DH Field Test: Frameworks DH - US Made & World Cup Ready

When it comes to purchasing this frame, you may have to be patient, and be willing to pay a premium. The first batch has already sold out, but Frameworks is gathering requests for a second run. The frame alone costs $4,450 USD. There are choices of specifically tuned Fox DHX, Ohlins TTX2, and RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate coil shocks as well.

At this time, there are no build kits available, but Frameworks sent us the exact equipment their factory team is using which includes Fox suspension, Enve wheels, Hayes brakes, and even the chain damping device from O-Chain.

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Contents

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Frame Details

Even though there are minimal logos on the DH, the industrial and unpainted surfaces throughout the frame make this a highly recognizable bike to a downhill racing enthusiast. Just tapping on the large diameter downtube you can tell that the frame construction is burly. Three sizeable gussets lead into the head tube and a reinforced pivot on the seat tube holds the two-piece rocker link steady.

Down in the bottom bracket area, the lower shock mount and main pivot look overbuilt too. Thick ISCG tabs enforce that this frame is built to take some punishment. On the flip-side, at 4.11kg / 9lb 1, it isn’t light and as Henry alluded to, that might not offer enough forgiveness for some riders.

Throughout the rest of the frame, the details are well hashed out. External cable routing, an easily swappable shock, and thorough frame protection are byproducts of mechanic experience at the races. A nifty features is the small aluminum lip around rear axle insert also shields the carbon material from rock strikes.

Frameworks use a standard 250x75mm stroke shock, rather than a trunnion mount, in order reduce the forces going through the shock body. It is necessary to use a shock extender and mount the shock at 90-degrees from normal in order for the reservoir to clear the downtube.

Although not part of the frame per se, Frameworks Racing has installed a few smart aftermarket components. ODI’s fork bumpers clamp on to the stanchions to avoid sliding around. One downside is that they aren’t as soft as the stock equipment and could dent a more fragile frame, but that's not an issue on the Framework's large gussets. The chain feedback is also toned down by the O-Chain device and the cushy VHS Slapper tape that shields the chainstay.

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Suspension

Before launching the Frameworks brand, Neko built two prototype frames that used a four-bar Horst-link design. “Plan A” used a main pivot located around the top of the chainring and “Plan B” placed the pivot slightly higher which required an idler wheel.

Eventually through back to back testing, Neko settled on “Plan A” for variety of reasons covered in his YouTube series, “In Depth”.

The production bike (Plan A), is stated to have 200mm of travel in the linear setting or 205 in the progressive position and the leverage rate moves from approximately 3.3 to 2.3. While it’s not a high-pivot, the rear axle still has a small amount of rearward movement (6mm) before moving 14mm forwards at the end of the travel.

Frameworks has selected the DHX platform instead of the DHX2 which offers more external adjustability. We did find the rebound to be on the faster side, although there is enough adjustment from the red clicker to tone that down if you are uncomfortable with the return speed. With that being said, the tune worked incredibly well to give a supple action to the top of the travel.

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Geometry

Size wise, there are two options, a medium with a 455mm reach and the large with a 485 number. Thanks to a huge ZS56/61mm headtube, reach-adjust headsets can sway those numbers in either direction up to 8mm without using external cups which would raise the stack and alter the geometry.

In order to retain some level of equal balance between frame sizes, Frameworks adjusts the chainstay lengths. The medium size receives a 450mm rear center and the large is stretched out to 460.

A 63.3-degree head tube angle isn’t the slackest number on the board, but also isn’t the steepest in this group of bikes either. Through a very low bottom bracket, especially at sag in the progressive setting, the Frameworks DH’s geometry works to claw back some high-speed stability and positions the rider in a tall, strong position.

There’s also an admirable amount of standover height that lends to that low center of gravity feeling and provides plenty of room to move about the bike. As for the steep seat tube angle, I wouldn’t say it ever posed an issue, but it might require sliding the seat further back in the rails than you’d expect.

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Test Bike Setup

Neko has worked tirelessly to fine tune this bike and its suspension accordingly. That meant that the bike arrived with specific settings adjusted to parallel the heavier spring weights that Neko was riding.

The fork was set to 86 psi with 5 volume spacers and the clickers turned to: HSC 8, LSC 6, HSR 8, LSR 9 from closed. Out back, the rear shock had a 500 lb spring installed and was placed in the progressive setting. The DHX shock only has low-speed compression and rebound adjusters which were set to 6 and 7 from closed.

52mm offset fork crown seemed to be the norm these days but that was matched with a slightly shorter 40mm stem. The 40mm-tall bars were trimmed to 780mm and the dropped crown had a 10mm spacer underneath it. We rode the size MD with a +9mm reach adjust headset. Lastly, the O-Chain was set to 9-degrees of float with a 36-tooth chainring.

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Descending

In some ways, the Frameworks is a total brute with a strong, stiff frame that can plow through deteriorated tracks with the best of the high-pivot sluggers. Then again, when precision is needed, it doesn’t get bogged down by mega-slack angles or lethargic wheel paths.

The tall stack height and low center of gravity allow the rider to stand tall and ride relaxed, yet stay balanced with their weight placed equally on both wheels. There’s no need to move fore and aft to find grip from the tires when zipping through smooth berms. On top of that, there’s an impressive amount of grip produced by that progressive setting, however, your line choice may be limited as the cranks ride concerningly low to the ground. We struck the chainguide on multiple occasions without expecting to.

A hint of instability does come about when turning through rougher sections of trail though, in a way where the front wheel wanted to tuck. It’s a trait that we found in the YT to slightly display too and this could come from that square stance of the higher bar height and seemingly steeper head angle.

In steeper terrain, the Frameworks DH also gives that similar sense of your hands being directly above or even in front of the front axle and that can be slightly unnerving if you prefer a slacker ride. Some of that tense steering can be initiated from braking too. There’s more influence from those braking forces than bikes like the M1 which remains steadier and left us smirking through those steeper chutes.

Henry felt strongly about the frame being overly stiff, and while I agree that’s true compared to the other bikes on test, it didn’t transmit as much vibration through the frame like the YT Tues did. The reasoning could be split into two parts; the lateral forces that are taken up by the brilliant Enve Dark6 prototype wheels, and the chain damping components that soak up forces from the chain whipping about.

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Technical Report

O-Chain Active Spider: Honestly, we can’t see why anyone would avoid using this component, regardless of the frame’s suspension layout (assuming the drivetrain uses a chain) or bike genre - yes, even enduro and XC bikes. The damped chainring spider reduces chain feedback, whether that’s pedal kickback or oscillating forces on the chain, which in turn, create noise. Of course, it will have a greater positive impact on bikes with larger degrees of pedal kickback, but adds to the Frameworks DH’s uninterrupted top end of travel.

Enve Dark 6 Prototype Wheels: Every other bike in the Field Test arrived with alloy wheels and left with a few dents, some of which led to the inability to hold air. Carbon wheels can be built rock solid but that often leads to a jarring ride and possibly less traction. That wasn’t the case with these prototype Enve wheels, and thankfully so. The compliance was needed from a stiff frame like the Frameworks to keep it tracking straight and not get bounced around.

Fox DHX shock: Less adjustment doesn’t mean less performance. It should come with no surprise as this one in particular was tuned meticulously for the DH and worked incredibly well. There’s a new high-flow piston and clever hydraulic anti-top-out feature. That's something we wished the DHX2 found on the Giant Glory had too, as it returned to full travel with a distracting clunk.

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Pinkbike's Take

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Reviews and Tech Field Test DH Bikes Frameworks Frameworks Dh