Van Dessel Aloominator cyclocross frameset announced
Van Dessel Aloominator cyclocross frameset announced
Made-in-USA with progressive geometry and disc or canti options
Van Dessel's new Aloominator is designed as a full-on cyclocross racing machine, featuring a lightweight aluminum tubeset welded in the USA by Zen Bicycle Fabrication in Portland, Oregon
Van Dessel's new Aloominator is designed as a full-on cyclocross racing machine, featuring a lightweight aluminum tubeset welded in the USA by Zen Bicycle Fabrication in Portland, Oregon - James Huang/Future Publishing
Van Dessel builds the new Aloominator with a 1 1/8-to-1 1/2in tapered zero stack head tube. The bolt-on head tube badge is a nice finishing touch - James Huang/Future Publishing
Van Dessel will offer the Aloominator in both canti-specific and disc-specific variants. The disc-specific version will come with 135mm rear hub spacing and an Easton EC90 XD fork while the standard version will be built with traditional 130mm spacing and come with an Enve Composites fork - James Huang/Future Publishing
Van Dessel uses traditional 'two up, one down' routing on the new Aloominator so as to avoid seat tube mounted pulleys or cable pull adapters - James Huang/Future Publishing
The frame is sand blasted and anodized - but first, the logo is masked off. In other words, that means there will be no paint to scratch or chip, which should make the Aloominator easy to clean during race season - James Huang/Future Publishing
Don’t rule out aluminum just yet. Zen Bicycle Fabrication is cranking out top-end frames for a number of manufacturers. Bottle mounts will be moved on production version, by the way - James Huang/Future Publishing
The seat stay mounted IS-style tabs are reinforced with a short strut - James Huang/Future Publishing
Van Dessel boosts tire and chainring clearance on the Aloominator by using this short CNC machined piece on the driveside chain stay - James Huang/Future Publishing
Van Dessel has also revamped its popular WTF model with more tire clearance and a PF30 bottom bracket shell for easier singlespeed conversions - James Huang/Future Publishing
Van Dessel has moved from its four-bolt eccentric bottom bracket to a PF30 setup that more easily allows for both geared and singlespeed drivetrains - James Huang/Future Publishing
The machined chain stay section on the revamped Van Dessel WTF provides clearance for up to 29x2.1in rubber - James Huang/Future Publishing
Van Dessel Sports went through a rough patch last year after cash flow issues found the company struggling to manufacture product. Now with the help of outside capital, the company is back on its feet and already pegging the needle with an all-new Aloominator alloy 'cross frame that's made with US-sourced 6061 tubing and welded in Portland, Oregon by Zen Bicycle Fabrication.
Key features on the Aloominator include a notably oversized down tube, a wide but fairly flat top tube, a tapered 1 1/8-to-1 1/2in head tube with zero stack headset cups, a flared seat tube, and a PF30 bottom bracket shell. Relatively small-diameter stays should help soften the ride on rough courses and a short machined chain stay section boosts tire and chainring clearance – enough to run a single 44-tooth chainring in the inner position.
"I know everyone wants carbon and everything but I love the feel of aluminum," said company principal and founder Edwin Bull. "It's smooth, it's stiff and it's light."
Claimed weight for a 56cm frame is around 1,300g and the progressive, low-slung geometry is closely adapted from Van Dessel's popular Gin & Trombones model. The sandblasted and anodized finish should hold up well to frequent mud and power washings, and the external cable routing is traditional 'two up, one down' cyclocross style so there's no cable pulley required for the front derailleur.
Van dessel builds the new aloominator with a 1 1/8-to-1 1/2in tapered zero stack head tube. the bolt-on head tube badge is a nice finishing touch: van dessel builds the new aloominator with a 1 1/8-to-1 1/2in tapered zero stack head tube. the bolt-on head tube badge is a nice finishing touch - James Huang/Future Publishing
The new Van Dessel Aloominator is all business with oversized 6061 aluminum tubes
Van Dessel will offer the Aloominator in both disc-specific and canti-specific versions with 135mm and 130mm rear hub spacing, respectively. Disc frames will include an Easton EC90 XD fork and canti frames will come with an Enve Composites fork. Suggested retail price for either frameset is $1,599.
The carbon fiber Full Tilt Boogie and cult classic Gin & Trombones model carries on for this season but Bull says big changes are in store for both.
"What I want to do for next year [on the Gin & Trombones] is bring it down a bit, to around a $999 price point," said Bull. "I don't want it to be an 'entry-level' bike, though, so I'm not yet sure what that'll be. We're also working on a new carbon road frame, a new carbon 'cross frame, and a new carbon mountain bike frame. I'm hoping we can expand our US-made frames, too. I'd like to do all of our aluminum in the US."
Don’t rule out aluminum just yet. zen bicycle fabrication is cranking out top-end frames for a number of manufacturers. bottle mounts will be moved on production version, by the way: don’t rule out aluminum just yet. zen bicycle fabrication is cranking out top-end frames for a number of manufacturers. bottle mounts will be moved on production version, by the way - James Huang/Future Publishing
Van Dessel hopes to soon bring all of its aluminum frame production stateside
One model that's already been revamped is Van Dessel's versatile WTF, whose relaxed geometry and enormous tire clearances (up to a 29 x 2.1in MTB tread) can produce anything from a heavy duty touring bike to a monstercrosser and anything in between. New for this year is a PF30 bottom bracket shell instead of the previous eccentric (it can still be set up as a single speed with a Beer Components bottom bracket) and a split rear dropout for belt compatibility.
Van dessel has also revamped its popular wtf model with more tire clearance and a pf30 bottom bracket shell for easier singlespeed conversions: van dessel has also revamped its popular wtf model with more tire clearance and a pf30 bottom bracket shell for easier singlespeed conversions - James Huang/Future Publishing
The Van Dessel WTF has been revamped with less weight and even more versatility than before
The chromoly tubing sizes have been refined, too, cleaving nearly a pound of weight.
James Huang is BikeRadar's former technical editor. After leaving BikeRadar in 2016, he worked at CyclingTips and Escape Collective. He now runs the Substack cycling publication N-1 Bikes.
