Ryan Pelletier, the man behind RCP Fabrication, has been building mountain bikes and trials bikes in Connecticut for years. Now, after more than a year of testing geometries and frame builds, he’s ready to launch a 29er made for tight, technical east coast riding.
Called the NE29R, it’s on offer through Kickstarter with funds raised used to purchase the tooling needed to make the special bends in the frame and other model-specific bits and pieces. What makes the bike unique is a dramatically bent seat tube that tucks the rear wheel very close to the cranks. The result is an insanely short chainstay length of just 410mm (16.14″). That’s short for any bike, and amazingly short for a full size 29er.
Another unique twist is the sizing. Taking a cue from BMX bikes, it’s available in either regular or long frame sizes. The regular is said to be good for folks from 5’5″ up to 6’0″. Taller riders, or those that just like a long top tube, can order the Long, which extends the effective top tube length from 588mm to 636mm.
Pics and geometry charts below…
NE29R prototypes used a straight seat tube welded further up the downtube, well in front of the bottom bracket. The actual bikes will use custom bent seat tubes.
The standard frame geometry, above, and the long frame, below. Chainstays remain the same on both.
Small pledges to his Kickstarter campaign will get their name on his website, a water bottle, t-shirts, etc. Get up to $900 and your name’s on the list for a frame. Keep going and he’s offering complete bikes built up with SRAM X7 or X9, depending on the amount.