Traildonkey 3.1 Overview

What if there were no bicycle categories? What if nobody had told us that we needed a different bike for each day of the week and every different riding surface?

What if a bike was neither good nor bad at anything? What if, instead, it was merely a capable tool for testing yourself and proving your own mettle?

To Rodeo Labs these are not abstract questions. They are the inspiration by which we design and engineer our premiere bike: Traildonkey 3.1.

TD3 is a platform on which a rider can build a bike of supreme function and versatility. The spectrum of its abilities ranges from pavement to singletrack to gravel, and everything in between.

The Traildonkey Story

Now in its third major iteration, Traildonkey has upped its capabilities to match our ever growing ambitions. Since 2014, our eyes for rugged conditions have only gotten bigger and the punishment we’ve subjected the bike to has only gotten more severe. While we wanted to create a more capable bike, we did not however want to turn Traildonkey into an overbuilt, drop bar mountain bike. We wanted to stay true to the original principles of the bike which required that it feel at home in the intensity of a competitive road group ride, a 200 mile gravel race, a winding ribbon of singletrack, or a multi-day bikepacking trip.

TD3 is not only an exercise in increasing capabilities, it is also an exercise in restraint. The lines of the frameset have become more elegant and the execution of the details has become more focused.

The entire 3.0 rear triangle, from the seat tube back, has been completely redesigned. Over the years we’ve formed some strong opinions on what makes a great bike. We’ve woven those ideas into this frameset. High on our list of improvements for TD3 was increased tire clearance. Our newest Donkey has that in spades. On Rodeo 650b rims with a 24.5 mm ID a 2.1″ tire will fit on TD3. On Rodeo 700c rims with a 24mm ID a 45mm tire will fit on TD3.*

More Capable, Just as Sleek

In order to achieve greater tire clearances, extensive and careful shaping was required in the design of the rear triangle. Pronounced asymmetry between drive and non-drive side stays can be clearly seen in our design. We also took the opportunity to refine and simplify the dropout design, brake housing routing, flat mount brake mounts, and derailleur housing routing. When wireless eTap shifting is used on TD3, no residual housing protrusions are seen on the frame. This results in a beautiful, minimal aesthetic. Both 2x or 1x drivetrains work equally well on TD3 and when 1x drivetrains are used the front derailleur mount can be removed. Rack and fender mounting eyelets are once again standard on TD3 on both the frameset and fork and now feature larger clearances for fender / tire combinations.

TD3 features extensive mounting options for long-distance travel and bikepacking. On the rear triangle we include eyelets on the upper stays and just above the rear thru axle dropouts. On the main triangle, the frame features two bottle mounts on the main triangle as well as one mount beneath the lower down tube. The top tube includes two mounting points for top tube bags or a standard water bottle cage.

Built for the Long Haul

TD3.1 doesn’t pay lip service to strength and durability. When we upped the technical capabilities of the bike we were careful to also increase strength in critically stressed areas. In both lab and real-world testing TD3 is leaps and bounds stronger than any previous Traildonkey frameset. So many modern bikes are engineered with a disproportionate emphasis on light weight. We believe that the arms race to shave grams has resulted in a reputation for carbon framesets as fragile, almost disposable. With TD3 we have created a frameset that will reliably serve its owner over the long term and we back it with a lifetime warranty. Our engineering culture is to integrate an excess of strength into the frameset; to create a frameset that will stand the test of time on road, gravel, and trail.

Traildonkey is constructed with Toray T800 carbon for high strength and high performance in real world use. Each frame is constructed entirely by hand in Taiwan by a manufacturing partner with over 30 years of high-end carbon manufacturing experience.

T47 Bottom Bracket

Rodeo was one of the first bike manufacturers to standardize all of our framesets around the threaded T47 bottom bracket standard. The removable bottom bracket cover on TD3.1 features a drain hole which allows water to escape the frame in wet conditions. The result is a quiet, low-maintenance bottom bracket experience for every owner. It was one of the best spec decisions that we’ve ever made. The threads allow reliable, quiet operation over the life of the bike, and the 47mm shell allows compatibility with all crankset spindle diameters while also leaving room for internal Di2 and dropper post routing.

Spork 3.0

The Traildonkey 3.0 used the 2.0 series Rodeo Spork fork. Spork 2.0, which we designed for Traildonkey 3.0, checked all of the functional boxes, but the visual profile of the fork was out of balance. Enter Rodeo Spork 3.0. Spork 3.0 carries forward the key features of Spork 2.0 such as full carbon construction, internal dynamo routing, adaptable axle spec, and configurable eyelet options, and brings it all together in a slimmer, lighter package. Traildonkey 3.1 will change to 12×100 front thru axles but retain the ability to convert to 15×100 if your build requires it.

Traildonkey 3.1 and Spork 3.0 were developed in tandem to work together as a single system. Spork 3.0 matches TD3.1 tire clearance and adds additional versatility in the form of integrated dynamo hub, headlight, and USB stem cap integration. Spork 3.0 features mid-leg eyelets allowing expanded water and 12.5kg of gear carrying capability. Spork also features two axle eyelets on the end of each leg and an optional offset eyelet hardware kit, which allow for a massive range of rando racks, low rider racks, fenders, and combinations therein.

Limited Lifetime Warranty

Traildonkey’s lifetime warranty covers the performance and durability of the frame and fork and warrants them against deficiencies in design, engineering, and construction to the original owner of the frameset as long as they own the bike. Our owners are family and we take care of them long term. Read our full warranty terms here.

General Sizing Guidelines

Traildonkey 3.1 can be ordered either as a frame and fork module (at the top of this page), or as a complete bike. Soon we will add online purchasing for any of the complete bikes detailed below. In the meantime, we recommend pre-ordering a frameset to stake your claim and we will follow up with you directly to work through the details of your Traildonkey’s build. Feel free to send in a build form in addition to your pre-order to get the ball rolling: BUILD FORM

Every complete bike is built to order in-house and, because we can source from a wide range of components, we are proud to offer a huge range of pre-configured and fully custom builds. One of the build configurations listed below might suit your needs exactly. Or, it could be the starting point for further customization if you have specific components you’d like to see on your Traildonkey.

Click any of the sections below to collapse / expand for easy spec comparison.

COVID-19 update: we are continuing to see disruptions to availability of specific components within the U.S. As a result, the exact specs and price may vary from what are listed below, but we will always get your approval on any necessary substitutions prior to beginning your build5