The legendary Cjell Monē of Monē Bikes has released information on the dates in which you can order his handmade bikes. Cjell has spent a lot of time riding and perfecting his design on various different adventures over the past years. These steel bikes are designed with all of the new modern fixings one would want for their bikepacking rig. The pre-order for Monē Bikes begins in 2 weeks, so make sure you are on the list.
I love handmade bikes, especially brazed steel ones. I don’t, however, enjoy the fact that most of these bikes come with a seriously high price tag and long wait time. A long wait time and a high price tag are not points of pride for me as a builder. Bikes are meant to be ridden, not waited for. My hand built frames are competitively priced but I am not crazy enough to think that at this price everyone should have one. For almost all people, myself included, a production bike is more than adequate. Bike companies are coming out with some seriously amazing bikes these days. Pick your size and ride the damn thing. Maybe it’s not hand brazed. Maybe you don’t know who made it, but will you have less fun riding it? Now imagine a world where you could find a bike that will fit you amazingly with custom details like hand brazing and killer components that didn’t set you back the price of a new car. This world would likely have free ice cream and beer as well. This utopia, my friends, has arrived. Maybe not the free ice cream and beer, but the bikes. I had the good fortune of connecting with one of the finest steel bike producers in the world today. Not only do they have the largest stock of Columbus steel tubing, but they know how to stick it together to make bike frames…very very well. They also do it a bit faster than I can myself. It was when I saw the quality and attention to detail that they put into each frame I knew it would be a good fit for Monē Bikes. Over the last few years I have been developing two models of bikes with a single goal. Fun. Plain and simple, these bikes are smile machines. These two production models have a few things in common. Clearance for 29+ tires, new boost spacing and serious value. They will be available as frame only or complete bikes. A touring bike to end all touring bikes, and a slack yet nimble 29+ or 27.5+ trail dominating hardtail. Both of these bikes will feature sweet Monē Bikes details like raw fillets, clear raw steel finish, side attached seat stay etc. but will be much more affordable and readily available.
El Continte
This bike was literally born on the Tour Divide. This model now has 5 trips up and down the Great Divide Route already.
The frames and completes come with a custom fillet brazed Monē stem as well as the ride tuned 29+ Monē twin plate fork. Those items will be available separately as well.
If you look at the other dirt drop specific designs, these bikes achieve the desired handle bar height with a long fork. Nothing wrong with that other than it makes your front triangle much smaller than necessary. El Continente features a shorter axle to crown to give you as large of a frame triangle as possible. There is no better, more accessible place to store your food, water and gear than a frame bag. The bigger the better.
This is also why all frames and complete bikes will ship with the creme de le creme, Dave Wilson’s Nuclear Sunrise Stitchworks frame bags. Dave and I have been improving these bags for 4 years now. The bag will be a lace up design, light x-pac cloth, with big #10 YKK zippers. Again, you literally can’t do better. Did I already say that?
The bike was designed around the Tour Divide, yes, but it has been my go to machine for all kinds of riding. At low low pressures it will take on snow. It’s not a Surly Puglsy, but it will take on snowy trails, groomed trails and snowed in passes with no problem. The big frame bag makes it a no brainer as a around town commuter too. Groceries seem at home here. There is not a lot this bike doesn’t do.
La Roca
The AM (all mountain) hardtail. What does that even mean, ‘All Mountain’?
The AM hardtail is a hot segment, and with good reason. These bikes rip. The trend is this…combine a long top tube with a very short stem and slack headtube angle. A long TT and slack front end makes for a very stable bike. The most lust worthy examples today are the ones that seem to be the longest and slackest. All of that comes at a price. Long wheelbases. The La Roca has struck the perfect balance in this area to be a bike that descends as well as anything available while maintaining a reasonable wheelbase. A very very short chainstay with a medium length top tube while retaining a slack 67° head angle is the perfect combination to navigate a tight switchback, climb as well as descend. Let’s not be mistaken, this bike is made to go down, but it climbs and handles tight twisties too. ‘All Mountain’ lets say.
One of the coolest things the La Roca does is change personality. Change out the fork and it’s a new bike. It has been designed to get along with a whole load of different forks. Throw a 160mm monster on with 650b+ wheels and it gets a degree more slack and the standover height comes right back. A 487 A-C fork (100mm of travel) yeilds a 69° heattube angle and 43mm of BB drop. A very forgiving full rigid single track queen. Something like a 450mm fork is still good to go giving a 71° head angle and and 57mm of BB drop. 35mm of seatpost setback brings the seat angle back to 73°. Throw a Jones Loop bar on and you can do it all.
With three bottle cages it doesn’t forget those who can see how well this bike is suited to single track events like the Arizona Trail Race or to Colorado Trail Race. Steel, 29+ with three bottle cages…yes my friends, utopia has arrived.
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