The Mistress trail bike

When I go mountain biking I want to know my bike is safe and comfortable to ride. I want to know I won’t be flung over the handlebars, and I want to know the front wheel won’t catastrophically wash out in a turn. I want to know the bike won’t hurt my hands or shoulders or lower back. I want to know the bike is made to help my feel great and ride my best.

As a professional mountain bike skills instructor I work hard on my physical fitness and riding skills, but let’s face it: A smartly designed bike makes riding way easier. The Mistress is designed first to be safe and comfortable to ride. That provides confidence. When I feel confident I can ride as fast as I want on any terrain I want. This bike rides so well I raced it at masters downhill worlds! It was the only trail bike in a field of downhill bikes, and it took 9th. Best of all, it was so fun.

The Mistress is your go-to trail bike. Carve loamy berms, smash sandstone steps and boost mega jumps. This bike corners like a dream. It stays composed in the chunk. And it inscribes rainbows of shred through the sky. Maybe best of all, it fits you just right, and that feels great.

What do riders say?

Everyone who rides the Mistress says two things:

1. Wow, this thing corners!
2. I feel like I’m in the bike.

That’s the Warm Embrace Geometry. People who know me also say, “Lee everything you say sounds crazy but dangit, you are right again.”

This bike just works. I’m watching my Strava times get faster and faster, most importantly the bike feels great. That’s why I’m offering it to the world.

Construction

Simple. Elegant. Effective. Just like you!

The Mistress frame is TIG welded by hand with high end Reynolds steel tubing. The suspension design is a simple, proven single pivot. The fancier designs from the big companies work well too, but they will not make you a better rider, and they will absolutely not make you happier. A steel single pivot frame provides a comfortable, durable ride that’s very easy to maintain.

Steel bikes can be repaired by any competent bike welder, and they can be recycled. When it comes to the ethics of building a mountain bike, this feels good to me.

Seat tubes are straight so you can run long dropper posts.

Head tubes are 44mm so you have your choice of forks and headsets.

Dropouts are SRAM UDH so they’re future proof. Until they make a new standard.

Bottom brackets are 73mm BSA threaded. Simple and easy to live with.

Cables are routed outside the down tube. The dropper cable goes into the bottom of the seat tube. Simple and easy to live with. Just like you! (Internal routing is available.)

Warm Embrace Geometry

The Mistress is the only trail bike on the market that’s designed specifically to prevent the most common injury crashes:

1. Over the handlebars. The relatively short reaches and tall stacks provide a RAD neutral fit with a high RAD angle. This gives you great comfort in the saddle, plus optimal range of motion for cornering, braking, descending, pumping, dropping, hopping, jumping and all the fun stuff. You forget the bike is there, and you simply enjoy the ride.
2. Washing out in turns. The Mistress balances your weight very close to the middle of the bike. Compared with mainstream trail bikes, The Mistress puts 10-20 percent more weight on the front tire. This makes cornering insanely easy and confidence inspiring — the front tire just doesn’t want to wash out like on a regular bike.

RAD fit. Rider Area Distance (RAD) is the imaginary line from your bike’s bottom bracket to the centerpoint of the grips. You use this lever to maintain balance on your feet and to make the bike do cool things like turn, hop and jump. Mistress RADs are designed to fit your body size and proportions. They create comfy seated pedaling, chain-snapping peak power and flowy shredding.

Namastays. The Mistress doesn’t have chainstays. Naw, these are too long and too sweet. We call ’em Namastays. Namastays increase front tire traction and make the bike feel quieter in bumps.

Slack in Back. Mistress seat angles are traditionally slack at 74 degrees. Most bikes that are designed to be pedaled well share this seat angle. The slacker seat angle relieves knee pain, access more booty power and gives you a more open, roomy cockpit when you’re pedaling in the saddle.

Two travel options

Depending on your choice of shock, The Mistress can be set up with 145mm or 160mm of rear travel. This plays nicely with a 160mm or 180mm fork. The taller fork slackens the bike by about one degree.

For day-to-day trail riding in the Colorado Front Range and in my various travels, I enjoy The Mistress at 160/145mm. The bike feels snappy for precise kung fu shredding, yet it has plenty of plushness in the bumps, and it’s a bit firmer when I need to hop up ledges.

I raced masters downhill worlds on The Mistress at 180/160mm travel. I love this setup for burlier days, lift served riding and just plain not worrying about details. Pro tip: The longer shock doesn’t weigh more than the shorter shock. You can add air to make it stiffer and effectively shorten the travel when you want to.

Setting	Shock eye to eye mm	Shock stroke mm	Rear travel mm	Suggested fork travel mm
Mid travel	210	50	145	160
Long travel	210	55	160	180

Sizing and geometry

The Mistress is designed to perfectly fit riders from 4’10” to 6’8″.

Below is our stock geometry and sizing. This creates bike that’s comfortable in the saddle and handles great out of the saddle. At this point we’re making these bikes one at a time, so your bike will vary based on your unique needs.

Are you between sizes? If you want to optimize comfort and handling everywhere, choose the smaller size. If you prefer a longer seated pedaling position or you want to blast non-technical trails in a straight line, choose the longer size. Not sure? Get the smaller size. But keep in mind, this is a custom build so you’ll get exactly what you need.

	M1	M2	M3	M4	M5
Rider height cm	147-157	157-170	170-180	180-190	190+
Rider height inches	4’10” to 5’2″	5’2″ to 5’7″	5’7″ to 5’11”	5’11” to 6’3″	6’3″+
Reach	360	385	410	435	460
Stack*	598	616	641	663	677
Head angle	66	66	66	66	66
Wheel size	27.5	27.5	29	29	29
Namastay aka chainstay	465	475	485	495	505
Wheelbase	1113	1157	1209	1254	1295
Seat angle effective	74	74	74	74	74
Seat tube length	340	360	380	400	420

Do you have special needs? Extra small or tall? Unusual proportions? Do you have other ideas about bike geometry? We can make you a fully custom bike. Email leelikesbikes@gmail.com.

Pricing

Dual suspension frame with custom geometry and choice of color: $3,000

NoWukkas hardtail with custom geometry and choice of color: $2,000

Warranty

Our fabricator provides a 2-year warranty against manufacturing defects. It does not cover rust, so take care of that finish.

How to order

Each Mistress is made specifically for you. Here’s the process.

If you have questions before you place your order, please email me at leelikesbikes@gmail.com.

1. Order. Your $500 deposit will begin the design process. It will be applied to the price of your frame. If you want to cancel this order before I start design, I’ll send you a refund.
2. Design. After I receive your order, I will reach out. We will communicate about what you need, then I’ll craft your perfect geometry and send a proposal. When you approve my plan, I’ll send it to the fabricator. He will send a detailed CAD rendering. You approve that, pay the balance, and fabrication begins.
3. Build. The fabricator’s stated build time for these custom frames is 8-10 weeks. It’s smart to be patient with handmade bespoke frames. They take as long as they take. When the frame is ready I will invoice you for its remaining cost.
4. Deliver. We can send the frame directly to you, your shop or one of our preferred shops. We will work out those details together.

Are you ready? Let’s make your Mistress: