BIKE OF THE WEEK: RODEO LABS TRAIL DONKEY 4.0

No doubt one of the more uniquely named bikes, from one of the more uniquely named bike brands, the gravel oriented TrailDonkey from Rodeo Labs has received a major re-design.

The new Traildonkey 4.0 is available as either a frameset for $2,975.00 or as a complete bike that can be built on Rodeo Lab’s bike builder program which includes a custom color palette.

RODEO LABS TRAIL DONKEY 4.0

Press Release

With TD4 it was time to strike a new tone for the new platform: elegance and speed. TD4 tube profiles blend together fluidly, and the visual weight of the frame has decreased dramatically. Function doesn’t have to be brutal, it can be beautiful. When built minimally and purposefully, a complete TD4 takes on the appearance of a fast gravel racer, or even a road bike. But when built out for challenging terrain and bikepacking, TD4 shows its feature set well, and stays true to the all terrain DNA that has always been at the heart of a Traildonkey.

Every previous Traildonkey generation used a bonded carbon construction which, while successful, put constrains on the designs of the bike. TD4, and the 3.2 Spork that pairs with it, both now use true single mold, monocoque construction.

Monocoque construction means that the entire structures of the frame and fork are now formed in single, unified carbon layups. The result of this technique is a stronger, lighter bike, and one that has a finer degree of exterior and interior finishing.

TD4 is our first frame to integrate the option of full hidden internal brake and shift housing on your build. Internal routing places the housing inside of your handlebar and down through your stem where it enters the frame via the upper headset. No housing is seen except where it exits the frame at the brake calipers and rear derailleur.

For TD4 we designed a simpler, more functionally elegant slider that allows for a wider wheelbase range. With TD4 you can shift the slider all the way forward to achieve a 425mm chainstay length. This will quicken handling by tucking your rear wheel in under you closer to the bottom bracket. Alternately you may slide the slider all the way out to 460mm, which will result in a bike that feels more stable and tracks more predictably, especially when loaded down with bags and bikepacking gear. Unlike other flip chip adjustable dropout systems on the market today our design is not binary, meaning you can lock in your axle anywhere you prefer along its adjustable length to tune the feel of your bike.

TD4 now features generous and easily accessible storage space in the entirety of its downtube. A simple hatch cover midway on the downtube can be quickly removed to allow access to potential storage space that had previously been under utilized.

Each frameset will ship with a 27.2 spec seatpost shim, but that can simply be removed or swapped if you would like to run 30.8 or 31.6. Why bother with this detail, you ask? Because it gives owners the ability to use components that may have originally designed for MTB use, such as various dropper seatposts. It allows people the ability to build their bikes with parts they may already own instead of forcing them to build within a narrow set of standards.

For more: Rodeo Labs