Vermette's Frameworks DH looked more bling than ever as he backflipped his way to men's junior victory at the Lenzerheide UCI World Cup, with the American's bike featuring chrome fork crowns, custom brake levers and a possible 5Dev signature crankset.
It also appears that Frameworks is experimenting with anodisation, with the rider's link now black to match the carbon fibre rear end.
We caught up with the young American in the pits at Lenzerheide to take a closer look at his bike before it crosses the Atlantic to finish the season.
- New SRAM XC drivetrain spotted on Nino Schurter's retiring race bike
- Prototype SRAM DH AXS and RockShox Boxxer spotted on Troy Brosnan’s Canyon Sender
Frameworks DH
Vermette rides for Frameworks Racing 5Dev, and uses the brand’s simply named DH bike.
The team was founded by ex-racer Neko Mulally, who decided to develop and bring his own bikes to market in 2022.
The bike has been around in various guises for a while, but there appears to be a creeping darkness lately – with the main link now featuring a black anodised coating that not only makes the go-faster flames stand out, but highlights the chrome beauty of the front triangle.
This linkage is connected to a Fox Float X2 Factory rear shock, controlling the frame’s 200mm of rear suspension.
Many riders choose to use coil shocks for their sensitivity, with Vermette in the minority with his air shock.
The bike can be set up in two travel options, with 200mm of travel in the linear setting or 205mm in the progressive position.
In the centre of the bike are 5 Dev crank arms, which appear to take the shape of Cam Zink Signature Freeride Cranks, but with custom engraving, including more flames and an 'AV3' enscription.
Earlier in the year, we saw Vermette using what appeared to be R-SPEC Trail Enduro Cranks, with hollow cutouts.
These are connected to an Ochain device, which reduces pedal kickback from the suspension on large hits.
Pedal kickback comes from the cassette and chainring moving away from each other as the bike compresses, requiring more chain on the topside of the drivetrain.
Ochain's design enables the chainring to feed that chain to the topside without rotating the crank arms, keeping your feet secure on the pedals.
Asa Vermette’s name features on other parts of the bike, with the TRP DH-R Evo Pro brakes marked with ‘Asa’ on the right reservoir cap.
Vermette has switched to the chrome version of the brakes since we last saw his bike at RedBull Hardline Wales earlier this year.
Up front, the bike is supported by a Fox Factory 40 fork, which features chrome crowns to match the raw aesthetic of the Vermont welded frame.
TRP’s Evo 7 groupset is used for shifting and has one of the only derailleurs found on the DH scene that isn't made by SRAM or Shimano.
Vermette chooses a Spank Spike 35 handlebar with 40mm rise. While it's not quite at the ape-hanger heights of 75mm we've seen Dakotah Norton riding, more riders are choosing high-rise bars.
Continental’s Kryptotal tyres are wrapped around ENVE rims.
