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The Heller Shagamaw Plus Bike gets two sets of wheels instead of legs, and new Manitou Machete Plus fork!

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Heller Bikes Shagamaw plus 27 carbon bike mtb manitou machete

After announcing their first bike last year, Heller is at it again with an affordable carbon mountain bike. This time they have turned their attention towards the rapidly expanding world of plus bikes. While Heller was created to offer QBP dealers affordable carbon bikes to compete with a flood of inexpensive carbon frames, the new Shagamaw is not only relatively affordable, it’s also fairly unique in that it is one of the first full carbon plus hard tails.

Named for a mythical creature that was said to have the hind legs of a moose and the front paws of a bear, the beast would walk for a distance on its hind legs then switch to its front legs. For brand manager Bobby Dalhberg, the name is a fun way of alluding to the fast, agile nature of a hardtail with 130mm of trail clawing front suspension that the Shagamaw offers. You could also draw parallels to the fact that the Shagamaw can run either 27 x 3.0 or 29 x 2.5″ wheels and tires…

Heller Bikes Shagamaw plus 27 carbon bike mtb manitou machete-5

Like many in the industry, Bobby says Heller is really exited about the plus platform and sees it as a something that will just continue to grow. Building a carbon hardtail with 130mm travel offers a bike that is fun, fast, and confidence inspiring, while the Heller build keeps it in reach of many consumers.

Heller Bikes Shagamaw plus 27 carbon bike mtb manitou machete-4

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The carbon frame uses a standard 73mm threaded bottom bracket but goes with fully internal cable routing that includes the option for a dropper post or a Sideswing front derailleur. Housing ports use removable alloy inserts for regular housing, Di2, or blanks, with full housing routed all the way through the frame. Other frame features include a tapered head tube, 12x148mm Boost spacing, and a max chainring size of 32t for 1x or 38/24 for 2x.

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To be sold complete in either a GX1 1×11 or Deore mix builds, the frame will also be available of $1250 (in grey). The GX1 spec will include a TranzX 120mm dropper, RockShox Yari 130mm fork, an S1000 crank, WTB plus wheels and tubeless ready Bridger tires, lock on grips, and TRP slate 4 brakes. This build will sell for $2599 in white and comes in around 29.14 lbs.

Heller Bikes Shagamaw plus 27 carbon bike mtb manitou machete-8

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The other build will include a Shimano Deore 1×10 drivetrain with a 36t micro shift cassette, a 30t ring on a Samox crank, no dropper, wire bead tires, and Tektro m285 hydro brakes for $1999. Sold in blue, the complete bike comes in at 29.16lbs thanks to the lack of a dropper.

Heller Bikes Shagamaw plus 27 carbon bike mtb manitou machete-9

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While the GX build sees the RockShox Yari, the lower end build gets an entirely new fork from Manitou. We haven’t gotten the official launch specs yet, but the 130mm travel fork uses an air spring and Absolute+ damping. It also features the new Hex Lock SL 110 axle which does away with the quick release lever in favor of a 6mm bolt on axle. We’re sure to hear more about this fork in the coming days.

Like other Heller builds, the Shagamaw will be available through stocking QBP dealers and will be shipping in late spring/early summer.

Screen Shot 2016-02-26 at 3.54.37 PM

hellerbikes.com

 

 

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Tim
Tim
8 years ago

The frame looks very similar to the one that can be found at various suppliers on alibaba or ali express. Is that an open mold frame design?

Erich
Erich
8 years ago
Reply to  Tim

I’m pretty sure that’s the point of Heller. QBP makes small tweaks to open mold designs to ensure they meet their needs and pass QC, then slots them into the Heller brand. You are essentially buying an open mold bike with nice paint and a warranty that is actually enforceable/believable. It’s an interesting strategy and I’m curious to see how the brand does over the next few years.

Ken
Ken
8 years ago
Reply to  Tim

I’m sure it is the same quality of the eBay carbon frames, but I can’t find the same frame on eBay or Alibaba. Anyone know what model it is? The drive side chainstay is different on this one, which may be why it has clearance for plus tires?

Ripnshread
Ripnshread
8 years ago

Why the heller does QBP keep coming up with new brands for the open mold frames they are selling?

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
8 years ago
Reply to  Ripnshread

What new brands? This is the only brand they distribute that uses open molds.

***That said, it’s way better to buy from QBP than direct. That way, if you run into issues, QBP can send you a frame from their own stock rather than you shipping a frame to China, then waiting to get another frame back… if you’re lucky. With some luck, you’ll get a frame in 3 months but maybe a week or two from QBP

ascarlarkinyar
8 years ago

Let’s see.

Chinese frame repainted, sold for 4x the price on ebay, but you get a 1x warranty.

What if I buy 4 ebay frames instead?

Haromania
Haromania
8 years ago
Reply to  ascarlarkinyar

I used to feel the same about bottled water, I mean it’s free from the tap, who in their right mind would pay for it?

Heller isn’t going to be for everyone obviously, but they will sell these bikes. Not everyone can work on or build their own bike so it wouldn’t matter to them what a similar frame costs on e-bay. I think this is an interesting brand and I am curious how it plays out in the real world. I bet they do quite well.

Jon
Jon
8 years ago

The key thing is that with Chinese direct purchases people are always worried about quality and will they kill themselves. Especially with forks and bars. No in reality carbon stuff can be great, light, cheap and good quality as there are tons of branded cheap frames with carbon forks. What’s good about this is yes you pay a bit more but you have the warranty and QC checks in place. As well as the brands insurance invade it does go wrong. Personally if someone sought out top quality open mould parts backed them with warranty and QC testing and then charged just a bit more then they would make a killing. When I say a bit more I don’t mean Evolve, whisky prices. Decent carbon fork should be no more than £200.

dave macdonald (@davechopoptions)

Shagamaw is not a great name for a bike here in Scotland….

r1Gel
r1Gel
8 years ago

Threaded BB! Yay!

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