German bike companies generally avoid the ironic naming convention thing, but Sour is different.
The Dresden-domiciled brand is all about steel frames and fun. Its latest offering is the Pasta Party, and if you like your steel hardtails a touch steeper at the front, this could be the frame for you.
Sour’s take on the idea of an XC riding and racing steel hardtail predictably combines 29-inch wheels with Chromoly tubing. Geometry isn’t overly slack, and since the Pasta Party is a hardtail, that keeps the front wheel diligently tracking over the trail surface, even when the gradient numbers significantly kick up.
Designed around a 100mm fork, the Pasta Party sits at a 69-degree head angle with reach measuring 458mm on a size large. Geometry values are a blend of traditional XC racing numbers instead of the latest long, slack and low measurements.
Sour has ensured a spacious rear end, capable of rolling 2.4-inch tires without any clearance issues. The rear triangle is also horizontally braced by 435mm chainstays, which should deliver a good balance between cornering agility and climbing stability.
The Pasta Party might have a modern 12x148mm thru-axle, but its cable routing is all external for ease of maintenance and repairability.
Sour has selected the thinnest seat tube possible, and on the Pasta Party build kits there is an option of ordering PNW’s 27.2mm dropper seat post. An integrated seat tube clamp adds to the bike’s overall elegance in terms of finish.
Steel frame 29er mountain bikes and singlespeeding are closely related, and to facilitate this, the Sour Pasta Party has an eccentric bottom bracket to manage your singlespeed chain tensioning requirements.
Builds include an ultra-lightweight option, running a rigid Whiskey MTB Adventure carbon fiber front end, or Fox’s 100mm 32 Performance Elite suspension fork. If you wish to curate your own Pasta Party recipe, Sour offers a frame-only option, too.
Frames and framesets will be available to order from Sour.bike from January 15th, with pricing starting at €799.00/£722.00/$983.00.
