The Badger, narrow cantilever studs and the stuffed cycling suits

The world needed another fancy ass frame and Rob Pennell made it, apparently just before his own world was to collapse around him. Rob's company was called Badger and his frames were best known in the 29'er world of downhill and mountain biking. Very well thought of actually, until he got close to the time when his whole world started crumbling.

Of course I bought it. I didn't consider that I should've looked more closely at its quirks, read between the lines in the ad or maybe even noticed that the geometry was odd enough to be hopelessly custom before I paid up....

At the time, the Badger Cycles website was still up and this frame, my bike was gallery featured as one of the few he'd built that he was most proud of. Be that as it may, the frame quickly became a stark reminder that yeah, cool bikes are fancy ass, but they're a royal pain in the ass to build. Just like Manny's bikes were; beautiful, ewww shiny, expensive, torturous and innocently evil.

I started to build it. Seatpost first. 27.2? Ah, 27.4! (27.4?) Ok then, Campy flatbar 10 shifters (Centaur gray). Cables? Not mounted to the pods. Allen key size: 4mm? 3.5mm! The only once before used 3.5mm, in 1984. (They Delta strike again).

It was around then that I decided to google the current word on Rob and wow!, a gaggle it is.