• Inside the Vendetta Boost

June 29, 2016

Time to take a look at what’s going on inside the New 2016 Vendetta Boost.

What’s it all about then?
The idea was simple: Retain the Vendetta’s great character while utilising Boost wheel spacing to help provide clearance for up to 2.8” tyres.

We wanted to optimise the Vendetta Boost’s geometry for use with Boost forks (which have a taller axle to crown) and 2.8” front and rear. With a few minor tweaks, we achieved that.

At the same time we wanted to make the frame as versatile as possible so that there would be no detrimental effect on the geometry with a switch to 2.35” tyres and a non-Boost fork.

With new wheel and tyre standards introduced into mountain biking more often than we change our pants, you could say it’s a future-proof Vendetta.

Just one more thing: It’s not a Vendetta Plus – we already make one of those.

What did we change?
Boost - The most obvious is the 148×12 rear spacing. The Vendetta Boost has an incredibly short chain stay so we used this new industry standard not only for increased wheel stiffness but also to allow maximum clearance for bigger tyres.

This standard affects the brake position on the hub (Boost hubs have wider-spaced flanges). Therefore, as we do not have a dropout option to switch between 142 and 148, unfortunately the rear spacing defines the frame.

Chain stays - Next we lengthen the chain stays slightly – only by 3mm but that combined with widening the clearance in the stays allowed us to get a true 2.8″ tyre in the frame with 12mm clearance at the narrowest point, with very little visual difference.

Geometry - We wanted to keep the outstanding ride of the Vendetta 27.5 so our goal was to change very little in the geometry. The only concession we made was for the longer axle to crown height of Boost forks.

We altered the BB drop slightly (by 5mm), so that with a swap to 27.5, 2.35″ tyres the geo reflects that of our standard Vendetta.

You can see from the geometry chart below that the Vendetta Boost has the same slack head angle, short chain stays and (even) longer top tube than a standard Vendetta.

Cable routing - It has long been our goal to run full internal routing for a stealth dropper. With some tweaking done in our workshop we managed to flare the seat tube at the BB and create space for full internal cable routing, inside the main frame.

From 2016, we will offer all our Vendettas with 3 main frame cable routing options:

Complete Stealth: all main frame cables/hoses will run in the frame with no external cable routing.

Semi-Stealth: internal routing for brakes and gears in the top tube, internal routing for a Stealth dropper in the seat tube with external hose routing on the downtube. The benefit of this option is that a non-Stealth dropper can be used.

Classic: No internal routing and external cable routing runs under the top tube for all cables and hoses

Business as usual.

The rest of the details and specifications on the Vendetta Boost remain the same as the Vendetta 27.5. With a frame weight of just 1.75kgs it’s also light yet incredibly tough and resilient; a full Vendetta Boost bike weighs between 11.5kg and 13kg.

Its signature long, slack and low geo combined with the extreme slope of the top tube make the Vendetta one-of-a-kind, both in ride and looks.

The frame comes complete with a replaceable dropout (including spare dropout) a 148×12 QR axle and a slick Titanium seat clamp.

So what size tyre can I get into my Vendetta Boost?

In spring 2016 we will provide a size guide to all tyres and rim combinations that will fit in the Vendetta Boost, but the current Vendetta Boost will comfortably take a Schwalbe 2.8″ Nobby Nic on a 45mm rim.

We have to say at this point, the wildly varying industry tyre sizing seems to get even worse as tyres get larger; a good example of this is a Schwalbe 2.35 Magic Mary being the same physical size as a WTB 2.8″ Trailblazer tyre when mounted on the same 40mm rim.

Last word on tyre fit

So the only way to be 100% sure a tyre will fit at present is to try the tyre in the frame. If you are thinking of buying a Vendetta Boost and want to check, drop us an email stating the type/model/width of tyre and rim you are planning to use and we will endeavour to get back to you with an answer regarding whether it will fit or not.

Here’s a little gallery of the Vendetta Boost, a ride report will follow soon.





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