It seems versatility was high on the list of priorities in the design of the new Rapidé Tigré 29er. A handful of simple and subtle design features mean this steel hardtail can run 27.5″ or 29″ wheels with 3″ wide tires, standard or boost rear end spacing, and a 100mm to 140mm fork. Let’s take a look at the low, long and slack geometry that allows for it.
Rapidé Tigré 29 Hardtail
The Rapidé Tigré is a South African-designed Taiwanese steel frame hardtail mountain bike. A multitude of neat design features mean you can run it as a single-speed bikepacking pony or as a trail-slaying hardcore hardtail.
The 4130 chromoly tube set is custom-butted. Notable design features include ovalised seat stays for added vertical compliance, an over-sized downtube gusset-reinforced at the headtube, a double-butted top tube shaped especially for vibration absorption and a plated chainstay-BB interface for maximum tire clearance.
Sliding dropouts mean riders can fine tune chainstay length to suit their wheel and tire size and/or riding style. It also allows riders to tension the chain appropriately when running the frame single-speed. With a 29″ or 27.5″ wheel, a 3″ tire (more like 75mm) is the maximum width the Tigré will accommodate.
The Rapidé Tigré is able to run either a 142mm x 12mm rear end or a 148mm x 12mm rear end. How do they do it? Well, the frame is actually specified at 145mm. The sliding dropouts themselves have chamfered edges with tweaked thru-axle threads each side of the frame. This means the stays can flex inward or outward 1.5mm to accommodate both hub standards. Buy the bike initially with a 142mm or 148mm thru-axle to suit your needs.
The Tigré is built to run a 1x setup, allowing up to a 36T oval or 38T round chainring at 3mm or 6mm offset.
Versatile geometry figures
Rapidé have designed the Tigré 29 with a set of geometry figures that should make it viable for use with a 100mm to a 140mm fork. A medium to extra-large frame size range offers reach figures from 461mm to 516mm and seat tube lengths from 433mm to 533mm.
If you’re looking to ride this bike down hill with anything like aggression, the 140mm fork option offers the slackest head angle at 65.2°. It also produces the slackest seat tube angle; 72.8° on the XL frame.
With a 100mm fork, reach lengthens considerably and angles steepen up to give a HA of 67° and a much more pedal-friendly seat angle of 74.5°.
Pricing & Availability
The Rapidé Tigré is available now at a reduced price of R 8,346.96 (~$555). The frame gets a two year warranty and comes with a zero-stack HeadStart headset, thru-axle and 34.9mm seat clamp.
