Flex-stays are all the rage on shorter travel mountain bikes these days, and Reeb Cycles has a prototype SST model with a 120mm rear axle path. The brand says that this flexed four-bar “uses custom formed steel stays, a hollow yoke, and proprietary dropouts to precisely control suspension movement and increase lateral stiffness over a traditional steel frame.” That all sounds great, but we also need to note that this bike is ridiculously good looking.
A number of the frame’s components use a selective laser melting (SLM) 3D print method, which should allow the R&D team to make small adjustments in the frame’s geometry and suspension kinematic without tossing the baby and bathwater. The SLM technique is said to also allow for thinner and a cleaner finished product than CNC machines can manage, allowing Reeb to cut weight and aim for precise ride characteristics.
Details have yet to be released on when this prototype may reach production and what the geo, price, and build spec will be. Reeb Cycles will be at the coming Sedona Mountain Bike festival if you want to see the SST with your own eyes.
How will the fatigue work in the long haul?
Looks nice, needless to say.
Looks good and cool to see how SLM could speed up geo and kinematic progression even more.
That is an absolutely stunning bike. Thus far, most steel full sus bikes look a bit… eccentric. But this one is just 😍. If they had any presence in NZ I’d definitely pick one of these up when they come out.