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Hello fellow shredders, we hope the snowy new year has you feeling positive after a tumultuous year unlike any other. If there was a silver lining, it was that most of us had a lot more time to ride our bikes. If you were smart enough to pull the trigger early, maybe you were even riding a new bike, lucky you!
The bike industry surely saw a huge uptick in interest and sales - until the parts supply dried up and we were all collectively scrambling just to make sure we had fresh grips, rubber and chains to slap on our personal bikes. If you found even that errand tricky, imagine how difficult it was to spec whole production runs of frames with enough parts to make complete bikes - yikes! And finding space on a shipping vessel has been like riding an elevator with a pro football team - it's tight. It's tight like Jack trying to survive the Titanic disaster while Rose hogs that whole board to herself, to put it in cinematic terms for the Netflix era. You get the point.
Long story short - our next batch of bikes is almost here, and prices have now been updated on our website to reflect the cost increases that we have had to bear. Like all other bike companies big and small, we are in the same boat, if you'll pardon the pun.
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Mayor v5 is coming! Our newest flagship fatties are set to arrive within the next two weeks. While current shipping estimates may vary by a few days, plus or minus, we are expecting no other major delays. Mayor version 5 will feature sexy new hydroformed tubing, including an all-new top tube and a shorter head tube, which combine to give the bike a more svelte yet muscular profile. Updated geometry includes a slack 67 degree head angle, 74 degree seat angle, and new chainstay lengths of 435 mm to 450 mm, featuring sliding dropouts. The new frame also allows for internal dropper-post cable routing, and will come in the added size of XXL. The always in-demand raw finish with clear coat colour option makes a return to the lineup, along with gloss black, and red. And of course you can still stuff the fattest rubber into that frame, up to 450mm.
While the vast majority of pre-orders have been held, by the time bikes ship, there will invariably be a few cancellations due to the extended wait times that resulted from the global pandemic. When shipping commences, limited numbers of complete bikes will be available again for purchase. Check back with us on our social media channels and website as we update availability and shipping schedules. Until that time, we will continue to suspend pre-orders on complete Mayor v5 bikes. For those of you that have secured pre-orders for Mayor v5 bikes, you will receive email confirmations and shipping information in the following days.
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MiddleChild Steel frames that were held up last fall due to production delays, will join their big brother Mayors, for those of you that missed out on the last batch of our most popular aggressive hardtail. Again, once pre-orders ship, some frames and complete bikes will be available in the webstore on a "first-come, first-served" basis, in the orange, turquoise and matte black colourways. All Steel MiddleChild bikes will ship as soon as Mayor fat bikes have left the warehouse, as they will take seasonal priority.
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Along with balmier weather, Spring will bring the arrival of 2021 MiddleChild Steel (New purple colour shown below), Titanium MiddleChild v2, Aluminum MiddleChild v2, and Sergeant v4 bikes. Also on schedule to drop this coming Spring is our all-new 29" hardtail, the RS-291 - more on that below!
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While some components are delayed, it looks to be by only a few weeks. If you're after a frame only because of the scarcity of parts available after-market, then you'll be good to go as soon as these fresh new frames arrive. As always, we will be updating the availability of complete bikes on our website, with regular updates on our social media channels too.
The most notable changes to the complete spec have been to the upcoming Aluminum MiddleChild v2 bikes. While the bike was initially offered as a more-affordable option with less expensive frame and build kits, the new version will feature significant upgrades in suspension and drivetrain components. Our goal at RSD is always to put together the best bike possible, within the scope of each bike's purpose, and in this case circumstances have prevailed to only improve the bike. Please check the website for changes or to confirm build kits and availability.
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Okay, the cat's already out of the bag on this one. Our newest rowdy hardtail has popped up on our socials, and is already up on the website, so we'll just try to answer some questions you may already have. Like, what's up with the name? Well, this is our first dedicated 29" bike design, and the alphanumeric designation is a cheeky nod to one of our all-time favourite tales about a plucky bunch of rebels and rogues that fly badass craft all over a far-away galaxy, to fight the power. Wink. Overachievers, to be sure.
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What's up with the prototype? Well, after testing in multiple configurations, we've settled on a 150mm travel fork with a 51mm offset, which has steepened the HTA and STA to 63.5 and 75.4 degrees, respectively. The resulting production model will offer a more composed ride quality in all situations, not just flat-out downhill pinning! And that paint? The one-off decals on the blue bike that we played with to mimic distress and damage will not be produced for sale, but the bike will still be offered in three distinct colourways - look for photos to leak out soon of the two new options. In the meantime, click here for more RS-291 details.
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Due to the increased volume of goods of all kinds being shipped, as a result of shelter-in-place and lockdown orders, our carrier FedEx has temporarily kicked up the price of domestic shipping, also. This means that bikes shipping from here in Canada, nationwide and to the U.S., will also be subjected to rate increases. These new peak rates seem to be capped at $22/box for the time being. For more information, please refer to the FedEx web page here.
In spite of our small size, we have always been able to secure great rates, and we'll continue to do our best in that regard - so we'll update the website with the most current estimates on the eve of shipping. If domestic shipping prices drop before bikes actually ship out, you will receive a refund for the difference. Make no mistake, RSD will not use the pandemic catch-all grievance to profit in any way from our customers' misfortune in these already challenging times.
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If you've read this far, thank you as always for your support. The past year has reminded the rest of the world of how great bikes are - and inadvertently made it more difficult for those of us that already knew that - to get our own. Big old facepalm right there. But most importantly, if you're reading this now, it means that you're probably healthy and safe, and dreaming about your next sweet bike.
Keep the Rubber Side Down in '21!
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