South Africa’s Momsen Bikes has been growing rapidly on their home turf, upping the ante with sponsorship of that continent’s first UCI XCO mountain bike team, Kargo Pro MTB.
To keep them at the front of the pack, founder Victor Momsen developed a special edition of the Vipa for 1x drivetrains only. It’s team issue only for now, but will be offered as a frameset to everyone starting August 2014. A complete bike built will follow for 2015. The main (only) difference is a revised drive side chainstay. Since clearance for multiple and larger chainrings wasn’t necessary, he beefed up the stay to maximize stiffness.
Detail shots and more below…
This one made its World Cup debut in South Africa earlier this year. Note the massively oversized chainstay, about three times as tall as the standard Vipa built for 2x drivetrains.
The Vipa is pure XC race. It’s built around 80mm rear wheel travel intended for 80-100mm forks. The Small size frame is designed around 650B wheels, and the Medium and Large are 29er.
The suspension and frame are designed in conjunction with Patrick Morewood. Check this post for more on the collaboration and images of the standard Vipa.
The front triangle remains unchanged, hence the front derailleur mount. That may go away on production 1x frames. Price and spec TBD.
MOMSEN DESIGN
The other side of the company is components, and their new Downer stem combines with their Up/Down carbon handlebar to lower the cockpit height even further.
It’s available in 60mm and 90mm lengths with a -20º rise. Full carbon, boxy construction should make for a very stiff stem. Weights are claimed at 139g and 160g. It comes with 5mm and 10mm carbon steerer tube spacers, too.
