Chromag Aperture

I love everything about MTBing, ups, downs, drops, rocks / roots / jumpy bits with the emphasis on having fun. A Chromag frame has been on the top of my wish-list for a while but I could not justify spending nearly a grand on a canadian made frame, even if some of them are welded by Chris Dekerf. I'd be too worried about putting a big dent in it than enjoying it. The Aperture frame is their made in Taiwan model, albeit in the best frame factories they could find. Straight out of the box I was impressed with the quality. I would bet that Chromag have the frames shipped to them from Taiwan and then finish prepping them alongside there in house built frames - seatpost, headset and BB all fitted in smooth as butter. In contrast my last frame left a big score mark down a new seatpost.

FRAME Chromag Aperture (medium)
FORKS Rock Shox Sektor RL U-Turn
HEADSET Cane Creek ss3
STEM Race Face Turbine 60*6
HANDLEBARS Easton EA70 low rise
SEATPOST Salsa shaft post
SEATPOST COLLAR / QR Salsa Seat Q.R.
SEAT Flite Ti saddle
BRAKES Hope x2 evo race with 160mm/160mm floating rotors
SHIFTERS Forge/Shimano thumbshifters
FRONT MECH Shimano XTR M952
REAR MECH Shimano XTR M950
CRANKS Race Face Turbine Exi 22/32/bash
CASSETTE Shimano XT M737 8 speed 11-30
PEDALS Canfield Crampon Ultimate
WHEELS Hope Pro2 Evo / Notubes Flow
TYRES Continental mountain king 2.2" / 2.4"

That's lovely.

I really like Chromag stuff but find it hard to justify the cost.

How does it ride?

very nice. how are the pedals in use? i had a set but sold them before i got the chance to use them.

Mindmap3":2s3jf997 said:

I really like Chromag stuff but find it hard to justify the cost.
How does it ride?

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Ride wise the Chromag has justified its price tag to me (although I did buy it on sale). It feels solid, but manouverable. Straight away it felt very natural to me both on the ground and in the air, basically letting you dictate how it rides rather than having to adapt to a frames weaknesses. Also it wheelies like a good 'un which is always my first test...

adlyhobart":2s3jf997 said:

very nice. how are the pedals in use? i had a set but sold them before i got the chance to use them.

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You did indeed - you sold them to me . I've had loads of flat pedals trying to find something as good as my Easton Flatboys, which are my benchmark but by todays standards are a bit overweight (600g+) and thick. Last set I tried before these were the spank spikes, they went back after one ride, poor grip and felt too small. The Crampons are ... ace. I love them, plenty of grip and the platform feels just right under my feet. I wasn't sure the convex looking platform would work but it does, you don't notice it. Got my eye out for another pair

i had a sneaky feeling! doh! what a dummy i was to clear out all my message boxes. a valuable tool for remembering who youve dealt with. ha! glad they are working well for you. they certainly looked like they would be good with such a platform but still very low weight.