"We've said it again and again, but the two characteristics that define the Lowdown are its comfort and ability to track at high speeds"
- PinkBike
If Darco is the scalpel, Lowdown is the sledgehammer
Lowdown
170mm
158mm
29"
Steel & Aluminum
3 Year Warranty
"The rear suspension keeps enough in reserve to bail you out of sticky situations, while at the same time offering enough support to pop off ledges and natural kickers"
- Enduro Mag
Builds & Specs
- Fork // Rock Shox™ ZEB Ultimate 170mm, 15x110mm, 42mm, 1 Token
- Shock // Rock Shox™ Super Deluxe Ultimate 205x60mm, 2 Tokens, LN M Tune
- Stem // Chromag HiFi35 35mm
- Bar // Chromag OSX 35
- Headset // Cane Creek 40
- Crankset // SRAM™ X01 Eagle 170mm, 30t
- Brakes // SRAM™ Code RSC
- Rotors // SRAM™ Centerline 200mm
- Shifter // SRAM™ X01 Eagle 12 Speed
- Cassette // SRAM™ X01 Eagle 12 Speed
- Chain // SRAM™ X01 Eagle 12 Speed Flat Top
- Derailleur // SRAM™ X01 T-Type Eagle 12 Speed
- BB // DUB 73mm Threaded
- Wheels // Chromag BA30 / R4
- Tires // Maxxis DHF/DHR Double Down
- Seatpost // Rock Shox™ Reverb, 125 - 200mm
- Saddle // Chromag Trailmaster DT
- Grips // Chromag Format
- Pedals // -
Build options are subject to availability and liable to change without notice.
- Fork // Rock Shox™ ZEB Ultimate 170mm, 15x110mm, 42mm, 1 Token
- Shock // Rock Shox™ Super Deluxe Ultimate 205x60mm, 2 Tokens, LN M Tune
- Stem // Chromag HiFi35 35mm
- Bar // Chromag OSX 35
- Headset // Cane Creek 40
- Crankset // SRAM™ GX Eagle 170mm, 30t
- Brakes // SRAM™ Code RSC
- Rotors // SRAM™ Centerline 200mm
- Shifter // SRAM™ GX Eagle 12 Speed
- Cassette // SRAM™ GX Eagle 12 Speed
- Chain // SRAM™ GX Eagle 12 Speed
- Derailleur // SRAM™ GX Eagle 12 Speed
- BB // DUB 73mm Threaded
- Wheels // Chromag BA30 / R4
- Tires // Maxxis DHF/DHR Double Down
- Seatpost // Rock Shox™ Reverb, 125 - 200mm
- Saddle // Chromag Trailmaster DT
- Grips // Chromag Format
- Pedals // -
Build options are subject to availability and liable to change without notice.
• Frame Construction // 4130 Cr-Mo Steel / 6066 Aluminum
• Rear Travel // 158mm
• Wheel Size // 29”
• Rear Axle // 180mm, M12 X 1.00mm (Boost 148)
• BB Type // BSA 73mm Threaded
• Headset // 44-56mm
• Linkage // Rocker Driven Horst Linkage
• Shock Size // 205 x 60mm Trunnion
• Lower Shock Hardware // 20 x 8mm
• Hanger // SRAM™ UDH™
• Recommended Fork Offset // 42mm
• Seatpost Size // 31.6mm
• Seatclamp Size // 35mm
• Bottle Cage Mount // Yup!
• Gear Mount // Yup!
• Brake Mount // 180mm Post
• Frame Weight //
• Origin // Taiwan
The Lowdown
MATERIAL SELECTION
As you might expect from any Chromag, The Lowdown relies firmly on a 4130 chromoly steel foundation. We believe that the ride characteristics and aesthetics for which our hardtails are known, absolutely translates to a full suspension platform.
However, a dual suspension rig provides different challenges, which is why we opted for 6066 aluminum chainstays and seatstays. Primarily for weight saving and stiffness, but the chainstay also houses bearings which is more difficult to do in steel. Using a mix of aluminum and steel helps strike the right balance of compliance and rigidity.
The rocker is made from forged aluminum due to its strength/weight ratio and ability to be machined more easily than steel.
key features
Attention to detail in every aspect of this bike.
Suspension designed, tuned and honed in the Sea to Sky.
suspension kinematics
We chose to use a 4-bar suspension layout for the Lowdown, with a main pivot located just above the bottom bracket, a seattube-mounted rocker link, and a vertically oriented, trunnion-mounted shock. We found this layout to strike a good balance of tuneability, ride quality, and elegant simplicity. A 4-bar layout offered enough tuning parameters for us to design the suspension characteristics the way we wanted them, simultaneously achieving our targets for leverage ratio, progression, anti-squat, and anti-rise.
Long, low and slack.
geometry
The Lowdown geometry lands it in the modern-aggressive camp. A slack head angle (63.5°) lends itself best to speed and rowdy terrain. The steep seat tube angle (79°) gives a central position when seated, helping maintain traction and a feeling of being within the wheelbase. Short seat tubes allow a rider to choose a bike based on the reach size they prefer without worry that the seat height/stand over will be a limiting factor. Medium-short chain stays (440mm) and a medium-low bottom bracket (-30mm) balance straight line stability and keep the bike agile, allowing for quick reactions and ripping corners.
The geometry as a whole aims to strike the balance of being a playful and quick reacting destroyer, it can both plow chunk when required whilst also boosting side hits depending on the mood or requirement.
Frame Size | STypical Rider Height: 155cm - 165cm | MTypical Rider Height: 163cm - 174cm | M/LTypical Rider Height: 172cm - 183cm | LTypical Rider Height: 181cm - 192cm | XLTypical Rider Height: 190cm - 200cm |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
623 | 623 | 625 | 637 | 646 | |
449 | 471 | 490 | 513 | 530 | |
570 | 592 | 612.5 | 637 | 656 | |
100 | 100 | 105 | 115 | 125 | |
1232 | 1254 | 1280 | 1302 | 1324 | |
30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | |
345 | 345 | 345 | 345 | 345 | |
689 | 718 | 747 | 777 | 806 | |
440 | 440 | 440 | 440 | 440 | |
350 | 380 | 410 | 440 | 470 | |
201 | 231 | 260 | 288 | 316 | |
63.5° | |||||
79° | |||||
29.0'' |
* Max. post insertion based on Rockshox Reverb
THIS IS AN APPROXIMATE GUIDE, SOME PEOPLE HAVE LONGER LEGS THAN OTHERS!
Sizing
If you're between sizes, it's a good idea to try to ride them both, either by hopping on a demo or stealing from a close friend. If that isn't an option, examine reach, stack and ETT numbers on your current bike and compare. If in any doubt, please get in touch and we'd be happy to chat about it with you.
You could also check out the review section, to see how this bike fits other people.
Feast your eyes.
gallery
FAQ's
Absolutely! You'll need to buy the mullet link (and a 27.5" rear wheel obviously).
Yes. There is good shock clearance for any normal shock, air or coil. The leverage ratio works well with modern high volume air shocks and coilshocks.
For spring rates, we recommend using the TF Tuned spring calculator: tftuned.com/spring-calculator.
No. This means fitting a shock that has a longer eye to eye or stroke to get more travel out of a frame. Fitting a longer stroke shock would cause clearance issues between the seat stay brace and seat tube, this would void your frame warranty.
The Lowdown will fit most tires up to 2.5” wide with plenty of mud clearance. Note that most tires do not measure exactly as stated by the manufacturer, and tires from one manufacturer vary greatly to the next.
There are no ISCG mounts on the Lowdown. The bike was designed without a chain guide option, to leave more room for the main pivot and thus more bearing stability.
A collet axle means there is no pull up to remove any free space in the main pivot bolted joint. This eliminates binding as it goes through its travel, improving suspension performance.
All bearings are surrounded, where possible, by large flat surfaces making removal and refitting far easier. There is access to the outer race of all bearings so if a bearing inner race comes out leaving the outer behind it is still possible to remove the outer with simple tools. See exploded diagrams in the tech pack for more info.
If you’re not comfortable removing/installing your own bearings, we strongly recommend bringing your bike to a local bike shop. It’s possible to damage your bike beyond repair if you improperly remove/install your bearings. Such damage would not be covered under our warranty policy.
The Lowdown can accommodate a change in fork travel of up to +/- 10mm. Using a 180mm fork will slacken the headtube and seattube angles by about 0.5° and raise the BB. A 160mm fork will do the opposite. Keeping it simple, a longer fork will make the bike more stable at speed, and a shorter one will make it more responsive.
That being said, we designed the bike around a 170mm fork as we think it is well-suited to the character of the bike, striking a good balance of agility and stability.
The Lowdown uses a boost rear end (148mm). As such, the chain line should reflect this, typically 51-54mm or a 3mm offset on the chain ring if running SRAM.
With a 52mm chainline (SRAM boost standard), the Lowdown can fit up to a 34-tooth chainring.
For context, most of us here are running a 30t, with a 10/52 cassette.
Download the tech pack here for all the juicy details.
Not much! You can read in depth about it here, but in short:
• Inflate tires to desired pressure. (Sealant is already installed)
• Install brake rotors, tightening bolts to 6.2Nm.
• Attach derailleur to frame, tightening to 9Nm making sure that the B-tension tab rests properly against the derailleur hanger stop.
• Grease headset bearings, install fork and handlebar, positioning the headset spacers above or below the stem according to rider fit.
• Align handlebar stem, preload headset and tighten stem pinch bolts to 8Nm.
• Install wheels, tighten axles.
• Install chain with quick link.
• Grease pedal threads and install pedals using pedal washers supplied.
• Adjust brakes, shifters, saddle position and height for personal preference.
• Set up suspension.
• Bed-in brakes. (Roll down a gentle gradient dragging one brake at a time. Avoid locking them up.)
• Go ride!
Note: If you had to Google "Nm", or you don't know which way to install your rotors, you should probably get a qualified mechanic to build your bike!
• Chain length adjusted.
• Gears adjusted.
• Brakes set up and bled.
• Handlebar tightened to 6Nm.
• Grips tight on handlebar.
• Crankset tight, bottom bracket tight/adjusted.
• Saddle and seatpost tight.
• Seatpost greased *make sure to re-grease every 6 months!
• Tire sealant installed.
• Cassette tight.