John is down in Melbourne, Australia, documenting the Made Bike Show Australia 2024 framebuilder showcase and has a special sneak peek gallery today featuring Woods Bicycle Company‘s Effigear-equipped El Camino steel full suspension. Let’s check it out!
I just landed down in Melbourne for the Made Bike Show Australia 2024 today and got a sneak peek at this Woods Bicycle Company El Camino Trail high single pivot 4130 full suspension 29er.
El Camino Trail
While I can’t promise a 60-photo gallery from each of the show bikes, since I was able to spend some time poring over the El Camino’s details, I figured why not? I love steel full suspension bikes, and pairing them with two things I’ve ever-curious about, gearboxes and high-pivot designs, seemed like the universe was telling me something.
The standard El Camino is built around longer travel setups; a 160 mm fork for local trails or a 200 mm dual crown for the bike park. The same flexibility applies to shock selection; opt for a 230 mm shock for 160-180 mm Enduro setup or a larger 250 mm shock for 190-210 mm of travel to conquer any terrain.
As shown here, the El Camino in a trail spec is specced with a 140 mm travel fork and 125 mm of rear travel, which seems to be the sweet spot for an everyday bike. Personally, I feel like this travel range is gaining in popularity alongside lesser-travel downcountry setups.
El Camino Trail Quick Hits
- Size M Specs
- Reach: 460 mm
- Head angle: 65º
- Seat angle: 78º
- Chainstay length: 442 mm
- BB drop: 35 mm
- 125 mm rear travel
- 140 mm fork
- 15.7kg
- 4130 Chromoly frame and swingarm
- 29” and 29/27.5” compatible
- 148 boost spacing
- 9-speed Effigear Mimic gearbox, belt compatible
- Available with gearbox or standard drivetrain
Effigear-Equipped
Coming off the Pinion Smart.Shift system, I’ve been intrigued by the possibility of owning a gearbox bike at some point. I really like the way they ride – particularly with a mountain bike – but wasn’t sold on the functionality of the Smart.Shift for a trail ripper. In the limited time I spent pedaling the Woods El Camino Trail around, two things struck me immediately about the Effigear Mimic gearbox. First, it uses the Eagle 12-speed cable shifter, and second, it delivers instant shifting, even under load. I can’t offer any deeper insight, but let’s just say you have my attention, Effigear!
High (Single) Pivot
The El Camino utilizes a high single-pivot design, with the lower idler pulley mounted directly to the Effigear gearbox and the upper stainless pulley mounted to the pivot location. The rear wheel has 125 mm of travel. As with the standard El Camino, you can experiment with tuning the ride quality of the El Camino Trail by utilizing the various shock mount positions.
Details
The El Camino Trail is tig-welded with 4130 Chromoly and features several beautiful details, such as the rear swingarm brace, head badge, and various logo hits around the frame. The rear seat stay has a break for a belt drive if you desire. For non-gearbox bikes, the El Camino Trail is UDH-compatible.
The first bike from our MADE Australia coverage is certainly a bike that I’d love to spend some time on myself. I’m excited to see what other Australian builders and makers bring to this weekend’s showcase.
I’ll see you this weekend at the MADE Bike Show Australia!
Check out more at Woods Bicycle Company.