This isn’t the first full-suspension BMX frame we’ve seen, but WeThePeople Swamp Master may be the first proper production BMX fully to come to market. WeThePeople describe it as a bike inspired by gravity mountain biking, but never forgetting how much fun it can be to ride a bike on 20″ wheels. And fully embracing what it feels like to throw a BMX into the air, whipping tricks off some dirt jumps…
WeThePeople Swamp Master full-suspension BMX bike
We got a little tease that a prototype Swamp Master existed last winter, when sister brand Éclat launched their disc brake Exile cassette BMX hub. And we’d already seen WTP taking a bit of MTB inspiration with their Chaos Machine. But this now takes it to the next level. And to 100mm of BMX suspension travel.
OK, so a quick refresher on 20″ fullies. We’ve been watching Fingers Crossed hacking together sketchy full-suspension with BMX legend Ruben Alcantara since early 2020. But those prototypes always scared us. A year later we saw UK custom BMX frame builder DeathPack offering to convert your current bike for a reasonable price. That looked a bit safer, but the name still scared me a bit. 😉
Now, WeThePeople’s new Swamp Master is a full-on production bike, engineered in Germany. Combining a burly 4130 chromoly frame with legit air suspension, and monster 2.6″ wide tires to create a tiny bike meant to send huge jumps. Take it to the bikepark, or shred some local singletrack, or hit the dirt jumps on the edge of town.
Wait, who are WP again?
Based in Cologne, Germany WeThePeople, or WTP, has built a name for themselves on the back of street-style 20″ BMX bikes, with a number of larger wheeled cruisers and klunkers that have also caught our mountain bikers’ attention. But as a part of the larger WeMakeThings company, they also cover tons of other disciplines with brands like Radio racing BMX & dirt jumpers, Éclat with cool BMX components, Bombtrack MTB, CX, gravel & commuter bikes, and Seido gravel & MTB components. So really, they’ve got their hands in every kind of bike. So, it not too surprising to see product designers from one brand blurring discipline lines.
Swamp Master Tech Details
OK, let’s look a bit closer. The WeThePeople Swamp Master is a full 4130 chromoly steel frame with big welded plate chainstay yokes for mega tire clearance, and a tapered 1.5″ headtube with top & downtube gussets.
It’s a 66mm travel single pivot rear suspension design with its main pivot concentric around the 22mm PressFit bottom bracket. It is a single speed with classic rear-facing horizontal track end dropouts that feature built-in chain tensioners. And of course, concentric pivot so no chain growth.
WTP builds the bike up with wide 20″ x 2.6″ Kenda Kaos tires on the 38mm wide Éclat alloy rims and Éclat’s Exile cassette hub. And 160mm hydraulic disc brakes to bring it to a stop.
It gets a 100mm travel 20″ Manitou Machete J-Unit Expert fork. That’s typically a kid’s fork, but here with a special tune for adult rider weights.
Rear suspension is handled by a RockShox Monarch RL shock, with a lockout for the pedal back up the hill.
WeThePeople Swamp Master – Pricing, availability & options
So first, no options. It’s a full-suspension BMX in one size – with a 21.5″ toptube.
And it comes in any color you want, as long as you want black. Price-wise, the Swamp Master sells complete for 1700€ in Europe or $1950 in the US. Getting will probably be a bit tricky, as they didn’t make a ton of these. Who could guess why? Officially the first batch is available in WTP retailer shops since last week. But many of those might have already sold out. The next batch is expected to land in early January, though. So if you missed out, talk to your WTP dealer now to lock in one of the next run.
Rumor has it, a separate frameset, perhaps even a Signature-series Swamp Master, may be available in 2024 for your own custom bull-suspension BMX build.
