the new Full Tilt Boogie cyclocross bike, the Jersey Devil hardtail 29er and the Motivus Maximus disc-or-rim brake road bike.

The new FTB gets Van Dessel’s new interchangeable dropouts on the rear. They allow for either 130mm or 135mm QR, or a 12×142 thru axle. Just switch the dropout and you’re good to go.

Being a traditionalist when it comes to ‘cross, owner Edwin Bull lamented that it’s now disc brake only. He likes cantilevers, but nine out of 10 frames he sold were for disc brakes.

While the rear end can be swapped out, the fork is either they axle or quick release, so you’ve gotta pick which one you want when you buy the bike.

It’s running full internal routing and is Di2 ready. Ports are available with stops or without, accommodating full length housing runs for the rear derailleur if you want, and full length housing or hose for the rear brake.

Nicely shaped seatstays should give the bike a bit of compliance.

It has better heel clearance despite the ability to accommodate the wider axle options. They managed that trick by curving the chainstays compared to the straight ones on the prior model.

Frame weight is at about 1,040g and the complete bike with pedals and Edwin’s racing tubulars was 17.13lb (7.77kg).

The Jersey Devil is their new carbon hardtail 29er.

All internal routing on a very angular frame that Edwin says is very strong and stiff.

It’s a race design that’ll fit up to 2.3 tires. While the road and ‘cross bikes use PFBB30, the JD gets BB92.

It has interchangeable dropouts, too – 135mm QR or 12×142.

Frame weight is about 1,200g, and the complete bike with XX1, FSA cockpit and Stan’s Race Gold wheels was 20.68lb (9.38kg).

The Motivus Maximus road bike replaces the Rivet. They haven’t take it to the wind tunnel, but there are a number of interesting aero shaping details.

Up front, the head tube is kept narrow with a unique flare at the top to accommodate the headset. The fork’s crown is shaped into the downtube and the front brake is slightly recessed into the fork.

The rear end is a bit softer thanks to the curved design, which also hides the rear brake a bit, too.

The downtube gets shaped to tuck the water bottle into it, keeping the air flow running over the bottle smoother. The seat tube uses similar shaping to move the air off the back of your second bottle.

Di2 or mechanical capability by swapping ports.

The bike uses the Shimano Flat Mount disc brake standard, which keeps the frame clean if you’re running rim brakes.

The underside gives a clue as to how the mounts will work – the brakes or adapters will bolt through the frame.

Complete bike weight with heavy, basic wheels is 16.51lb (7.49kg).

VanDesselSports.com