The images and copy associating the 2010 Vanilla Speedvagen Road frame is all the inspiration one needs to start reaching for the calculator, ‘Freezing mountain stages, Summer crit series. February death march, countyline sprint. Partying with the homies’. This addition to the Speedvagen range, set against the Portland roads and country lanes, looks like glorious pain. But taking in the overall impression of this bike, I can also see a bike that just wants to play.
Or maybe it’s the prancing unicorn logo that graces every Vanilla Bike that Sasha White and his team produce. Symbolizing elegant and terrible power, a mystical beast like the unicorn is appropriate when contemplating what this bike is capable of. This is no wind tunnel research bunny. Constructed from Dedacciai, Columbus and True Temper tubing, Vanilla has produced a frame that combines grace and strength. Incorporating their innovative Berzerker dropouts with stainless steel inner faces, those details establish the ‘Roadvagen’ as a modern masterpiece. An integrated mast, intuitive seat clamp and specifically machined down tube adjusters provide the Pro with technological satisfaction. Once again, Vanilla opts for a powder coat over liquid paint for durability, and even though my ‘favorite’ font, Brush Script, is prominent, I’ll take that on board as another aspect of this bike’s dual aptitude for fun and all out tarmac severity.
Thanks to Bob Huff for the shots, you can see more details on the Vanilla Workshop flickr stream.
