I expect a lot from my bike. At a minimum it needs to be light, versatile, durable, fast, and most importantly, it should inspire me to ride everyday. When I started thinking about making what is now the Eaglebear Black, I knew it had to tick all of those boxes and more.
It had to be able to be used for anything; commuting, errands around town, riding through the neighborhood with kids, an epic bikepacking adventure, or a sunrise trail ride.
There's a loop from my house that I used as a baseline for the Black's capability. It covers around 30 miles, and includes every type of riding. It carves steep canyon roads, traverses through flat miles of farmland, glides next to the ocean on the Pacific Coast Highway, cuts into miles of grueling singletrack, and ends with a push up a long asphalt climb back to civilization.
The Black needed to be able to do that loop without skipping a beat, while also being capable of carrying racks and child carriers for trips to the market, commutes to work, and school drop-offs.
You can just hop on and go.
I've been riding bikes my entire life. When I first started as a kid, I would just grab my bike and go. As I became "hardcore", I started spending thousands of dollars on gear that consumed my closet and was a chore to put on. This gear was to help make me faster and more efficient, but it never made my riding experience more fun. The Eaglebear Black's saddle is comfortable enough to ride without padded cycling shorts, but provides support for a day of pedaling. The Eaglebear Black is equipped with composite flat pedals. Sure, you can clip in to be more efficient or buy some fancy flats for more grip, but it's just not necessary. The Eaglebear Black can go all day just like it sits, and if you want to just hop on to go grab a coffee or cruise with your kids, you can do it.
You can choose your mode.
My life has changed over the years, and my kids have taken a large portion of my garage away. I can't have 6 bikes anymore. I needed to find a way to condense my bikes down to ease space and my wallet. The Black's intention was to become a 1 bike garage. Get the bike in Everyday mode, then get the MTB wheel set to swap out when you want to be able to have a dedicated trail bike.
I understand that people live in different areas and have different needs. The Black needs to be there for everyone, so we also decided to offer the Black in each mode as a base. In Everyday Mode, the 700x45c wheels and tires are sized for efficiency on or off-road, but are biased towards a paved surface. If you spend the majority of your time in the dirt, you can opt for a 27.5x2.2" trail oriented wheelset as standard.
Hydraulic disc brakes work in any weather condition.
Shimano brakes are the pinnacle of quality and performance. It has always been a no-brainer to use these brakes, and anyone that as spent time in the service department of a bike shop agrees. Shimano brakes stop on a dime and require almost no adjustment or maintenance. When the need for service does arise, parts are easy to get and maintenance is super simple.
The Black utilizes the Flat Mount standard. This way of mounting the calipers saves space and weight.
The gear range is huge.
The Shimano Deore 12-speed group is the king of value. Deore gives you the same performance of Shimano's top-end drivetrains at a fraction of the cost. The Hyperglide+ technology gives you ultra-fast and buttery smooth shifts, while being nearly silent when you're pedaling along.
The 10-51t cassette provides a massive 510% range so you can fly at full speed while cranking your heart out, or climb a hill so slowly you just about tip over.
The only reasons to get a more expensive drivetrain is if you're racing, or if you like spending money on fancy things. I personally love fancy things, and sometimes I can't help myself. But, the Black wasn't built to be fancy, it was built to be ridden.
Mounts galore!
All frame sizes come with 3 water bottle mounts, a top tube bag mount, front and rear rack mounts, fender mounts, triple cargo fork mounts, and even a kickstand mount. You can haul loads from the market, carry your kids, or lug all the gear for a weekend in the mountains.
There were no comprises made to carry gear. It was just a matter of adding the mounts to help you strap on your things.
Fun to ride.
Bikes are fun to ride. When you're training for fitness, sometimes you forget just how fun riding can be. That feeling of freedom, of flying, of just getting lost. This is why we ride, and your bike should always be an extension of that. I grew up riding BMX, it was my life. It's engrained in my DNA, and I'll never lose that. With this is mind, of course I had to make sure the Black could handle the silly things I'm going to do on it. It had to encourage speed, and it has to inspire me to always stay young at heart.
Geometry for everyday riding.
There are a crazy amount of different types of bikes available. In the pursuit of perfection, brands and manufacturers have expanded their lines to include bikes that are laser focused on being good at a particular segment of riding. For example, you can't just go buy a "mountain bike" anymore. Their are hardtails, which include; XC, trail, bikepacking, enduro, etc... Then of course their are full suspensions, which include: DH, XC, downcountry, trail, enduro, mixed wheel sizes of each category, etc... This is the case for road bikes, hybrid bikes, and now gravel bikes.
With the Black, we wanted things to be simplified. The frame has a balanced compromise in every direction, which wasn't simple to achieve. It climbs well, but won't win the Tour de France Alpe d'Huez. It descends well, but it's not going to get you on the podium at Red Bull Hardline. It's comfortable, but it won't be a pig to pedal.
The stock geometry is geared towards a neutral riding position, but if you want to be positioned upright to take pressure off of your neck, you can opt for a riser bar that lifts you up about 3 inches.
The bottom line.
