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Rat Snake

The Rat Snake is an all purpose bicycle for a rider who favors dirty places. It is not a big tire gravel bike. It’s not a mountain bike, although we’d forgive you for mistaking it for one. Perhaps it’s most similar to some makers’ bikepacking bikes, but it’s longer on both sides of the rider.

 

It’s designed to be thoroughly composed at speed down a steep gravel road, loaded down, seat dropped; to not mind longer, faster rides down smoother roads; and to be capable of plodding along through rutted out doubletrack all day. It’s also designed to be able to take a 120mm suspension fork and handle most kinds of trail mountain biking. 

 

In riding it, the real magic of the bike is the weight balance, and the key to the weight balance is the long rear-center. Using a longer real center makes the bike inherently more stable. This means we can sacrifice a bit of the stability that might otherwise come from using slack headtube angles (like modern hardtails). Both the long chainstays (~495 as pictured in the XL prototype) and the steeper headtube angle (68) put more weight on the front tire. The result is incredible grip without needing to climb all over the front end of the bike. This is a bike that loves being ridden in a neutral, relaxed position.

 

Compared to a proper hardtail or rigid mountain bike, it gives up some playfulness in exchange for luxury, balance, and front end grip. Compared to a “normal” modern bikepacking bike, our hot take so far is that it gives up nearly nothing. 

 

Outside of its riding qualities, it was important for the bike to lend itself to camping. To that end, we added some bends to the downtube to make a little more frame bag space, and designed a custom, minimal rear rack. It’s designed around 29” tires between 2.35-2.6, with plenty of mud clearance around either. 

 

Comes in one-color paint included in price or inquire for special custom colors/schemes.

Frame only starting at $1899 

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Standover measured with 29x2.6 tires and no sag.

There's room for you to choose a dropper post that works best for your saddle height. We find it best to take your measurement from your current bike or professional fit. 

*Small comes in 27.5" (650b) wheel or 29", both are wildly different bikes in terms of geo and fit. Please feel free to chat with us so we get you on the right one for your needs.

**Sizing is different for this bike, its long and designed for a swept back bar. If you are going to use a swept back bar we recommend following the sizing chart. If you prefer a more conventional bar you might consider sizing down.

***Custom sizing is available too, just ask. We've included as many dimensions as possible, but if you have questions we'd be happy to answer them. Email maestrofabrication@gmail.com

  • Bushnell Adjustable Eccentric Bottom Bracket 

  • English thread 68/73 external bearing BB required

  • Importantant *Recommended 55mm chainline crank (boost mountain crank spacing with Non-offset chainring (max 36t)

  • Paragon Machine Works Rocker style rear dropouts w/ optional belt drive split

  • Comes with PMW inserts for 148x12 rear thru axle and post-mount 160mm rear disc brake mount. Please specify any alternate requirents 

  • Boost 148mm Rear hub spacing

  • Optional carbon fork boost spacing 110mm

  • Headtube External Cup Top EC34/ Bottom EC44 for 1 1/8"- 1 1/2" tapered steer

  • Mounting for fenders and racks

  • Seatpost 31.6mm Internal Dropper compatible

  • Double binder integrated seat clamp

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