We haven’t heard much from Van Dessel Cycles in a while, but that doesn’t mean that they haven’t been busy. Instead, it looks like they’ve been hard at work on an all-new short travel full suspension mountain bike with some surprising features. Called the Linefinder, this bike may just help Van Dessel find their way back into the spotlight.
Van Dessel announced their latest bike over the weekend at the Bentonville Bike Fest 2021. We weren’t able to attend, so for now details are limited to what’s on their website and facebook page. It will likely be the end of the summer before the Linefinder is available, but here’s what we know so far:
Built around a 120mm travel four-bar suspension platform, the Linefinder is a full carbon frame that includes a carbon rocker with a dual-bearing conical thru axle main pivot.
One of the most interesting features is housed in the head tube, which hides an adjustable-reach headset. The frame is intended to be used with a 130-140mm suspension fork, and the special headset apparently offers 10mm in reach adjustment with a large frame moving from 460mm to 470mm in reach. That headset also offers a port for the internal routing to feed into which theoretically should improve any cable rub issues that could happen from existing designs.
Geometry is said to include a 65.5° head tube angle, 75° seat tube angle, and 430mm chainstays for a large frame.
Other details include a T-47 threaded bottom bracket with ISCG 05 mounts, a SRAM UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger), and one water bottle mount inside the front triangle and a carbon guard on the downtube. Tire clearance is listed at 29 x 2.4″.
When available, the frames will be sold in Cobalt Blue or Electric Purple, and pricing is estimated at around $6k for a bike with a Fox 34 fork and Shimano XT 1×12. Apparently large frames will be available first, with the remaining frames to follow.
