{"id":155796,"date":"2025-09-23T16:29:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T16:29:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/155796\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T16:29:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T16:29:13","slug":"asa-vermettes-lenzerheide-winning-frameworks-dh-shows-its-backflips-not-budgets-that-win-bike-races","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/155796\/","title":{"rendered":"Asa Vermette&#8217;s Lenzerheide-winning Frameworks DH shows it&#8217;s backflips not budgets that win bike races"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Vermette&#8217;s Frameworks DH looked more bling than ever as he backflipped his way to men&#8217;s junior victory at the Lenzerheide UCI World Cup, with the American&#8217;s bike featuring chrome fork crowns, custom brake levers and a possible 5Dev signature crankset.<\/p>\n<p>It also appears that Frameworks is experimenting with anodisation, with the rider&#8217;s link now black to match the carbon fibre rear end.<\/p>\n<p>We caught up with the young American in the pits at Lenzerheide to take a closer look at his bike before it crosses the Atlantic to finish the season.<\/p>\n<p>Frameworks DH<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1280\" height=\"854\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/DSC00912-Large.jpeg\" alt=\"Asa Vermette's Frameworks DH at Lenzerheide DH 2025\" class=\"wp-image-940328\"\/>Vermette&#8217;s bike shows you don&#8217;t need big budgets to win bike races. Nick Clark \/ Our Media<\/p>\n<p>Vermette rides for Frameworks Racing 5Dev, and uses the brand\u2019s simply named DH bike.<\/p>\n<p>The team was founded by ex-racer Neko Mulally, who decided to develop and bring his own bikes to market in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>The bike has been around in various guises for a while, but there appears to be a creeping darkness lately \u2013\u00a0with the main link now featuring a black anodised coating that not only makes the go-faster flames stand out, but highlights the chrome beauty of the front triangle.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1280\" height=\"854\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/DSC00920-Large.jpeg\" alt=\"Asa Vermette's Frameworks DH at Lenzerheide DH 2025 with black linkage\" class=\"wp-image-940324\"\/>This is the first time we&#8217;ve seen Frameworks add colour to the metal elements of its bikes. Nick Clark \/ Our Media<\/p>\n<p>This linkage is connected to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/reviews\/components\/rear-shocks\/fox-float-x2-factory-2pos-adjust-2022-review\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Fox Float X2 Factory<\/a> rear shock, controlling the frame\u2019s 200mm of rear suspension.<\/p>\n<p>Many riders choose to use coil shocks for their sensitivity, with Vermette in the minority with his air shock.<\/p>\n<p>The bike can be set up in two travel options, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/advice\/buyers-guides\/how-much-suspension-travel-do-i-need-on-my-mountain-bike\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">200mm of travel<\/a> in the linear setting or 205mm in the progressive position.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1280\" height=\"854\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/DSC00926-Large.jpeg\" alt=\"Asa Vermette's Frameworks DH at Lenzerheide DH 2025 with custom 5Dev cranks\" class=\"wp-image-940322\"\/>Could we be looking at an Asa Vermette signature crank? Nick Clark \/ Our Media<\/p>\n<p>In the centre of the bike are 5 Dev crank arms, which appear to take the shape of Cam Zink Signature Freeride Cranks, but with custom engraving, including more flames and an &#8216;AV3&#8217; enscription.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier in the year, we saw Vermette using what appeared to be R-SPEC Trail Enduro Cranks, with hollow cutouts.<\/p>\n<p>These are connected to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/news\/sram-acquires-ochain\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ochain device<\/a>, which reduces pedal kickback from the suspension on large hits.<\/p>\n<p>Pedal kickback comes from the cassette and chainring moving away from each other as the bike compresses, requiring more chain on the topside of the drivetrain.<\/p>\n<p>Ochain&#8217;s design enables the chainring to feed that chain to the topside without rotating the crank arms, keeping your feet secure on the pedals.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1280\" height=\"854\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/DSC00916-Large.jpeg\" alt=\"Asa Vermette's Frameworks DH at Lenzerheide DH 2025 with Asa TRP brakes\" class=\"wp-image-940326\"\/>The chrome version of the TRP DH-R Evo Pro brakes is in line with the rest of the bike. Nick Clark \/ Our Media<\/p>\n<p>Asa Vermette\u2019s name features on other parts of the bike, with the TRP DH-R Evo Pro brakes marked with \u2018Asa\u2019 on the right reservoir cap.<\/p>\n<p>Vermette has switched to the chrome version of the brakes since we last saw his bike at <a href=\"http:\/\/DH-R Evo\" rel=\"nofollow\">RedBull Hardline Wales<\/a> earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1280\" height=\"854\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/DSC00936-Large.jpeg\" alt=\"Asa Vermette's Frameworks DH at Lenzerheide DH 2025 with Fox Factory 40 with chrome crown\" class=\"wp-image-940320\"\/>The Fox Factory 40 fork delivers up to 203mm of suspension travel. Nick Clark \/ Our Media<\/p>\n<p>Up front, the bike is supported by a Fox Factory 40 fork, which features chrome crowns to match the raw aesthetic of the Vermont welded frame.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1280\" height=\"854\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/DSC00922-Large.jpeg\" alt=\"Asa Vermette's Frameworks DH at Lenzerheide DH 2025 with TRP derailleur\" class=\"wp-image-940323\"\/>TRP just needs to make a chrome version of its Evo 7 derailleur to match the rest of the bike. Nick Clark \/ Our Media<\/p>\n<p>TRP\u2019s Evo 7 groupset is used for shifting and has one of the only derailleurs found on the DH scene that isn&#8217;t made by SRAM or Shimano.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1280\" height=\"854\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/DSC00917-Large.jpeg\" alt=\"Asa Vermette's Frameworks DH at Lenzerheide DH 2025 with chrome fork crown\" class=\"wp-image-940325\"\/>The chrome crowns add more bling to Fox&#8217;s Factory 40 fork. Nick Clark \/ Our Media<\/p>\n<p>Vermette chooses a Spank Spike 35 handlebar with 40mm rise. While it&#8217;s not quite at the ape-hanger heights of 75mm we&#8217;ve seen Dakotah Norton riding, more riders are choosing high-rise bars.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Asa-Vermette-Enve-wheels-.jpg\" alt=\"Asa Vermette Enve wheels\" class=\"wp-image-940435\"\/>Vermette has been riding these ENVE wheels for quite a while. Nick Clark \/ Our Media<\/p>\n<p>Continental\u2019s Kryptotal tyres are wrapped around ENVE rims.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Vermette&#8217;s Frameworks DH looked more bling than ever as he backflipped his way to men&#8217;s junior victory at&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":155797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-155796","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}