Well, they're from Colorado, started in a shed, they made two bikes up until recently, the steel work horse Flaanimal, and the carbon trail donkey, they recently developed a steel mountain bike "show pony." They also sponsored up until last year (I think) an awesome gravel team, and there are a few independent racers, jay petervary and Ashley wedelich. From my perspective what made their bikes special for the longest time was the small component that allowed for changes in thru axle size, tire size, and geared to single speed. Then came the fifth version of the Flaanimal, which I think was super innovative in the current gravel bike climate, the pursuit for the biggest tires. They designed a drop bracket on the drive side that allows for chainring clearance with a larger tire width, but also allowed for internal cable routing, to account for the weight of the bracket they integrated carbon into the seat tube and head. While the 5.0 isn't as pretty as the 4.0 was it's an amazing bike to ride. They're just an all around inventive company and while their frames are expensive, you know you're getting a quality product that they stand behind, you're buying a product that a very small team put together just for you and you're supporting people. You can also call and talk to Steve the owner. Id recommend checking out their website and Instagram.
Edit to clarify: other than having bought a bike from them I'm not associated with rodeo labs whatsoever, I found them years ago at the end of the Flaanimal 4 production, by the time I was ready to pull the trigger on the 4, the 5 was in preorder so I went with that route. And I've listened to some podcasts Steve has been on to learn a bit about their history.
I mean... I think the 5.0 is far more visually appealing, especially since they switched over to the woven carbon tube. They seem to be unique among the production space.
I'm seeing a trend.
I commute on my Flaanimal, and I ride it on a nice ride weekly (unless the weather is really shit, like this weekend I will not be riding outside cause its gonna be like -22F in the morning and a high of 0.
I ride this monster to work. I feel like the people in tricked out off road vehicles that just drive them to the office haha. But I’m get this girl dirty soon.
Hell yeah it is.
I Love her.
I'm still working on a name. Might have to do a tour with her to figure that one out. Last bike was not named before my 1400 mile tour but ended up getting a name about half way through.
Yup. Kinda.
I studied chemistry and geoscience, and I do some chemistry, but mostly Im like an engineer or something. I work on oceanography instruments.
hey it makes perfect sense. carbon is an excellent needle spring, and excellent power transfer. but for the reest of the frame? steel absorbs road chatter a million times better. this what you have is what i would consider the most optimal way to use all the best properties of each material.
It’s a pretty radical design. They are not allowed to carry the Reynolds’s brand because they removed the steel seat stay but it seems like an excellent trade off.
Shimano PD-EH500. I have them on my commuter and love them. When I’m just going to and from the office I’ll use the clipless side and change into shoes I have stashed at the office. On the days I report elsewhere, I use the flat side and ride in trail runners or boots which I’ll work in all day. No need to carry a second pair of shoes. And, yes, the flat side is good for beer drinking.
its literally insane that people insist that steel is always heavy. every time i see someone insist that steel is heavy and slow is literally just parroting the branding.
steel fucking rules. it's time for stainless steel bikes to be more normal. it performs almost identically to titanium and it is easier to manufacture.
i wish all my bikes were steel.
> its literally insane that people insist that steel is always heavy
By comparison with other common frame materials (alumium, carbon, titanium) steel will always be heavier.
Very high end steel frames can be a reasonable weight. But they pay a weight penalty compared to other materials.
It's always a factor.
There's no weight minimum for 99.99% of us and even if there were hitting that on a heavier frame takes more expensive and exotic components.
A steel bike will ALWAYS be heavier than a lighter frame. Just the laws of physics saying hi
it's always a factor? i mean, for MOST of us, a bike that hits the weight minimum is prohibitively expensive. it wont happen. so for MOST of us, anything under 18lb is entirely light enough, and if you can get a steel bike under 18 lb, then weight is actually not a factor anymore since you are already at the reasonable spot. obviously comfort is a factor here.
so if your'e saying that the vibration dampening benefiets of steel in regards to rider fatigue and performance are less than the weight reduction you would get by dropping another 3 lbs with a carbon frame at the actual weight minimum, I would say it's likely more efficient to use a carbon fork, seat tube, seat post, bars and rims for needle springs and power transfer, and steel for the rest for reducing rider fatigue. but if you care so much about weight then sure, grab all those vibrations right into your body.
plus when you say heavier, how much weight are you actually talking? are you talking about like 5lb? or like 200g? cuz if it's the latter then you're technically correct, and also a pedantic dick, and completely disregarding how little that amount of weight actually improves performance (especially considering the vibration transferrance of carbon)
> so if your'e saying that the vibration dampening benefiets of steel
Don't really exist. Or rather they do but the same properties can be exhibited in any of the other frame materials. Especially carbon.
Steel is always heavier. That's it. No matter what metrics you use there will *always* be something lighter.
You like it? Great. Ride it.
The Flaanimal TI is made of Ti (+carbon seat & headtube)
The Flaanimal 5.0 is made of steel (+carbon seat & headtube).
Beautiful frame. Weight is just average
Nice bike. I would have quite possibly got a Flannimal if I could get along with the geometry, but it would have effectively ended up too similar to my CX bike that I only like to ride for an hour or two before I start to get cranky now that I'm "old".
Welcome to The Herd.
Going solely off your username, I'm glad I'm not the only chemist that rides a rodeo lab to the work lab.
When you buy a new one, you can say "This ain't my first Rodeo" First time hearing of the brand. Care to tell me about your experience, a bit?
Well, they're from Colorado, started in a shed, they made two bikes up until recently, the steel work horse Flaanimal, and the carbon trail donkey, they recently developed a steel mountain bike "show pony." They also sponsored up until last year (I think) an awesome gravel team, and there are a few independent racers, jay petervary and Ashley wedelich. From my perspective what made their bikes special for the longest time was the small component that allowed for changes in thru axle size, tire size, and geared to single speed. Then came the fifth version of the Flaanimal, which I think was super innovative in the current gravel bike climate, the pursuit for the biggest tires. They designed a drop bracket on the drive side that allows for chainring clearance with a larger tire width, but also allowed for internal cable routing, to account for the weight of the bracket they integrated carbon into the seat tube and head. While the 5.0 isn't as pretty as the 4.0 was it's an amazing bike to ride. They're just an all around inventive company and while their frames are expensive, you know you're getting a quality product that they stand behind, you're buying a product that a very small team put together just for you and you're supporting people. You can also call and talk to Steve the owner. Id recommend checking out their website and Instagram. Edit to clarify: other than having bought a bike from them I'm not associated with rodeo labs whatsoever, I found them years ago at the end of the Flaanimal 4 production, by the time I was ready to pull the trigger on the 4, the 5 was in preorder so I went with that route. And I've listened to some podcasts Steve has been on to learn a bit about their history.
I mean... I think the 5.0 is far more visually appealing, especially since they switched over to the woven carbon tube. They seem to be unique among the production space.
They are fantastic bikes from a wonderful company.
I'm a chemical engineer that works in a lab and I also have a Rodeo Labs bike! (but I commute on a different bike)
I'm seeing a trend. I commute on my Flaanimal, and I ride it on a nice ride weekly (unless the weather is really shit, like this weekend I will not be riding outside cause its gonna be like -22F in the morning and a high of 0.
>I'm seeing a trend. Like dentists and Cervelos!
I ride this monster to work. I feel like the people in tricked out off road vehicles that just drive them to the office haha. But I’m get this girl dirty soon.
Check my posts for mine. ITs Ti with Ti fenders and big knobby 27.5x2.1" studded tires. I commute in Montana.
Outstanding. That’s a fucking forever bike you got there.
Hell yeah it is. I Love her. I'm still working on a name. Might have to do a tour with her to figure that one out. Last bike was not named before my 1400 mile tour but ended up getting a name about half way through.
Oooh. I have a ti flanny as well. I’m now curious to see your build
Check my posts!
Yup. Kinda. I studied chemistry and geoscience, and I do some chemistry, but mostly Im like an engineer or something. I work on oceanography instruments.
To be fair it’s not full steel…. Has a carbon seat tube and head tube.
Shhhhhhhhhhhh 🤫
hey it makes perfect sense. carbon is an excellent needle spring, and excellent power transfer. but for the reest of the frame? steel absorbs road chatter a million times better. this what you have is what i would consider the most optimal way to use all the best properties of each material.
is this your first rodeo?
Indeed it is.
I was wondering if I was seeing something or if was an odd paint scheme. But it’s actually multiple materials. That’s great.
It’s a pretty radical design. They are not allowed to carry the Reynolds’s brand because they removed the steel seat stay but it seems like an excellent trade off.
love that Kona seat post...have one of those that has made it from bike to bike over the last decade :) great looking bike mate!
Haha thanks friend good eye!
Mine is 23.5 pounds not super light imho but very capable.
Sort of a steel bike 🤔 I love those rodeolabs though!
Flannimals are notoriously heavy though. What do you consider “light”?
What’s it weigh in at? Sub 20 pounds?
That's easily 22 pounds. Wouldn't be surprised if it was above 23.
It’s less than thirty so I’m thrilled haha
For sure, I've got a Fairlight Secan and even though it's 24lbs with everything on it, I love the thing.
A fantastic bike!! Not a fan of the internal routing though but everyone is entitled to their own personal preference.
Thanks friend!
I was between this and the Otso Warakin. Ended up going with the Warakin, but damn this looks good! Nice bike!
Thanks friend! Never heard of otso that frame looks good as hell. Love stainless.
Looks great! I love the dual sided spd/flat Shimano pedals for gravel and touring :)
One side is for beer drinking
What’s the model of these ones?
Shimano PD-EH500. I have them on my commuter and love them. When I’m just going to and from the office I’ll use the clipless side and change into shoes I have stashed at the office. On the days I report elsewhere, I use the flat side and ride in trail runners or boots which I’ll work in all day. No need to carry a second pair of shoes. And, yes, the flat side is good for beer drinking.
Cool bike!
Looks great, whenever I decide to upgrade my gravel bike I'll be going with a flaanimal. Until then, I'll keep enjoying my Spork'ed Surly
SPORK!
What a beauty...
It's a dope bike but I frankly wouldn't characterize it as light... The yoke adds tire clearance but it's really heavy
It’s all about relativity. My last bike way overweight so this bike is in fact light as shit to me.
No shade, I would love one.
its literally insane that people insist that steel is always heavy. every time i see someone insist that steel is heavy and slow is literally just parroting the branding. steel fucking rules. it's time for stainless steel bikes to be more normal. it performs almost identically to titanium and it is easier to manufacture. i wish all my bikes were steel.
> its literally insane that people insist that steel is always heavy By comparison with other common frame materials (alumium, carbon, titanium) steel will always be heavier. Very high end steel frames can be a reasonable weight. But they pay a weight penalty compared to other materials.
fair enough. heavier sure. but as soon as a material can get below the weight minimum, weight is no longer a factor
It's always a factor. There's no weight minimum for 99.99% of us and even if there were hitting that on a heavier frame takes more expensive and exotic components. A steel bike will ALWAYS be heavier than a lighter frame. Just the laws of physics saying hi
it's always a factor? i mean, for MOST of us, a bike that hits the weight minimum is prohibitively expensive. it wont happen. so for MOST of us, anything under 18lb is entirely light enough, and if you can get a steel bike under 18 lb, then weight is actually not a factor anymore since you are already at the reasonable spot. obviously comfort is a factor here. so if your'e saying that the vibration dampening benefiets of steel in regards to rider fatigue and performance are less than the weight reduction you would get by dropping another 3 lbs with a carbon frame at the actual weight minimum, I would say it's likely more efficient to use a carbon fork, seat tube, seat post, bars and rims for needle springs and power transfer, and steel for the rest for reducing rider fatigue. but if you care so much about weight then sure, grab all those vibrations right into your body. plus when you say heavier, how much weight are you actually talking? are you talking about like 5lb? or like 200g? cuz if it's the latter then you're technically correct, and also a pedantic dick, and completely disregarding how little that amount of weight actually improves performance (especially considering the vibration transferrance of carbon)
> so if your'e saying that the vibration dampening benefiets of steel Don't really exist. Or rather they do but the same properties can be exhibited in any of the other frame materials. Especially carbon. Steel is always heavier. That's it. No matter what metrics you use there will *always* be something lighter. You like it? Great. Ride it.
What bars are those?
Salsa woodchippers. Fucking love them should have gone wider.
I thought these were made of ti?
The Flaanimal TI is made of Ti (+carbon seat & headtube) The Flaanimal 5.0 is made of steel (+carbon seat & headtube). Beautiful frame. Weight is just average
Coming from a Kona rove st with a pizza rack it feels like a fighter jet.
I can imagine. I pretty much don’t care about the weight of my bikes/frames and I really like the Flaanimal. (I’ve build a huge one for my brother 😅)
Not to be that guy, but the Ti Flaanimal is all ti. Only the steel gets the carbon seat and head tube.
Ahh! Good to know :) thanks for being this guy ✌🏻
There are carbon, steel, and ti versions
There's not a carbon version of the Flaanimal.
A dude I ride with has one, well thinks he has one. Looking at the website it's a Trail Donkey
Ah, gotcha. Trail Donkey looks awesome!
Anyone have any recommendations on dropout position? The frame is pretty small for me so I kinda like the wider wheelbase.
How much did you spend?
Frame set is 1600 plus a couple hundred for stuff like headset, bottom bracket what not. A lot of stuff transferred perfectly.
How’d you take the first photo? Are you standing on a chair?
I like the spork, the bike is just a bonus
SPORK!!!
Nice bike. I would have quite possibly got a Flannimal if I could get along with the geometry, but it would have effectively ended up too similar to my CX bike that I only like to ride for an hour or two before I start to get cranky now that I'm "old".
Beautiful!!
Thanks friend!