On Test: The Smooth and Sexy Calfee Manta Pro Suspension Road Bike
Coming up in the March 2016 issue of Bicycling is a review of the Calfee Manta Pro road bike. Calfee is one of the most accomplished and respected names in frame building, and played an important role in carbon’s ascendency as a frame material. The Manta Pro is the company’s top-of-the-line and highest performance frame.
The Manta’s signature detail is the small rear shock that provides 12 millimeters of travel. Four coil spring rates are offered to tune for preferred feel or rider weight.
Calfee’s bikes are built using tube and lug construction. The webbed lugs go all the way back to the Craig-Calfee-built frame Greg LeMond raced in the1991 Tour de France.
Our review bike was built with Shimano Ultegra Di2 (with hill-leveling 11-32 cassette) Enve 4.5 clincher wheels, SQ Lab saddle, Enve seatpost, and Calfee’s one-piece BarStem. It weighs 17.5 pounds.
RELATED: Ultegra Di2 Is The Best Group Ever
It may have suspension and low gears, but the massive downtube and bottom bracket make clear that this is a performance bike.
Calfee uses titanium dropouts. In the company's white paper, Calfee explains the material is, “highly resistant to corrosion and it has a similar thermal expansion coefficient to carbon.”
Calfee’s BarStem turns a two-piece bar and stem into one piece by replacing the clamp with a carbon wrap. Calfee claims this increases strength and durability, saves weight, and improves vibration damping.
The water bottles touch each other, which causes them to squeak and groan on the road. This was likely just a small oversight during the build of our frame. Calfee can repair this, but the frame would need to be returned to their facility in Santa Cruz, California.
Calfee produces the Manta in road, adventure, or cyclocross versions, and with stock or custom geometry. Frame prices start at $4,800.
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