Macho King Generations

Macho King Generations

Hey there folks, just a friendly note to let you know that Macho King and Macho King LTDs are currently hitting dealers floors as we speak. This is the third generation of our top cross race machine and with every iteration it just keeps getting better and better.

And by better, we mean lighter, stiffer, and faster.

Let's chat about it, the current iteration can be seen above and below.

It is our passion to continue to improve our bikes, especially our pure bred race machines, and this really shows through in what we've done with the Macho King over the years.

Let's start with generation one: 

This bike was produced before the prevalency of 1X drivetrains, and features, in my opinion, the nicest detailing of any of the Macho Kings as I'm a sucker for internal cable routing.

pretty dang gorgeous

The next year generation two dropped. 

The writing was on the wall and most racers were now into the 1X setups. This meant that the internal cable routing was going unused, which we thought was a shame. There's alot of work and cost associated with internal routing, plus the added weight of the full length brass tube that makes it user friendly. We'd also gotten feedback that some people weren't jazzed on the cables running on the underside of the downtube during arm cradle carries. And Finally we'd heard that it might be nice if the derailleur hanger was easier to field service in case it got bent during a muddy race or in a crash. You spoke, we listened.

So, the internal routing disappeared, the cables moved onto the upper side of the top tube, and we added a replaceable hanger. We also decided to make it a bit stiffer with a larger diameter downtube. Bickety Bam, a lighter and better race bike was born.

Now let's take a peek, at the details on the newest bike:

You can see that it now comes stock with a lighter and preferred 1X11 drivetrain

Replaceable derailleur hanger

top tube cable routing

Thru-Axle Whisky No 9. Fork

The frame itself remains unchanged, but ssince now folks are clamoring for stiffer front ends, we're giving it to them via a Thru-Axle Whisky No.9 fork! The fork is a bit lighter to boot than its predecessor, so once more the Macho King takes a big step forward.

We firmly believe that this is the nicest production steel cross bike in the world, and encourage you to go to your dealer and check one out for yourself. My personal race bike weighs in just under 20lbs and has raced and been on podiums across the United States and in Japan. I'm currently ridiing a G1 Macho King, though contemplating building up a new one as that new Macho King LTD frame color is just so damn fancy I can barely stand it.

Crossing the line first at Nobeyama in Japan