Labels like "adventure," "gravel," and "monster cross" might turn off some cyclocross traditionalists, but FitWell Bicycle Company's $155 frame, 50mm tire clearance, 15 frame sizes and $850 complete bikes all caught our attention. The young company has recently unveiled its new Schratz line of bikes, launched on Kickstarter, and for anyone looking for an affordable, versatile fun do-it-all bike or commuter, the FitWell Schratz is worth a look.
Official details below.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN–FitWell Bicycle Company just launched the Schratz adventure bike on Kickstarter. The Schratz is a progressive monster cross bike that allows riders to traverse various terrain smoothly and efficiently. The Schratz is uniquely efficient, intuitive, and comfortable owing to the FitWell tailored sizing system.
FitWell Bicycle Company's new Schratz adventure bike can handle rigid or suspension forks.
The FitWell Bicycle Schratz Bike Specs:
- Tire clearance: 50mm tires
- Suspension fork: Yes please, corrected for up to 100mm of travel
- Cross geometry: Well, slightly detuned, but quite nimble similar to the Cannondale Slate
- Pricepoint: Affordable! Early bird pricing is $155 for the frame. Complete bikes are at $850 and $1700.
- Proportional wheel sizing: scaled wheel sizing to match the rider's scale
- FitWell Tailored sizing system: 15 available frame sizes for a truly tailored fit
- Backwards compatible. 44mm head tube, 68mm threaded BB shell and 135mm rear hub spacing = run what you brung
FitWell Bicycle Company's new steel Schratz adventure bike comes in a whopping 15 sizes.
The new bike is FitWell's effort to deliver a tremendous value to the customer with an extremely versatile fit—approaching that of a custom bike—all at highly competitive prices. There are five sizes of three different frame "fits" making for a total of 15 different frame sizes. View the campaign on Kickstarter here.
“I think that Kickstarter provides us a great way to connect to our customers and prove out unique concepts. Without the direct support of the community, I couldn’t get this bike to market so quickly.” -Ryan Cate, FitWell founder
This is the first crowdfunding campaign created by FitWell. The campaign is being used to provide funding to expand its product offering into emerging categories. The team is excited about the opportunity Kickstarter creates for riders to have input into bikes created for them to ride. The Schratz joins the company's existing line of DeGroot and Fahrlander road-oriented models.
About Fitwell
FitWell Bicycle Company was founded in 2014 to create bikes that provide some of the benefits of a custom bike to novice and enthusiast riders. To this end, FitWell created a tailored sizing system to ensure customers get a great fitting bike that is well proportioned to their body, maximizing rider efficiency, confidence, and comfort.
Geometry of 5 of the 15 frame configurations (the Drew Fit, the most performance-oriented stance) is as follows:
See the full geometry, build specs and photo gallery below.
More info:
Kickstarter campaign with introductory pricing
www.fitwellbikes.com
952.856.8900
[email protected]
FitWell Bicycle Company Schratz Photo and Geometry Gallery:
The Alex fit is a moderately upright position.
