Momsen bikes arrive in Australia

Have you heard of Momsen Bikes? Unless you have a strong South African connection it's likely you haven't. But the South African brand have been forging a name for themselves over in the west (yes, well west) and they have landed on our shores.

Momsen claim they are 'forged in the untamed' and that's not a small reference to the Cape Epic, which really has built the mountain bike scene in South Africa. Stage races are on just about every weekend in South Africa and the riding there suits cross-country and trail bikes.

So as you'd imagine, their key bikes are cross-country and trail full-suspension mountain bikes. Here's a look at their range for 2018.

Momsen Vipa Trail 2

This hits the mark for a fast 29er trail bike, with 120mm travel and Boost spacing. The full-carbon frame isn't a given with all trail bikes, so if you're keen on getting a bike that has some more travel than your XC bike, a dropper post, a wide range of gears with Shimano XT 2×11 and a stiff front end (thanks to the new RockShox Revelation) this could be a great place to look. Add in NoTubes Arch wheels which give a great internal width and you have a well specced trail bike – at $6400

The head angles are slack at 67.8, with 440mm rear ends, and a reasonable reach of 422mm in large. So expect a bike that can handle a wide range of trails under the right pilot, but still be handy if you're lining up for an endurance event.

Momsen Vipa Trail 1

This one has the same frame, and an SLX/XT 2×11 group set, no dropper, a Reba RL fork and performance shock. But the same frame remains. So it's a great choice if you want the ride of the Vipa TRail, but your budget stretches to $5350 and not beyond.

Momsen Vipa Race 2 Di2

This is where things get a little more serious. The Vipa Race can take 2 bottles inside the frame, and this model comes with 2×11 XT Di2, remote lock out for front and rear and NoTubes Crest wheels. Running a short 80mm of travel out back this is out and out a race machine – no doubt built with the demands of the Cape Epic in mind.

The Vipa Race sport a 70.5 degree head angle with a steep 73.5 degree seat angle to keep you in the right position to stay on the gas. This one goes for $6400.

Momsen Vipa Race 2

Built on the same frame, this model scales back to a mechanical group set and a SID fork instead of the Fox Step Cast unit. Otherwise, you get a lot of the same peformance for $5450

Further in the range Momsen have alloy hardtails between $820 and just under $2000, performance bikes for young riders, and a sweet gravel bike at $5250 that we would love to get our hands on.

Fingers crossed we get to take a closer look at some of these soon, but if you want to know more about the bikes head to the Momsen website.