Take a look at this curvy road rig from French steel mountain bike specialist, Caminade – it’s the Route 66 and the company is shipping the first batch of steel frames to customers this month.
We’re in two minds about the aesthetics and whether its swooshy tubes and irregular looks work. Isn’t it just too different?
Cyfac's exceptional manufacturing is shown off in the Route 66 to great effect
Either way the absence of a standard double diamond in a production road frame is an oddity and for that reason alone, it’s worth the attention.
Caminade – whose bikes are built by top quality French mountain bike manufacturer Cyfac – is only selling the Route 66 in three sizes, with a 45cm seat tube for a small and 51cm for a large, yet the company says one of these sizes will fit most riders.
The steel is performance race frame Columbus’ Spirit steel tubing allied to a Cyface carbon fork. Steering is done with a 1 1/8in integrated headset and it has a maintenance-friendly English threaded bottom bracket.
Geometry wise, the frame is a hybrid. Its name suggests its its built for comfort and the long hall – and that backed up with a relatively slack 72.5 degree head tube angle. Yet the wheelbase is compact: the m/l size is just 97.8cm, while many other endurance bikes are north of a metre for a 56cm frame.
The Caminade Route 66's silhouette takes some getting used to
The colour customisable frameset is available for €1,799 for EU customers, €1,509 for international buyers. And there are a couple of optional extras – a different fork colour and adding a name to the frame will cost EU customers €100 extra per item – so not cheap then.
Still it's an interesting looking beast.