Carbon Wasp updates Truffle-120 frame

Carbon Wasp has updated the Truffle-120 XC/Trail bike.

The brand’s objective was to make a frame that could be built into a lightweight XC race bike, but was also robust enough to take on the most technical descents.

The carbon lay up has been refined and the brand has invested heavily in precision tooling to improve the finish and reduce manufacturing time.

Adrian Smith, chief designer and owner of Carbon Wasp, commented: “We’ve been working hard on updating the Truffle-120 to update the frames whilst still keeping the same winning performance that made the original so popular.

“The Truffle-120 is light and predictable for climbing, agile for singletrack and robust for technical descents.

“We basically made the bike that we want to ride, a bike that would be at home on the XC race circuit or razzing around the local woods.”

All frames are made entirely in Leeds using pre-preg carbon fibre sourced in the UK, allowing Carbon Wasp to keep a tight control over quality and ensure shorter lead times.

The frame is fully constructed from carbon fibre, with the front-tri, rear swingarm and carbon linkage, each moulded as a single piece, which offers increased stiffness and low weight.

Fully sealed cartridge bearings make the frame Yorkshire-proof, with a familiar flex pivot at the rear dropout to help reduce weight and the complexity of the construction.

The Truffle-120 includes contemporary features such as downtube storage, clearance for a dropper post and ISCG mounts with BSA threaded BB shell.

Full internal cable routing helps to maintain the clean lines and the Boost 148mm rear axle and UDH mech hanger keeps you bang-on-trend.

To maximise build options the frame has clearance for 2.6” tyres and up to a 38T chainring. All this comes with a five-year repair or replace warranty.

It’s available in four sizes and has modern numbers for reach (480mm on large) and head angle (65.5deg). The Truffle-120 can accommodate 30.9mm dropper posts with a 250mm minimum insertion depth.

Recognising the need for rear centre to grow with each frame size but also recognising that personal preference and riding style can have an influence on the perfect chainstay length, Carbon Wasp provides six options for stay length.

Each size of Truffle-120 frame can be fitted with any of the six stay lengths, giving a range of chainstay length from 435mm to 460mm in 5mm increments. To keep things simple, those stays are optional, not adjustable.

Carbon Wasp chose the single-pivot with flex stay arrangement for the Truffle-120 because it’s tried and tested for this genre of bike and gives reliable and predictable ride characteristics.

The kinematics of the Truffle-120 are designed to provide 120mm of plush and progressive rear travel.

Shock progression is 38% across the full travel (27% from sag to full compression), and anti-squat is fairly standard for this type of bike (115% at sag in 32-39), making it a stable climber.

Carbon Wasp are a small company and focus on making the frames, so the Truffle-120 is still only available as a frame-only.

The brand doesn’t paint its frames, opting for a coloured wrap instead.

Frames come with either their standard factory Wasp-Yellow wrap or any custom one-colour for no extra cost.

Frame and Cane Creek IL DB Air is £2,950 (inc. shipping) including custom wrap (one colour), while a frame only is £2,600.

The Carbon Wasp Truffle-120 is available to order now with a delivery ETA of around two weeks.