When some of us here started riding off road, mountain bikers had one bike to do everything. The focus was on cross-country performance but weekend social events and races put cross-country, trials and downhill skills to the test. Then, riders did it all on one bike. One bike to cope with everything the trail can throw at it, limitations were accepted or overcome and skill attempted to compensate for the lack of braking power or suspension.

Now we have reliable and capable suspension forks, disc brakes that offer total control and frame geometry designed to make the most of these advances. Riding styles have changed in the UK since the early days but the ethics remain for many – one bike to cope with it all. The Altitude series is that kind of bike.

OVERVIEW:

Steel framed hardtails that more than cope with the ups and downs of UK trails. Made from super-strong air-hardening Reynolds 853 steel (Altitude 20 and 30) or trusted Reynolds 520 Cr-Mo (Altitude 00 and 10) to have the ideal blend of stiffness and spring. The Altitude rides with a lively feel in the singletrack and a confident stance on rugged terrain, 20mm through-axle forks on the 853 Altitude 20 and 30 adding to the frame’s technical capabilities. Both tubeset and geometry are designed for 100-130mm travel forks and shorter stems, the overall effect is a trail bike with both attitude and elegance.

TECHNOLOGY:

We use Reynolds steel for many reasons, the main one being that we value the experience of the original maker of butted bicycle tubing. Every high-quality bike out there has been influenced by the tubing technology that Reynolds have been perfecting for over 100 years. Reynolds 853 is still made in Birmingham and developments such as 953 tubing show that steel is as relevant today as it was when they invented butted tubing. Reynolds offer a range of steels from proven 520 Chrome-Moly (equivalent to Tange Prestige Cr-Mo or commonly used ‘4130′ tubing) and heat-treated 725 Chrome-Moly, to air-hardening, heat-treated 853 – a tube that redefined strength-to-weight ratios for steel when first introduced.

We have one main aim with steel frames, and that is to produce a strong, durable frame with enough spring to add comfort and ride ‘feel’, but without excessive flex that can compromise the technical handling benefits of longer forks and wider bars. A down tube gusset reinforces the most stressed area of the frame as well as being an ideal place to mount the gear cable guides, plus we solder-seal the open end of the gusset to prevent unseen rust in this critical area. Tyre clearance is balanced with the need for chainring clearance. Details like this that come about from rider’s experiences are there in every bike frame we make.