Minnesota-based Rawland Cycles is introducing two new fully rigid steel off-road models, the US$715 Drakkar and Ravn, as well as bullmoose-inspired moustache bars and stem.
Taking a page from the early NorCal off-road pioneers, the Rawland Drakkar is designed for dirt drop bars and 700c/29er wheels, fitting into today's monster 'cross category. Tubing is TIG-welded Columbus Zona steel, with a Pacenti-designed wide fork crown for stiffness and gobs of tyre clearance.
The shot-peened rear dropouts are slotted like a track bike, with a derailleur hanger for adding multiple gears. Disc brake mounts are integrated into the dropouts, which accept up to a 185mm rotor.
Company founder and designer Sean Virnig added a few modern touches to the frames, adding full cable routing braze-ons to the down tube for a more direct line to the chainstay-mounted rear disc mount.
Fender and rack mounts are part of Virnig's emphasis on versatility for both models. The Ravn's tyre clearance works for a 26x2.4-inch or 650Bx2.1-inch tyre, while the Drakkar fits all knobby 650B and 29er tyres.
The Rawland Ravn
Sizes for the Drakkar include small (45cm), medium (49cm) and large (53cm). The Ravn sizes include small (51cm), medium (53cm), large (56cm) and extra large (59cm). Both models have 50mm fork rakes across the board.
Rawland's Elgoske and Antler stem and handlebars are a modern-day interpretation of the early `80s Ritchey bullmoose bars, with a Bridgestone/Rivendell moustache bar twist. Virnig has added removable face plates on the Elgoske stem for easily swapping out bars. The Rawland Anter combo retails for US$150.
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