{"id":2106526,"date":"2026-08-22T14:58:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T11:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2106526"},"modified":"2026-08-22T14:58:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T11:58:16","slug":"small-batch-frame-builders-arent-just-making-hardtails-check-out-these-full-suspension-bikes-at-made-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2106526","title":{"rendered":"Small-batch frame builders aren\u2019t just making hardtails. Check out these full-suspension bikes at MADE 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"A<\/a>
The Significant Other Ded Reckin. Photos: Travis Reill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some of the most unique, handmade bikes are in Portland, Oregon, this weekend. MADE kicked off yesterday, and the small-batch frame builders have shown up in droves, putting their latest and greatest on display.<\/p>\n

And, despite the barrage of 32\u201d wheels and drop-bar creations, there are still small frame builders making unique full-suspension mountain bikes with \u201cnormal\u201d wheel sizes.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n

A truly spectacular Significant Other<\/h2>\n

Ashley King is the frame builder behind Significant Other<\/a>. The Denver-based brand offers four different models, but only one \u2014 the Ded Reckin \u2014 is currently available to the public.<\/p>\n

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King told us that the Ded Reckin was the first full-suspension bike she designed and dubbed Significant Other\u2019s \u201cDowncountry\u201d bike, with 130\/120mm of travel (F\/R). Like all of the full-suspension offerings in her catalog, the Ded Reckin is a linkage-driven single-pivot with a titanium front triangle and a steel rear triangle.<\/p>\n

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Moving up in travel are the Trail and Super Trail offerings from Significant Other \u2014 the Doom Scroll Prophecy. \u201cThey\u2019re the same front triangle, rear triangle,\u201d Steve Ziegler explained, \u201cjust a different size shock and different lower shock mount.\u201d Ziegler designed the single-pivot on Significant Other. He and King first met while working together at Reeb.<\/p>\n

The Doom Scroll Prophecy Trail is a full 29er with 160\/145mm of travel. Bumping up to the Super Trail gives riders 170mm of front and rear travel, but with a mixed-wheel setup. Ziegler said that they have only tested the Trail version with a 29\u201d rear wheel, but anticipates being able to provide the option for a smaller rear wheel as well.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou may notice there are a lot of different flip chips and different things we\u2019ve been trying out,\u201d Ziegler said, motioning to the Doom Scroll Prophecy Trail. \u201cDifferent leverage curves \u2014 a lot of different things. If there\u2019s enough interest and we roll this into a pre-order, there will be the option to run the Trail in 29 or mullet.\u201d<\/p>\n

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And then there is the Steez Machine \u2014 a 24\u201d kids bike with a massive 150mm of travel, front and rear. King and Ziegler said squeezing that much travel into the bike was likely the most difficult part of the design.\u200b<\/p>\n

\u201cI started making bikes in 2020 at Reeb,\u201d King told us. \u201cI was there for about two years and learned a lot about small-batch fabrication.\u201d This is also where King got to work with steel. She moved on from Reeb and cut her teeth with a small titanium brand for a few years before taking that experience and putting it to use under her own brand.<\/p>\n

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King initially came to the first MADE on a fixed-gear bike with good tire clearance. That was the first bike that got some people\u2019s attention. A brand reached out needing a gravel bike to display new tires. She moved forward with it, but another gravel bike didn\u2019t really excite King. But the brand also mentioned an XC mountain bike tire, and King set off building the Ded Reckin.<\/p>\n

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Doom Scroll Prophecy Trail (left) and Super Trail (right)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI showed [the Ded Reckin] at MADE here last year, and it was the first bike I ever showed where I was getting emails saying, \u2018How do I buy this bike?\u2019\u201d King said. So, she set to fabricating enough to make available in small quantities.<\/p>\n

Significant Other has the Ded Reckin for sale in limited quantities, available as frame-only, frame\/shock, and frame\/shock\/fork options. It features a 65\u00b0 head tube angle, a 76\u00b0 seat tube, and is available in six sizes.<\/p>\n

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Other full-suspension bikes, other materials<\/h2>\n

Titanium wasn\u2019t the only frame material found on full-suspension bikes at MADE.<\/p>\n

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\"Close-up<\/a><\/figure>\n
\"Close-up<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

On display at the Madrone booth was a single-pivot steel offering belonging to Wolfhound Cycles<\/a> founder and builder Fred Cuthbert. Based in Southern Oregon, Wolfhound is known for gravel and hardtail bikes. The full-suspension Wolfhound was, of course, sporting a slick derailleur from Madrone, along with a very interesting use of a headset for the bike\u2019s lone pivot point.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n

Hern\u00e1n Montenegro of Montenegro MFG<\/a> (MMFG) opted to leave his 32\u201d wheel and drop bar bikes at home for a steel enduro bike. Well, steel and carbon fiber, to be exact. MMFG is known for its carbon repair and for building carbon bikes. For this big rig, the front triangle is steel while the rear is carbon fiber. It is also a single-pivot bike, and despite its ample suspension numbers, Montenegro claims it weighs a bit over 36lbs.<\/p>\n

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Moving on to aluminum, Portland-based Paladin Bikes<\/a> had its AM1 on display. The bike can be set up with 150\/140mm or 160\/150mm of travel. Unlike other CNC alloy bikes that often use bonding, Paladin uses a patent-pending \u201cmulti-axis CNC\u201d process to machine all sides of the frame at once.<\/p>\n

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They then drill out specific areas, such as the seat tube, while leaving others hollow. After hollowing out the downtube, Paladin covers it with a double-lap shear joint rather than adhesive bonding. The top tube is shaped like an I-beam, utilizing the sides to tuck in external cable and brake routing.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

And, back to titanium, Sage<\/a> had its Project FAF bike on display. The bike is made of titanium, of course, but also uses 3D-printed titanium at the frame junctions. Two different bikes were bouncing around the show: the Project FAF I\u2019ve seen before and the \u201cHarbinger,\u201d both of which used a flex-stay single-pivot suspension platform, with subtle differences between them.<\/p>\n

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Lastly, I know I said no 32\u201d bikes, and I really meant it. But this pink Sour just really caught my eye, and that looks like a pretty big front wheel.<\/p>\n

Keep up with the latest mountain bike news by adding Singletracks as a preferred source<\/a> on Google.<\/em><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!–<\/p>\n

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Related articles<\/h4>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t–><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A<\/a><\/p>\n
Full suspension bikes<\/a><\/div>\n
The new Stinner Romero is a US-made, full-suspenion steel and aluminum mountain bike<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Close-up<\/a><\/p>\n
Mountain Bikes and Gear<\/a><\/div>\n
What are your mountain bike frames made of?<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Close-up<\/a><\/p>\n
Mountain bikes<\/a><\/div>\n
Sage Project FAF: A USA-made titanium full-suspension downcountry MTB bike<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A<\/a><\/p>\n
Trail Bikes<\/a><\/div>\n
Steel Cotic Jeht 3 mountain bike combines trail and enduro in one mixed-wheel package<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
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The Significant Other Ded Reckin. Photos: Travis Reill Some of the most unique, handmade bikes are in Portland, Oregon, this weekend. MADE kicked off yesterday, and the small-batch frame builders have shown up in droves, putting their latest and greatest on display. And, despite the barrage of 32\u201d wheels and drop-bar creations, there are still […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,274],"class_list":["post-2106526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-singletracks-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2106526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2106526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2106526\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2106526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2106526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2106526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}