Thats one hot ride, the pic has me reaching for my credit card
I know.
Cielo make fewer than 100 frames a year too. All frames are custom made, and even the paint is done in-house.
It's as much a labour of love for Chris King as it is a business. Given their prices I can't see them making a lot of profit out of the venture, most of the money in a 29er is in the forks, brakes and cranks which aren't the bits that Chris King do.
The thing I love about the Cielo is the spirit in which it was created. It's not designed to be a competition bike like a Niner, a Cielo is as close to a traditional bike or original mountain bike that you'll come to. The geometry, materials and even clearances are a nod to that. The non-S-bend version of the frame cannot even take the largest tyres (mine is S-bend), it's supposed to have the feel of a classic frame and set of components put together for a certain goal, that being long days out exploring a wilderness and it's trails.
The reviews of the bike were weird, the people who didn't understand that approach to heritage (one foot in the past, one in the present) didn't get why it wasn't as super aggressive as it could be. But those who did get the aim just wrote lists of superlatives.
I was pretty taken by the Cielo on that basis... I'm not a competition rider, and a slightly more relaxed position for long days of off-road fun at non-aggressive paces sounds pretty much perfect. That you can put nicer components on (forks, wheels) to find a balance between comfort and energetic action just sealed the deal.
I know.
Cielo make fewer than 100 frames a year too. All frames are custom made, and even the paint is done in-house.
It's as much a labour of love for Chris King as it is a business. Given their prices I can't see them making a lot of profit out of the venture, most of the money in a 29er is in the forks, brakes and cranks which aren't the bits that Chris King do.
The thing I love about the Cielo is the spirit in which it was created. It's not designed to be a competition bike like a Niner, a Cielo is as close to a traditional bike or original mountain bike that you'll come to. The geometry, materials and even clearances are a nod to that. The non-S-bend version of the frame cannot even take the largest tyres (mine is S-bend), it's supposed to have the feel of a classic frame and set of components put together for a certain goal, that being long days out exploring a wilderness and it's trails.
The reviews of the bike were weird, the people who didn't understand that approach to heritage (one foot in the past, one in the present) didn't get why it wasn't as super aggressive as it could be. But those who did get the aim just wrote lists of superlatives.
I was pretty taken by the Cielo on that basis... I'm not a competition rider, and a slightly more relaxed position for long days of off-road fun at non-aggressive paces sounds pretty much perfect. That you can put nicer components on (forks, wheels) to find a balance between comfort and energetic action just sealed the deal.