When every other new mountain bike seems to be a carbon fiber, high-pivot something or other, it's always nice to see a different take. Reeb Cycles' 155mm-travel Steezl uses 4130 chromoly tubing paired with 3D-printed frame components to create exactly that, much like the
short-travel SST we reviewed late last year.
The new Steezl can be run as a 29er or with a mullet set-up thanks to a set of flip-chips, is designed for 160mm to 170mm-travel forks, and replaces the Sqweeb (which has nothing to do with Rick and Morty). The new bike will be available in April and complete builds will start at $6,695 USD, or you can pick up a Steezl frame and shock for $3,795 USD. Reeb is also doing a frame/shock/fork/headset/stem combo that starts at $4,995 USD.
Reeb Steezl details • Intended use: Enduro
• Rear travel: 155mm
• Fork travel: 160 - 170mm
• Material: 4130 Chromoly w/ al. rear end
• Wheel size: 29/29 or 29/27.5
• Threaded bottom bracket
• 148 x 12mm hub spacing
• Weight: TBA
• Availability: April 2023
• MSRP: Complete starting at $6,695 / frame + shock - $3,795 / chassis kit - $4,995 USD
• More info:
www.reebcycles.com Frame and suspensionThe general consensus in the comment section
under that SST review was, "
Holy crap, that thing is gorgeous," and I suspect that the Steezl's clean lines will earn similar praise. You won't find a fancy storage compartment in the downtube and the bike's cables don't disappear into the headset, but Reeb says that there's a load of standover clearance and short seat tubes allow for the longest dropper posts.
There's also a UDH at the 148mm wide rear end, external cables, as well as room for a 2.6" wide rear tire and a large-sized bottle. In other words, it's all pretty straightforward.
Don't go thinking this thing is boring, however, because Reeb is doing some cool stuff in Lyons, Colorado, where they're welding frames. The chromoly tubes sport a custom profile, just like the SST, and a set of CNC'd rockers pivot at Reeb's, "
polygonal CRT rocker interface to keep everything pointed in the right direction through the rough stuff." They're also saying that the kinematics have been tweaked versus the Sqweeb to,"
improve pedaling performance at sag, reduce kickback deep in the travel, and hone in on a perfect leverage curve to keep things smooth, controlled, and consistent pedaling up a fireroad, sending your favorite jump line, or blasting into a scree field at race speed."
Unlike the SST which used a steel rear-end with a flex-pivot at the axle for its 120mm of travel, the 155mm-travel Steezl employs box-section aluminum seat and chainstays for its Horst-link layout. And while the SST frame had 3D-printed dropouts and clevis pieces made in Asia, Reeb is using that manufacturing method in the US to make the Steezl's bottom bracket cluster instead. The SLM 3D-printing process uses a power-dense laser to melt and fuse metallic powders, adding layers as it goes until the component "grows" into the Steezl's bottom bracket area.
With the SST, Reeb told me that the process results in lighter and stronger parts than they would be had they been machined instead of printed, and that's likely the same case with the Steezl's printed parts.
GeometryReeb is offering the Steezl in five sizes, from a small with a 445mm reach to the double-extra-large that has a roomy 520mm front-end, all with 77-degree seat and 64-degree head angles. There are also two different rear-end lengths; 434mm for the small, medium, and large, while the two biggest sizes grow by 10mm. Interestingly, Reeb will also let you order any frame size with either length chainstays, so you could choose a smaller frame with the longer chainstays or a larger frame with shorter chainstays.
Alright, let's pretend we've all got some extra money to burn and a desire for a new enduro bike... Are you sticking to carbon or aluminum, or does Reeb's US-made chromoly Steezl make it into your short list of contenders? Would the no-frills design get your money and praise, or are you hoping for a longer list of features on your next bike?
I'm very happy to have been wrong, and happily admit that I was.
P.S I fan girl a little when I see your videos from Richmond, VA. One of my favorite places to ride.
Quick search looks like Monster Beverage Corp is now the owner.
edit:// Monster Energy bike park, have Sam Pilgrim do a year long residency.
Yes please.
A dude who owned a beer company had a dream & that dream was crushed but he cashed in.
But thanks to this thread, I've learned that Oscar Blues, the company that came under fire for building a brewery/cannery in Brevard to use the waters of the delicate Davidson River (and is/was under investigation for water quality discharge violations) is now owned by a Mega-Corp Monster Energy.
Looks like Reeb Ranch was bought by an oral surgeon out of Cary, NC named Dr. Stefan Simoncic.
I can't figure out how to tie all this into dentist bike jokes though.
At the time, Reeb had a full demo fleet there and at least two people staffed it full time, you could drive up and pay to use the pump track, dirt jumps, trails, etc. They also had folks managing the demo fleet here, but afaik none of them are still around here working for Reeb. You could also rent the cabins but they were obscenely expensive.
A few years ago, it was listed for sale for ~$4m. Around then, OB was bought by the parent company of Monster and Reeb/Oskar Blues became separate AFAIK. I've heard rumors about why he sold the property, but my expectation is that he bought the property for personal reasons that didn't pan out, tried to make a business out of it, but it didn't pan out over the years and he wasn't going to OB Brevard any longer, so he sold it while demand was high. That's purely speculation though, so take it FWIW. The new owners had someone managing it for a while and arranging events, but it seems to have slowed down. It's an amazing piece of property and I hope it doesn't turn into some development over time.
The land has some interesting history too, I read somewhat reliable reports that it was at one point worked by German POWs during WWII. I know that happened in this area, but I couldn't get 100% confirmation it was there, so just an interesting anecdotal tidbit that may or may not be accurate.
Bikes and flying machines have been intertwined since kittyhawk.
Being a local to them, I wish they were still relevant and producing up to date bikes. They made me an incredible custom “enduro” bike in the late 2000’s before enduro was a thing. Tapered head tube, size large top tube with a medium seat tube, external dropper routing, 150mm of travel…all painted that sparkly monster green. It seems now a lot of their time and effort goes into designing and producing other people’s frames ( squid, lil shredder, etc) but I still hope one day Sherwood will produce one last banger of a bike before fully going the route Foes or Turner went.
ventanausa.com/bikes
I see him often.
@prosauce what is the actual seat tube angle?
Your last sentence…
This is that bike. Tailored for specific skill level and terrain. This is not an entry level bike for riding tame trail.
Everybody has different riding styles and that’s why there is 100’s of bike brands with vastly different geometries. Pick one that fits your needs and be stoked that we have the option.
Sarcasm set aside this looks awesome.
By the way, its a super overrated riding area and pretty awful craft beer scene so please don't go there. JK, go check it out. Support local business please and tip your server well!
Would love to know what metric they're using for "improve pedaling"... More active suspension under power for more consistent traction? More stiffening of the suspension for a quick "feel" (at the possible detriment to traction)?
405mm of max extension with a 240mm OneUp puts it at >850mm. That's not that short.
We're all proportioned differently but I'd be fine with a 520mm reach on a 646mm stack, my saddle height is 750mm.
Just not the bike for you, but it works for others.
(29 is dead)
Nice looking bike. Me likey.
Now onto Mr Levy's editing....(good job he is sticking to this mountain bike riding thing)
Can you get a 165mm travel fork? Or a 161mm, 162mm, 163mm, 164mm, 166mm, 167mm, 168mm, or a 169mm for that matter? If not, then you can't say "160mm to 170mm fork"; that "to" should be an "or".
But what is worse, mainly as we know Mike is into cars, to say that they are offering a rolling chassis is not correct. You need wheels for a rolling chassis, otherwise it won't roll anywhere.
Well, that's enough rant for 0444 in the morning....
When I asked Reeb a year ago (at Sedona bike fest) about whether they'd develop the SST into a longer travel model, they were VERY dismissive of the idea. The felt the Squeeb was pretty good as is.
Then they pretty much had to transition their entire labor force over to production of the SST. I heard rumors that they didn't make anything else since the SST has been launched (not sure if that was conjecture).
Is the Steezl just a way of capitalizing on the popularity of that Cromo "look"?
I gotta say that I do wish the Squeeb had this more straight-tubed look. Will the Steezl replace the Squeeb?
The answer they gave was more specific to that topic: the SST with its flex stays was not going to get a longer travel option, but they did sorta avoid giving away that they were going to use the steel front end for a longer travel Squeeb replacement.
I'm not being critical of Reeb. They are doing great work and I loved the SST when I got to ride it. I'm sure the Steezl will be equally good.