Steve The Intern
Chris’ Switch-Up Flaanimal Titanium
@chrismagnotta is one of the original five riders who said “sure I’m in” when the Rodeo team started in 2014. Since then he’s done innumerable questionable things on his Donkey, such as Leadville 100, Unbound 200, White Rim, Slickrock, etc etc. so when he decided it was time for a new Flaanimal Ti he asked “should I go flat bar or drop bar?”
We responded “Why not both?”
But wait, what? How can you build a modern, practical bike that can switch between flat bars and drop bars easily, and without any issues with rebleeding brakes or adjusting shifting? The answer isn’t magic, but it is surprisingly uncommon: We used hydraulic quick-connect couplers. These very cool couplers allow you to quickly and easily disconnect the hydraulic lines connected to your drop bars and re-attach them to your flat bars in seconds.
Chris was totally into the idea, because Chris is usually up for anything, so we built him what may be the coolest Flaanimal Ti build ever, in terms of function: The Switch Up Flanny.
Using these Zeno quick-connect no bleed hydro couplers we built his AXS drivetrain bike into a Choose Your Own Adventure machine. Now, depending on his mood, Chris can rip that sweet Steamboat singletrack or gravel with whatever bar setup he’s feeling that day. Swapping the bar takes about three minutes, and off he goes.
Stay crazy Chris! Stay crazy. 🤎
5 Comments
I really like this newsletter. I’m not a heavy social media user at all. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Chris, but I remember Aaron Ninness talking to me about the possibility of switching out handlebars on future Rodeo bikes, maybe a few years ago.
I can only say that I hope Rodeo Labs is able to stick around and continue to build excellent bikes. Well, I am not a Rodeo Labs frame set Owner, I’d like to think in the future I will be. The two bikes that I spend the most time on were purchased prior to knowing Rodeo Labs existed.
I like that you’ve gone into titanium. I own titanium gravel bike from independent fabrication, it’s from 2007 and it’s my favorite bike. It rides upon a carbon wheelset from Rodeo Labs, which are phenomenal and a pure joy to set in motion.
I have a lot of extra time on my hands, so I’m sorry for the long email. I broke an ankle a little over three weeks ago, so no riding for at least another 5 to 6 weeks (all is going well according to the surgeon).
It’s my hope to be up to snuff for the Salida gravel ride in September.
Your continued success is my wish, I’ll see what I can do to help ensure that as the year progresses..
Thanks for the words of support Jason! So glad to hear that your wheelset is serving you well also. Aaron had a super rad Flaanimal for a hot minute, and he may still have it. It was his fishing bike.
I would say “brake an ankle” in your recovery, but instead I’ll say “speedy recovery to you!”.
Aaron’s Flaanimal resides in his garage with his other sweet rides! Recovery is going well. Hoping to be in tiptop shape for Salida this year.
So cool. I commented on the Instagram post but I think it’s worth commenting here too. Basically my dream build/bike and it will be mine one day. Might be more like the Flannimal Ti 6 or 7 haha.
I think this would really compliment my drop bar MTB and be a good option for road and gravel and exploring and bar options just make it that much more versatile.
Cheers!
Great inspiration. You guys shall make a detailed post on that hydraulic quick-connect couplers.