Chromag has been doing things very differently from most bike companies for decades now, helping to pioneer modern hardcore hardtails — and doing so in Whistler, BC, in the shadow of the legendary bike park — not exactly classic hardtail terrain.
So when Chromag launched their first production adult full-suspension bikes late last year, it wasn’t a huge surprise that the Darco and Lowdown stood out from the rest of the bike market in a number of ways, from geometry to material selection and more. We sat down with Chromag engineer Joe Swann to get the story behind their development (which stretches back more than a decade); chat about the design goals for the bikes and the ways that Chromag went about achieving them; material selection and the ways that Chromag thinks about choosing the right one for a given application; my impressions from having spent quite a bit of time on the Darco recently (full review coming soon) and a whole lot more.
TOPICS & TIMES:
Joe’s role at Chromag (3:16)
Chromag’s first full-suspension prototype (4:02)
Hitting the reset button (7:39)
The design goals for the Darco and Lowdown (9:07)
Chromag design identity, and carrying that over to the FS lineup (11:40)
Material selection (15:21)
Tuning frame stiffness (18:04)
The Darco (22:26)
The Lowdown (27:04)
Material selection, Pt.2 (29:36)
Brand identity & going FS (31:52)
The 155 prototype (34:05)
Upcoming models? (42:02)
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I feel like we’re going through a steel bike renaissance and I love it. Especially when it comes to longer travel bikes, the weight penalty for steel and aluminum frames isn’t much.
At most you’re looking at 1-2lbs more frame weight. It just doesn’t matter when your enduro bike is going to weigh 35lbs minimum, regardless of frame.
Steel also offers some potential ride feel differences and durability that many people will appreciate.
I look forward to hear more about the Darco and Lowdown.