Maryland’s Velo Orange has been creating components for the leisure and touring cyclists for more than a decade now. They added frames to their catalog a few years ago, and this is the latest iteration of their adventure tourer: the Piolet.
There are four frames in the VO range, each catering to different niches of the cyclotourist spectrum. There’s the Campeur for paved riding, the gravel-ready Pass Hunter, the chunky-tyred and versatile Polyvalent and, finally, the dauntless Piolet.
The Piolet, named after the two-headed ice axe used in mountaineering, is a formidable platform that can be built up in a multitude of configurations. Officially, this is the second version of the Piolet, and they’ve beefed it up into a serious mountain muncher.
Designed to inhabit the same sector as the Specialized AWOL and the Surly Troll, it caters to riders who want a virtual rigid mountain bike as much as a capable bikepacking rig, able to be built up with drop bars, flat bars or ‘alt’ bars.
Geometry tweaks mean that it can accept 29″ & 27.5+ wheels in the medium, large, and extra large sizes, and 26″ wheels in the small and extra small frame sizes. It’s sold as a frameset, and is meant to be matched with its exceptional segmented fork.
The frame is double-butted chrome-moly steel while the 1 1/8″ threadless fork is triple-butted, and both are manufactured offshore to VO’s exacting standards. The main frame is a truly intriguing design, with a mono-seat stay and horizontal bridge.
The frame and forks are covered with bosses for cages, racks and fenders, enabling it to be turned into a fully loaded tourer with any amount of luggage. Simultaneously, without bags, you can still huck it around the local trails on weekends.
At this stage, there’re two colors in the offing, this Poppin’ Purple and a classic off-road ‘Desert Stan’ hue. Regardless of the final color, the Piolet is destined to become a favorite of those wanting a versatile, steel, rigid, adventure machine.
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