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First Look – Framed Marquette – Carbon Drop-Bar Adventure

Some of our more detail-oriented readers may notice that this article is not about a plus or fat bike. We’ve decided to expand our horizons and while our site may be schpelt fat-bike.com, we’re encouraging our amigos to adopt a modified pronunciation that sounds more like fun-bike.com. This spring we’re poised to launch a series of reviews about adventure bikes and this Framed Marquette 29r drop-bar with a Lauf fork is the first in line.

The first time that I saw this sweet looking mtn/gravel/fusion was last October, when I dropped in to see the new Framed Bike Shop up in Little Canada, MN. It’s a sharp looking machine and it made me think about the fact that I happen to live smack dab in the middle of the Glacial Drumlin Trail, a 52-mile gravel route that connects to an amazing network of trails run by the Wisconsin DNR. Then I thought about the two bikes in my current stable that I’ve modified to cater to that gravel/packing portion of my saddle time and thought that the Marquette looked like it could be the perfect hybrid between the Surly Cross Check and the Surly Krampus that I’ve been riding for years now. So right then and there, I asked the folks at Framed if I could give the Marquette a whirl!

(L-R) Surly Cross Check – Framed Marquette – Surly Krampus

Our Demo bike is an 18″ that is spec’d with Pub 29″ Carbon Hoops, DT Swiss Hubs and a Lauf Fork. The Marquette is the lightest of the trio of bikes pictured above at 23 lbs. Could the Drop Bar Marquette replace my two trusty gravel crushers?

I’m launching my umpteenth comeback from injured reserve and to celebrate getting back in the saddle I registered for a gravel race up in the Northwoods in early May called the Bear100. (I’m riding the 31 mile bear cub route). I’ll be putting in base miles after being off the bike for six weeks and then just a few training rides leading up to the race/ride. That should give me plenty of ride data for our upcoming review. Check out the full spec on the bike that we’re testing.

Extremely easy build out of the box and onto to the trail in thirty minutes.

FRAMED MARQUETTE CARBON 29 ADVENTURE BIKE

Full Specifications

Stem –      FRAMED +/- 7 DEGREE BIKE STEM 60mm

Fork –      LAUF TR BOOST CARBON BIKE FORK CARBON

Bar –        MARQUETTE CARBON DROP BAR

Post –       FRAMED LIGHTWEIGHT ALLOY SEAT POST 31.6mm x 400mm

T/A –       FRAMED MARQUETTE THRU AXLE REAR BLACK

Headset –         FSA ORBIT C-40-ACB INTEGRATED HEADSET  

SP Clamp –      PROMAX MX-86 SEATPOST CLAMP BLACK 35mm

F-Hub –   DT SWISS 350 FRONT HUB 15x110mm TA 32H

R-Hub –   DT SWISS 350 REAR HUB 12x148mm TA HG-MTB 32H

Chain –    FSA TEAM ISSUE 11 SPEED BIKE CHAIN  

Tires –      CONTINENTAL RACE KING 29 x 2.20 in

Rims –     PUB PC 29-33-XC-32 CARBON RIM BLACK 29in

Wheelset –       PUB CARBON 29in WHEELSET w/DT SWISS 350 HUBS 110/148

Shift/Brake –   SRAM APEX DOUBLE-TAP 11-SPEED LEVER HOOD BLACK

B/B –       SRAM GXP BIKE BOTTOM BRACKET 73mm  

Saddle –   WTB VOLT BIKE SEAT BLACK

Crank –    SRAM NX BOOST 148 XSYNC CRANKSET BLACK 175mm  

Cassette –        SRAM NX PG1130 11SPD CASSETTE BLACK 11-42T  

Derailleur –       SRAM RIVAL LONG CAGE REAR DERAILLEUR 11-SPEED

Price of the Bike (as tested) – $2499.95

The Marquette came in just as I was leaving to go for a ride. I somehow resisted the urge to open up the big bike box until I got back from my ride. The build went really easy. In less than a half an hour, I was whisking my way back out towards the Rock River on the new whip. There are always a few ergonomic adjustments with any new bike that comes into the shop. It didn’t take long for me to wish for wider bars. The Marquette came equipped with a set of bars that are 42 cm wide and I would prefer something wider. So a bar swap is in the works. Other than that, the bike fit and felt great.

I’ll be logging some mileage leading up to the Bear100 and putting the Marquette through its paces over the next few weeks. After the race, I’ll be back with a full review. Till then, be ready for more fun on bikes from FUN-Bike dot com.

For more information about Framed Bikes visit –
https://www.framedbikes.com/

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5 Responses to First Look – Framed Marquette – Carbon Drop-Bar Adventure

  1. Erv Spanks April 22, 2019 at 1:10 pm #

    FUN-Bike.com, I like it!

  2. Summittoppler April 22, 2019 at 3:34 pm #

    Fun-bike.com, that’s what’s it’s all about!
    Fun on 2 wheels, yeah!!

  3. Allroy April 23, 2019 at 4:47 am #

    Although I think Fat is the coolest. I am willing to admit that getting around by bike is great no matter which one you choose.

  4. Peat June 9, 2020 at 12:50 pm #

    Sick set up! Was thinking about doing same thing with drop bars. How tall are you? Im floating between Med and Large. The Framed website has a interesting reach number for small and med, and no reach number for large. They haven’t returned my emails so I haven’t pulled the trigger yet.

    Also the review makes it sound like it was complete bike, but looks very custom, so curious about that too?

    • Gomez June 9, 2020 at 7:32 pm #

      I’m 5’11” – This bike was one of their stock builds with a Pub Carbon Wheel Upgrade if I remember correctly.

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