First Look: MDE Stray is an Italian-Made All-Mountain Machine

 The only possible problem I see is the derailleur hanger. It looks to be the same piece as the dropout. If an aggressive rider were to ride this bike hard, I would be worried about the structural integrity of the dropout after a crash that would typically bend your hanger. I am sure they also manage to have a crazy price for a replacement dropout/hanger.

 Other than that it looks pretty much perfect!

 It doesn’t have internal headset cables… thank the heavens!

 @baschyboy: yeah that does seem odd, any damage to the hanger means a whole new dropout.

 @baschyboy: Cove used this system. Wasn't significantly more expensive than a standard hanger while being far more robust in my experience but i supposed ymmv. Also allowed them to offer variations to change geo.

 @baschyboy: I bought a MDE a year ago the dropout is pretty robust, i have not bent one yet but if you do, a new dropout is 45 € so about 20€ more than a sole hanger, not the biggest of deals.

 MDE s are very good bikes (all their fs modells are pretty similar). You have to keep in mind that they have very high antisquat numbers, they are very stable but not uber plush. Goes very well together with an o-chain.

They also got a revive program for old frames and if you ask kindly you can get pretty much any colour you want.

 And bespoke pivot bearings, might be hard to find.

 I'm on a Damper29 since 2020 an the bike is second to none. Custom geometry option is a bang for your bucks at 200 euros and makes sure the bike's fit is absolutely on pair with your needs. Highly recommended.
I-Link suspension platform is hands down on of the best on the market. Honestly speaking, when I got up to speed mith my MDE, I was pretty surprised that big companies with lots of R&D money aren't able to come up with something offering a similar performance. I-Link offers a great balance between being very responsive and staying high in stroke for the pop everyone is searching for. So you can ride the bikes pretty active without becoming tired through e. g. braking bumps and still being able to plow strait through the rough like a wild freight train. Like someone else already said here the bikes have like the most possible rearward axle path possible without an idler and without compromising ride characteristics by resulting anti squad and pedal kickback. It's there but even on flats its no problem.
Another big plus is huge dropper insertion till you get down to the bottom bracket, making it possible to run long droppers even with short seat tubes. Craftsmanship is also super high quality with bearing seats being absolutely on point for a great fit, which is a big contrast to lots of other frames, even pretty expensive carbon ones. Customer service quality is super high too, because you can reach out to the man behind MDE, Federico, via Email or phone and he'll answer all your questions and is up to provide advice and absolutely knows what he's talking about. Another great thing is replacement bearings are come at a fair price. So all in all, consider one of these bikes for your next purchase.

 @baschyboy: Don't understand the downvotes, you're exactly right. In fact, modern hangers are designed the way they are (as independent units) for this very reason AND it has the benefit of replacements cheaper due to their size.

 @optimumnotmaximum: The SRAM hanger is $16. 45 Euro is a substantial amount more, and all because they didn't care to make it cheaper. Two replacements and I'm looking at most of the cost of replacing a tire.

 what it doesn't do is stay in one piece without cracking in half

 @browner: pick a frame that doesn't haha

 @baschyboy: Kona Honzo ha stash style of hanger and no problems.

 Looks like a mountain bike engineered by, wait for it,.... Mountain bikers!

 @browner: already broken 3 of their frames. Thing is, it was pretty much always my fault.
And they always did a terrific job either fixing it or replacing it. Last one was out of warranty, they offered me a pretty sweet deal for a new custom one.

 Props that they include all the ancillary information below the geo chart. A+++++

 @nwphotography: Same here! Damper with custom geometry, 10% BLACK FRIDAY discount, top support from Federico while choosing geometry details.... and all that for that price (AND handmade in Europe)....

 @nwphotography: I briefly had a damper 27.5. I'd agree with all that you say. Bike really came to life in fast rocky stuff. Sizing and geometry really spot on. Solid engineering. I sold mine because disappointingly the frame weighed a lot lot more than claimed. Trying to do a lot of uphill climbing and hike a bike with this thing nearly broke me. I wonder if all mde bikes really weigh a lot more than claimed? I guess it would be more at home in alpine terrain where you have uplift. I live in the UK so different terrain. The Stray might be more suitable for here but I'd like to know the real frame weight.

 @Mrtrotter: my Damper 29 in custom M/L weights 3.5kg without shock - pretty average for a big alloy enduro. If you carry your bike a lot a lighter carbon bike would probably suit you better, i like the canyon spectral- very well designed.

 @optimumnotmaximum: Mine was a 2016 Damper. Maybe they made them heavier back then? Coming from an old Kona Process 153 it was noticibly heavier with the same components. Going downhill was fun, which is what enduro bikes are for. It made me appreciate that I need more of an all round trail bike to get me to the good downhill trails without being too exhausted. I ride a Knolly Endorphin with 160mm Lyriks which seems a good compromise.

 @Mrtrotter: they said they saved weight making the new one.

 @Mrtrotter:

Size M RAW For Sure. L or ml are already significsntly larger and thus heavier

 @optimumnotmaximum: I bought one too and had to change the 2 small bearing of the upper link (that connects the swingarm to the shock. They wear out pretty quickly (approx 4 months). Have you experienced the same?

 Fully agree. I don't want to support authoritarian regimes with my hard earned money.

 Right?! I have been riding for 15 years and all mountain was commonly heard and that phrase makes the most sense. Now I’ve never heard downcountry outside this silly website. I get it… but I don’t use it.

 I think the term basically got replaced by Enduro. A lot of enduro bikes are made to pedal well and basically overlap 100% in function with what used to be called All-Mountain.

 @p1ne: That was my idea as well at first but then enduro bikes evolved and went a lot more to 'pedalable downhill bike' category with 180mm travel forks etc. I think an all-mountain bike should be more nimble and more weight-conscious than an enduro bike because in my book, 'All Mountain' includes many tight switchbacks and those inevitable sections where you scramble up over rocks with the bike on your neck. That's when weight matters.
But anyway, screw the name tags. Looks like a very nice bike, esp with the custom geo option.

 Was thinking the same. A typo, surely?

 I think not

 Not sure about 29er, but for 275, the Knolly Warden from a few years ago ticks those boxes. 100mm HT, 337 BB and 160mm or so fork with a stack of 589 I believe.

 Geometry for full 29er isn't quite so similar... Stack is higher with a 150mm 29er fork going up to 602, 606, 611 and 620mm and maybe more important seat angle is a lot steeper with 77.9. Head angle is 65 and cs grow to 442.

 @Alexisjmorgan: A 275 fork's axle to crown is roughly 30mm shorter for a given travel than a 29er, so all being equal a 275 bike will have about 30mm less stack.

 @KennyWatson: RS is 19mm shorter for the same model in 27.5.

 The journalist still think the stupid term downcountry is a real thing...along with a lot of other terms normal people don't use. Or maybe they just use them to annoy us.

 @foggnm: perhaps it will go the way of 'freeride'.

 Maxxis WT 2.4 and 2.5" fit well.

 Write an e-mail to federico

 That was why i bought my MDE Damper- a cleaner better version of the Rune V2.

 Geo is like my V3 Spitty.

What did you not like about your spitty ?

 @You2: I love the spitfire, and am still riding it. I just wish it had a touch more reach, and a bit more travel for my local riding these days.. and of course, more room for a water bottle in the frame. If the v3 spitfire would have increased travel instead of dropping from the v2, I would have ordered one. As for this mde, I would also probably try it as a mullet.

 @dwbaillar: I really like my V3.

If I had known of MDE I would have considered their enduro bike.

 @dwbaillar: Then v3 Rune... Or V3 Titan as a mullet! I have one in 29 but tried with a 27.5 rear wheel and loved it soooo much!!!

 I agree. Looks very similar but more versatile with the wheel options. I love my Bird Aether.

 Agreed - however has a shock yoke - doh!

 Hate to say it but- there is a e version...

 Had to scroll to far down to find this comment. He can't keep getting away with this!

 I think for most it would be fine. 595 top tube on a 460 reach is similar to a yeti for example.

 Bar rise doesn’t affect reach. Spacers under the stem do.

 Tall guy here. Enve M9 50mm rise in glorious 31.8 clamp. Likely fixes things and looks cool. More options in Alum too. Diety high sides are nice but no super wide options. Spacers suck

 @somebody-else: in that case id need bars with an 80mm rise.

 @frigofff: nsmb.com/articles/fit-before-fashion-protapers-76mm-riser-bar

 @somebody-else: ok, but a modern 29er stack measurement would be cooler. right?

 @frigofff: yes, but in isolation a low stack isn’t a good enough reason for me to not buy a particular frame.

 I loopks similar but actually its not, especially canfield has a constant antisquat over travel and gears, MDE has big differences over gears and travel. Actually you can see the different layout when looking at the lower link- DW- very flat, CBF -almost flat, MDE -steep- The kinematics are very close to a Mondraker Summum 2022 though.

 Probably due to not wanting to pay the fees on the VPP

 @blacktea:
They both go clockwise

 @blacktea: But isn't VPP patent expired?

www.mtbr.com/threads/has-santa-cruz-vpp-patent-expired-20-years.987958

 @drib: i dont really know ... I was just guessing

 I thought it looked like a Yeti.

 A Pivot, surely?

 I thought it looked like a session.

 More like how Banshees the Rune V3 also could have looked.