Flaanimal 6.0 Steel
Ever more capable.
Starting at $1,650.00
First introduced in 2016, Flaanimal has now built an 10 year legacy of function driven design and real world proven performance. Flaanimal has been proven across an incredibly wide spectrum of uses, from road, to gravel, to rugged and ultra endurance bikepacking, with a notable win at Tour Divide in 2021.
Our previous iteration of the Flaanimal, the 5.0 platform, was so well thought out that it enjoyed a six year run on the market, with no changes in its design, something that is nearly unprecedented in the fast changing adventure cycling category.
As great as Flaanimal 5.0 is, we’ve learned a lot about how to improve the bike’s feature set since we launched it in 2019. We’ve put all of that to work on Flaanimal 6.0 Steel.
6.0 Steel is not just an evolution at the margins, it’s a fresh look at how capable an adventure bike platform can be.
The Big Idea
A lot has changed for drop bar gravel and adventure bikes since we started developing bikes in 2013. Notably, riders keep taking their bikes on more ambitious adventures and pushing the capabilities of their bikes along the way. Speeds have gone up at the races, routes have gotten longer, and terrain has gotten more rugged. Flaanimal has, since it’s inception, always tried to cover a use spectrum from road to gravel to bikepacking as well as any single bike can. With 6.0 Steel we specifically wanted to push deeper into the rugged off road capabilities of the frameset, even at risk of making the bike less “at home” on the road. As off road tires have gotten larger and larger in recent years, rider’s appetite for more tire clearance has been seemingly insatiable. Where 45mm (1.8″) was previously considered large, 56mm (2.2″) seems like a new standard for modern drop bar bikes. Flaanimal 6.0 Titanium has allowed for 56mm tires for over a year, but our 5.0 steel frame was waiting to catch up – until now. 6.0 steel, when paired with the brand new Spork 4.0, can be run with tires up to 700×2.4″ (60mm).
It is one thing for a frame to accept the largest of tires, and it is another thing entirely for the bike to be designed around large tire capabilities. Larger tires change bike geometry. Larger tires increase the possibility of toe overlap. When considering the geometry for 6.0 steel, we wanted to create a bike that felt more at home in aggressive conditions with the largest of tires while still feeling great cruising around on something like a 40mm tire if you chose.
Previous versions of Flaanimal had a noticably lower stack than other frames in the drop bar endurance category. This made them feel low and fast when racing or when used on the road, but low stack heights are less suited to longer adventures in aggressive terrain, where more upright positions become more comfortable. With 6.0 steel, we decided to evolve our geometry again towards endurance, comfort, and an eye for the long haul.
Bonus: Even with the changes we made to the Flaanimal 6, the bike still retains great manners on the road, or in gravel racing situations, which we’ve verified by taking 6.0 prototypes to road, gravel, and cyclocross races.
FL60s – Features overview
What makes the Flaanimal 6.0 Steel truly unique
Starting at $3,035.00
Routing choice
There is no doubt that fully integrated, hidden routing is the most elegant way to build a bike. 6.0 steel supports full integration, but only if you want to.
Simply match the headset to the brand / spec of your integrated bar / stem and the frame has been designed for maximum compatibility. Alternatively, our Quite-Integrated headseat supports semi-integrated routing that does not run through the stem, but does route through the steer tube.
If you’ve select the Spork 4 option on your build, the D-shaped steer tube allows for fully integrated routing without the need for using large upper bearing cups or proprietary headsets, leaving your sleek headtube undisturbed by unnecessary clutter.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, you can route FL6 traditionally, avoiding headset routing all together for a bike that will be easier to service or travel with.
FL6 leaves the important spec decisions up to you.
Fully integrated routing
Semi integrated routing
Traditional routing
UDH Compatibility
With FL6 we feature an elegant sliding dropout system that we named LockJaw 2. LockJaw 2 allows for the wheelbase of FL6 to be adjusted providing three functional benefits:
- Increased tire clearance, up to 700×2.4 or 650bx2.4.
- Native singlespeed builds with no chain tensioner needed, using the slider’s adjustable range to set correct singlespeed chain tension.
- Geometry and handling adjustments. The further forward the sliders are, the quicker the bike handles, the further back the sliders are, the more stable and predictable the bike feels.
If you aren’t a rider who will ever take advantage of LockJaw features, you can simply set it and forget it, and Flaanimal will perform as any other standard dropout gravel bike.
Compatibility
Secure interlocking plates with Ti hardware
40mm of slider travel
UDH Support and traditional derailleur hanger support
Chose Your Spork
6.0 Steel is available with either Spork 3 or Spork 4. Both are incredibly capable, but differ in the details.
| Spork 3.3 | Spork 4.0 | |
| Weight (average) | 525g | 475g |
| Max Tire | 2.1″ / 54mm | 2.4″ / 61mm |
| Routing | Steer tube or Standard | Steer tube or Standard |
| Rotor | 140mm / 160mm | 160mm / 180mm |
| Axle | 12mm / 15mm | 12mm |
| Offset | 45 or 50mm (per size) | 50mm |
| Eyelets | crown / 3 mid leg / end of leg | crown / 3 mid leg |
| Dynamo Support | Hub plug / internal wiring | Hub plug / internal wiring / Son Self Connecting |
| Wiring holes | 1 axle / 1 crown | 1 axle / 2 crown |
| Steer Tube | Round | D-Shaped |
The Keg T47 threaded BB
Every frame that Rodeo offers has featured a threaded bottom bracket since the inception of the T47 bottom bracket standard.
T47 bottom brackets have the reliability and quiet operation provided by threaded bearing cups, and the large diameter bearing shell can accomodate any crankset and spindle standard that the industry dreams up.
The Keg BB shell on 6.0 Steel creates a more generous internal bottom bracket shell volume which dramatically improves ease of assembly when running internal routing for brakes, derailleurs, or dropper posts.
The Keg BB shell also creates a stiffer frame laterally, with noticably less side to side frame deflection under heavy pedaling loads. Less deflection = more power transfered to your rear wheel.
Features
Threaded cups for quieter operation
Large shell area for max compatibility
Easier access to internal routing
Stiffer, more efficient frame under pedaling loads.
Every tube considered
Every tube and component of the 6.0 steel frame is deeply considered.
The shaped head tube, Keg bottom bracket, and LockJaw 2 dropouts are completely unique Rodeo Labs designs, and are CNC machined to our spec.
The top tube is a continuously ovalized profile which creates a distinctive, elegant look ,and also improves side to side rigidity.
The chainstays are shaped with incredible precision and nuance, allowing for generous tire and mud clearance while retaining internal routing capability.
The heat treated steel tubeset uses custom butting profiles on every tube to minimize weight and maximize strength.
Features
Custom machined
Custom butted
Custom shaped
ISO tested to MTB 4210 standards
Tire clearance
Flaanimal 6.0 is entirely redesigned and optimized for tires that will get you through the most rugged conditions.
With clearance up to 700×2.4 (61mm) with Spork 4, the tire size decisions are left entirely up to you. Large volume provides more comfort, traction, and lower rolling resistance in rugged terrain.
We didn’t leave more traditional tire sizes behind in our quest for clearance. During development we raced and proved the bike’s good manners with slick tires as low as 34mm, and gravel tires across the entire size range. If you’re no sold on large tires, or are leaving extra room for mud and clay between the tire and the frame, FL6 is still a well mannered and willing steed.
Adventure Ready
With a more upright riding position, large tire clearance, dynamo lights / charging compatibility, and mounting options for all the bags that you care to carry FL6 can take you across town or across continents.
The improved stiffness of the 6.0 frame over the 5.0 frame creates a better, more stable platform for loaded touring or bikepacking.
Flaanimal has been proven world-over for its ability to load up and roll out, from The Great Divide Trail, to a bike-ski lap around Iceland, to crossings of Uganda, Morocco, Armenia, and adventures we don’t even know about.
Technical Information
Everything you need to know about geometry, fit, and the technical makeup of the bike.
Geometry
Basic Fit
We’ve used these fit basics to fit riders all over the world for over a decade. 95% of riders can be well fit for frame size based on height alone. If you find yourself on the border between two frame sizes, you can generally be fit on either with just a small adjustment to stem length and saddle position.
| Frame size | Rider height |
| 49cm | 5’2″-5’4″ 157cm – 162cm |
| 52 cm | 5’4”-5’6” 162cm – 167cm |
| 54 cm | 5’6”-5’9” 167cm – 175cm |
| 56 cm | 5’9”-6’0” 175cm – 182cm |
| 58 cm | 6’0”-6’2” 182cm – 187cm |
| 61 cm | 6’2”-6’4” 187cm – 193cm |
Every Rodeo bike is built to order, so please do let us know if you have custom component size requests.
If you have questions about your fit, we’re here to help. You can get in touch with us via phone, text, or email on our contact page.
Geometry
Flaanimal 6.0 Steel has the most “progressive” geometry that we offer. It has evolved in the following ways compared to our more traditional geometry:
- Steeper seat tube angle moves the rider slightly forward
- Slacker heat tube angle brings the bar slightly closer to the rider and moves the front wheel away from the rider’s toes.
- A longer top tube moves the front wheel away from the riders toes and “zeroes out” the difference in reach over more traditional geo. Your fit and component sizing won’t likely change much on this bike, if at all.
- 50mm fork rake is used across sizes to move the front tire away from the riders toes.
- Taller stack brings the rider about 15mm more upright before spacers are used.
- Toe overlap is eliminated or dramatically reduced across all sizes, even with the largest tire sizes.
To compare Flaanimal 6.0 Ti geometry with a bike you already own, we highly recommend the excellent tool from the folks at Bike Insights. Simply search and load your existing bike in the left column, and load the Flaanimal 6.0 Ti in the right column. Adjust size / tires / etc as needed. These links will help you get started:
Flaanimal 6 Steel Geometry Comparison
| Frame size | 49 cm | 52 cm | 54 cm | 56 cm | 58 cm | 61 cm |
| Seat tube (C-T) | 445 | 473 | 493 | 513 | 533 | 563 |
| Top tube length (effective) | 510 | 528 | 543 | 564 | 580 | 605 |
| Chain stay length | 435 (variable) | 435 (variable) | 435 (variable) | 435 (variable) | 435 (variable) | 435 (variable) |
| Seat tube angle | 76° | 75.5° | 75.5° | 75° | 75° | 75° |
| Bottom bracket drop | 75 | 75 | 73 | 73 | 70 | 70 |
| Head tube length | 100 | 122 | 142 | 162 | 184 | 212 |
| Head tube angle | 70° | 70° | 70° | 70° | 70° | 70° |
| Reach | 377 | 385 | 395 | 406 | 418 | 436 |
| Stack | 532 | 553 | 570 | 589 | 606 | 633 |
| Fork length | 398 | 398 | 398 | 398 | 398 | 398 |
| Fork rake | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Front center | 602 | 617 | 634 | 651 | 670 | 697 |
| Wheelbase | 1025 (variable) | 1041 (variable) | 1058 (variable) | 1076 (variable) | 1095 (variable) | 1123 (variable) |
| Standover height at center of top tube, 700 x 45mm | 750 | 774 | 794 | 812 | 833 | 861 |
| Dimensions listed in millimeters and degrees unless otherwise indicated. | ||||||
Take a look at the 5.0 and 6.0 visual comparison below.
Flaanimal 5.0 had a steeper head angle. A steeper head tube angle creates a sharper steering feel, but it also brings the front wheel closer to the rider’s toes. 6.0 slackens the head angle slightly and moves that tire away from your toes, allowing you to manuver more intuitively on large tires. Adding to the more slack head tube angle, 6.0 now uses a 50mm offset fork across all sizes, adding 5mm more of toe-tire clearance. Every bit helps!
Flaanimal 5.0 had a more slack seet tube angle. 6.0 steepens the seat tube angle slightly, and brings the rider slightly forward. This allows us to lengthen the front end of the bike and open up toe / tire clearance without requiring that the stem be shortened to offset the difference. On 6.0 the front of the bike gets slightly longer, but your core fit doesn’t change much at all.
Flaanimal 5.0 had that lower stack that gave it a lovely position on race day. 6.0, on average across sizes, ups the stack around 17mm over 5.0, allowing more riders to be fit comfortably on the bike. If using an EC44 upper headset cup, stack can be brought up an additional 15mm yet again. That’s potentially 32mm higher than Flaanimal 5.0 base stack height. Riders who still want to get low on 6.0 can ditch all their stem spacers or, even cooler, use a negative rise stem.
Fit Chart – Flaanimal 6.0 Steel
We’ve used these fit basics to fit riders all over the world for over a decade. 95% of riders can be well fit for frame size based on height alone. If you find yourself on the border between two frame sizes, you can generally be fit on either with just a small adjustment to stem length and saddle position.
| Frame size | Rider height |
| 49cm | 5’2″-5’4″ 157cm – 162cm |
| 52 cm | 5’4”-5’6” 162cm – 167cm |
| 54 cm | 5’6”-5’9” 167cm – 175cm |
| 56 cm | 5’9”-6’0” 175cm – 182cm |
| 58 cm | 6’0”-6’2” 182cm – 187cm |
| 61 cm | 6’2”-6’4” 187cm – 193cm |
Every Rodeo bike is built to order, so please do let us know if you have custom component size requests.
If you have questions about your fit, we’re here to help. You can get in touch with us via phone, text, or email on our contact page.
Technical Specifications
| Frame Material | Custom butted, shaped, machined, heat treated steel. |
| Country of manufacture | Taiwan |
| Design / Tooling | 100% Designed and Engineered by Rodeo Labs |
| Tire clearance 650b | Max width: 2.4″ / 60mm with Spork 4. 2.2″ / 56mm with Spork 3 | Min. recommended width: 54mm | Varies by tire / rim / conditions |
| Tire clearance 700c | Max width: 2.4″ / 60mm with Spork 4. 2.2″ / 56mm with Spork 3 | Min. recommended width: 32mm | Varies by tire / rim / conditions |
| Frame weight | Weights are provisional based on prototype frames. Subject to small change. 2488g for 61cm. 2405g for 58cm. 2360g for 56cm. 2312g for 54cm. 2271g for 52cm. 2223g for 49cm. |
| Fork | Rodeo Spork 4.0 or Rodeo Spork 3.3 / Full carbon adventure fork |
| Fork weight | 480g Spork 4. 495g Spork 3. |
| Cable routing | Mechanical or electronic. Convertible or cappable modular endcaps. Full internal housing runs through downtube / BB / Stays – as desired. Build it how you like. |
| Dynamo routing | Internal, fork. Internal, frame. Spork 4 accepts routing from fork leg all the way through steer tube. Spork 4 accepts Son SL direct mounting system. |
| Brake Standard | Flat Mount. 160mm native frame. 180mm max rotor size on frame (with adapter). Spork 4 max 180mm rotor – 160mm native. Spork 3 max 160mm rotor – 140mm native. |
| Bottom Bracket | The Keg. T47 threaded, 85.5 mm width. Expanded center diameter for internal routing around spindle sleeve. |
| Seat Post | 27.2 mm post |
| Dropper post | Internal, cable routing through BB area via Bowtie pass through for easier routing. |
| Seat Clamp | 29.8mm (6066 aluminum clamp included) |
| Thru Axles | Rear – 12mm x 175mm total length // M12xP1.0x14.5mm threading Front Spork 4 – 12 x 120mm total length // M12xP1.5x14mm threading Front Spork 3 – 12 x 127mm total length // M12xP1.5x16mm threadingFront optionally convertible to 15mm. |
| Headset | 44mm head tube, 1-1/8″ to 1.5″ tapered steerer.Non-integrated routing installations: EC44/40 lower, ZS44/28.6 upper or use an EC44/40 upper for a 15mm stack increase.Integrated routing installations:Spork 4 supports fully integrated headset routing with standard ZS44 upper via D-shaped steer tube. Also supports standard non-headset routing. Spork 3 supports fully integrated headset routing with EC44 upper cup. For fully hidden installations, headset brand must match stem brand and have matching spacers. Spork 3 Also supports standard non-headset routing.Headset not included. |
| Chainring compatibility | 2x: max 50/34, min 36/24. 1x: max 48, and 50t is possible with a WIDE spec crankset. |
| Front derailleur mounting | 28.6mm band clamp. |
| Rear derailleur hanger | Aluminum, replaceable. UDH native slider allows for Sram Transmission drivetrain installations. Standard derailleur supported using the Sram UDH standard derailleur hanger (not included). |
| Fender mounts | Frame and fork. Max 65mm outer fender width at 700c. |
| Bottle cage mounts | 2 positions inside main triangle via 3 bosses per position. 1 on underside of down tube. 2 on fork, one per leg. Two top tube eyelets also support bottle or bag mounting. |
| Rack mounts | 1 on seat stay bridge. Lower seat stays 1 per side.Axle rack mounting possible via third party axle and rack systems. |
| Fork mounts | Three mid-leg eyelets per fork blade, spaced for a water bottle cage or three bolt cargo cage. (M5 x 0.8mm). Use 20mm bolts with washer for heavy loads. Two eyelets near axle per side (M5 x 0.8mm). Optional offset eyelet kit available. |
| Fork crown bolt | Not included. 75mm length typically needed for lights / racks. Not compatible with recessed brake nuts. Use nylon washers on each end of bolt to protect fork. |
| Fork cargo capacity | 27.6 lb / 12.5 kg total cargo weight, evenly distributed |
| Headset spacer max height | 40mm between headset and stem. For another 15mm of stack, use an EC44 upper cup. |
| Frameset rider weight limit | 280 lb / 127kg |
| Slider Rage | 30mm of chain stay length adjustability. |
| Certification | Flaanimal 6 Steel has passed the entire suite of ISO 4210 MTB Racing suite of tests. |
| Warranty | Warranted for life to the original owner against defects in design, materials, and workmanship. Frame is fully dipped in anti-rust coating prior to painting. We cannot guarantee that a steel frame is ever fully impervious to rust, but we do our best to protect it from the factory. Please read our complete warranty policies here. |
The Flaanimal 6.0 Manual can be found HERE
Frequently Asked Questions
Launching a new bike brings up a lot of questions. We’ve got answers. As we get more inquiries on details, we will add them to this page. If you have a question of your own, just email us at bikes@rodeo-labs.com.
FAQ
Downloads
Helpful resources designed to support your build, setup, and gear customization.
Owner’s Manual
This owner’s manual seeks to cover all of the uniquely developed features on the Flaanimal 6.0 frameset,
Frame Bag Templates
If you are working with a custom bag maker or checking the size of any bag, you may download our scale-accurate templates here.