Avanti/keewee D8?

motox199

motox199

Likes Dirt
I have been doing a bit of research on the avanti D8 as i am thinking of buying one second hand. I am wondering what is the connection between
the avanti D8 and the keewee D8? I know that they are the same bike but why were they sold under the two different brand names?
 
R

Rik

logged out
AFAIK KeeWee were contracted by Avanti to produce the D8 for them, and after that they kept on making them under their own name.
Great bikes, a little heavy and dated technology-wise... but they're still an awesome DH sled that loves fast stuff. You won't kill it either, damn tough build.
 
S.

S.

ex offender
Fairly solid bikes - punched out a few runs on a mate's one, they're suuuuper plush, long/low/slack and thus very stable. They don't get into tight corners quite as easily as some bikes but if you're relatively new to DH I'd recommend one in a heartbeat.
 
Daver

Daver

Kung Fu Panda
Rik said:
AFAIK KeeWee were contracted by Avanti to produce the D8 for them, and after that they kept on making them under their own name.
Great bikes, a little heavy and dated technology-wise... but they're still an awesome DH sled that loves fast stuff. You won't kill it either, damn tough build.
Click to expand...
But what about the Euro brands that used that frame? I was fairly sure that it was just a generic Taiwanese frame...
 
Jon

Jon

Not Grip, OK... So don't ask!
S. said:
Fairly solid bikes - punched out a few runs on a mate's one, they're suuuuper plush, long/low/slack and thus very stable. They don't get into tight corners quite as easily as some bikes but if you're relatively new to DH I'd recommend one in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...
Gripsport does a widget that lifts the head angle from about 62 to 65 degrees which will make it a bit better in corners but its still a heavy sled.
cheers jon
 
Sam.

Sam.

Eats Squid
Geeze Jon, you are stsrting to sound like Grip, just as well you have a custom title:p
 
top_dog

top_dog

Likes Dirt
I had one for a year or so. Eventually it snapped on me but I don't blame it. It was a great bike, handles well in the fast off camber or flat stuff, not fantastic at hairpins, but hey you can't have both. Mine was a 2000 model so the HA was fine. Mine had a shorter stroke shock which gave 7" of travel but lowered the BB and slackened the head angle, which made it handle even better.

I now have a Sunday and some people will probably shoot me for this but I miss the old girl... (especially in fast flowy sections)
 
dhd

dhd

Downhill Direct
Taiwanese? Sorry Daver. When they did the D8 or as Torpeewee called it the Cromo8, they were hand made in NZ by a guy called Trevor Porter. Yep, that's right, One guy made them all! Sometimes we had to wait for him to actually make the frames for us! His welding was awesome. Seems most Keewee frames are now made in Taiwan.
The differences between the D8 and Cromo8 were:
Cromo8 had ovalised tubing in the front triangle. (lighter/stronger)
Cromo8 had a curved upper chainstay on the swingarm.
Cromo8 came with an integrated headset where the bearing went straight into the frame.
I still have a few spares laying around for them...........
 
motox199

motox199

Likes Dirt
hey guys, i just bought one second hand tonight.Its my first downhill bike.
im going to pick it up on friday.
 
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