FRAMEWORKS | Test Ride & Review of Neko Mulally's Prototype Downhill Bike

Back in November, @NekoMulally asked me if I'd be interested in testing out his prototype downhill bike. I've been following his whole prototyping process throughout the year and I love to try new things, so of course I said yes.
A few days ago I met with him at Ride Rock Creek, the newest shuttle bike park that Neko and his Business partner Dave Lamond opened up following the success of Ride Kanuga.
We spent a couple days dialing in the bike while I also learned the race track at the same time. We ended up on a pretty comfortable setup and I was able to get a handful of solid runs down the race track there and the bike performed great!
This was probably my favorite video I have created to date. Thank you Neko for the hospitality and the unique opportunity!
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#FRAMEWORKS #MTB #DOWNHILLMTB

[@joshschaefer4001]

5ft 12 😂 your best video yet!

[@Blake_Cherubini]

Thank you😂

[@jacobfromerth4589]

WOW! So exciting to see you working with Neko, great video!

[@Blake_Cherubini]

Thank you sir🫡

[@jokermtb]

The bike mechanic discussion at the end! I can dig it. Carbon and steel, what an interesting experiment

[@dukeofmtb]

....plus the part about bike parts and tools all over the place.😆 I try to be relatively organized, but it's *_never_* even *_remotely_* close to those dream build vids.

[@dukeofmtb]

Wow. You guys are really stepping it up with your vids. This is beyond cool. Keep up the great work, guys! 👍

[@gucass]

10/10 way to kick off the year! I've always been curious why Neko chose the rocker arm design as compared to other horizontal shock designs or a personalized version of a vpp

[@janeblogs324]

Because he liked his old trek. Just go watch episode 1-3 of frameworks

[@Blake_Cherubini]

Simplicity. You can basically get the same ride characteristics out of this style as compared to the more complicated linkage designs. Other companies make their linkages look different for marketing purposes. He makes it simple because it’s easier to make, cheaper, less room for error, and it works.

[@Pacelinetech]

Thank you for producing this video. It had a similar feel to the Pinkbike Racing episodes. What I mean is that there was some great on bike/on track shots and some great insight from the conversation with Neko. Very well done. Your production value is top notch. I really enjoyed listening to Neko's insights from the races this past season on the Downtime Podcast. It would be great if you could do a follow up interview with him about how Rock Creek was designed and what the long term plans are. That is, if he is a partner in Rock Creek. I feel like it is another side project for him but maybe I'm mistaken.

[@Blake_Cherubini]

Thank you for the feedback! Neko is a partner in Rock Creek so maybe I could do a video about that down the road!

[@promodsteve7882]

Love it!!! I really hope this works out for Neko. He has put so much passion into this.

[@Blake_Cherubini]

I think he’ll sell out in one day when he releases a small run of frames. It’s a good bike!

[@MarioXcore1]

Nice to hear Neko give some set up nuances.

[@Frank-gp6qr]

That first slam was aaaawwwsome... you soooo deserve that!

[@16koper]

I got to see this thing in person, awesome bike!!

[@tomassanesson902]

Awesome 🤘🤘🤘

[@nathantoney.1501]

The end was the best. Yeah. Home mechanic work always goes sideways and costs me more money than if I took it to the shop

[@hemtbexperience]

Cool video dude keep it up!!!🔥🤟🏼

[@Blake_Cherubini]

Thanks!🤘

[@Myke_Juliet]

Sick shit🤘🏼

[@Blake_Cherubini]

🙏🤘

[@harrie205]

Great Bike, Rider (as far as i can Tell) But for sure great videos interesting choice going to carbon/Steel frame personally i would like to see videos diving deeper in the technical stuff

[@Blake_Cherubini]

Thank you. Neko has a series called “in depth” on his channel where he does exactly that. If you haven’t seen them yet, they offer much more information about his development of this bike.

[@alexlamy1271]

That bike with ohlins suspension can be a dangerous beast

[@Blake_Cherubini]

Oh she’s a dangerous beast with Fox too👀🫣

[@Mr.Reddit.R.Athiesm]

lol i went to the school district where that bus is from

[@paulwolfram7774]

Are those TRP DH-R EVO brakes? They don't have any pad contact adjustment, or do they? Lately I thought I wanted to upgrade to brakes with pad contact adjustment, but if @NekoMulally can do without, then I can too!

[@Blake_Cherubini]

They are indeed those brakes. I’m not sure if they have bite adjust tbh but any brake can technically be manually adjusted during the bleed process. If you want your brakes to bite sooner, you need more oil in the system which means there’s less room for your pistons to retract. In order to do that you need to bleed them with the pistons in slightly further than usual. This can be a tricky process though because you don’t want your pads to rub. If that’s not the issue, you may just prefer a lever that has more leverage which makes it feel like it bites sooner. Magura has some levers that allow you to adjust this. Shimano has been my favorite so far and I’ve used every mainstream brakeset.

[@paulwolfram7774]

@@Blake_Cherubini Yes, good point. Thanks!

[@suchasreallife]

How’s the O chain for engagement when peddling ?

[@Blake_Cherubini]

I honestly didn’t even notice it while pedaling

[@charlescomeau4887]

"hope he won't drop me too quick" 5 secs later...

[@Blake_Cherubini]

Hey I dropped myself 😤

[@jacobcrawfordmtb]

Yo is that Double black track Stampede?

[@Blake_Cherubini]

Yessir!

[@Blake_Cherubini]

It’s their double black so I think that’s considered pro😂

[@Blake_Cherubini]

I feel like those are basically the same thing🤷‍♂️😂

[@markfreeman2022]

Do you watch your body weight for riding?

[@Blake_Cherubini]

Not really. I just try to stay healthy and fit. By doing that I will always be in a good weight range for the bike to perform well

[@markfreeman2022]

What weight range do you stay in?

[@Blake_Cherubini]

I’ve been in the 170-180 range for the past few years

[@gordonhill28]

Headset install with a hammer??

[@chrism5768]

Only way iv ever done it. Over a year on the last one, I did still going strong.

[@Frank-gp6qr]

Before I talk anymore crap... what's that alxe to alxe measure?

[@DQridesbikes]

What the end game here ? New bike company? These frames and versions can't be cheap.

[@chuckdavis572]

5' 12"?? I think that's 6'.

[@Blake_Cherubini]

No way

[@chuckdavis572]

@@Blake_Cherubini wrote my comment before seeing the end. LOL'd.

[@Blake_Cherubini]

😂😂