The Traildonkey Story
Now in its third major iteration, Traildonkey has upped its capabilities to match our ever growing ambitions. Since 2014, our eyes for rugged conditions have only gotten bigger and the punishment we’ve subjected the bike to has only gotten more severe. While we wanted to create a more capable bike, we did not however want to turn Traildonkey into an overbuilt, drop bar mountain bike. We wanted to stay true to the original principles of the bike which required that it feel at home in the intensity of a competitive road group ride, a 200 mile gravel race, a winding ribbon of singletrack, or a multi-day bikepacking trip.
TD3 is not only an exercise in increasing capabilities, it is also an exercise in restraint. The lines of the frameset have become more elegant and the execution of the details has become more focused.
The entire 3.0 rear triangle, from the seat tube back, has been completely redesigned. Over the years we’ve formed some strong opinions on what makes a great bike. We’ve woven those ideas into this frameset. High on our list of improvements for TD3 was increased tire clearance. Our newest Donkey has that in spades. On Rodeo 650b rims with a 24.5 mm ID a 2.25″ (57mm) tire will fit on TD3. On Rodeo 700c rims with a 24mm ID a 2.0″ (50mm) tire will fit on TD3.*

More Capable, Just as Sleek
In order to achieve greater tire clearances, extensive and careful shaping was required in the design of the rear triangle. Pronounced asymmetry between drive and non-drive side stays can be clearly seen in our design. We also took the opportunity to refine and simplify the dropout design, brake housing routing, flat mount brake mounts, and derailleur housing routing. When wireless eTap shifting is used on TD3, no residual housing protrusions are seen on the frame. This results in a beautiful, minimal aesthetic. Both 2x or 1x drivetrains work equally well on TD3 and when 1x drivetrains are used the front derailleur mount can be removed. Rack and fender mounting eyelets are once again standard on TD3 on both the frameset and fork and now feature larger clearances for fender / tire combinations.
TD3 features extensive mounting options for long-distance travel and bikepacking. On the rear triangle we include eyelets on the upper stays and just above the rear thru axle dropouts. On the main triangle, the frame features two bottle mounts on the main triangle as well as one mount beneath the lower down tube. The top tube includes two mounting points for top tube bags or a standard water bottle cage.

T47 Bottom Bracket
Rodeo was one of the first bike manufacturers to standardize all of our framesets around the threaded T47 bottom bracket standard. The removable bottom bracket cover on TD3.1 features a drain hole which allows water to escape the frame in wet conditions. The result is a quiet, low-maintenance bottom bracket experience for every owner. It was one of the best spec decisions that we’ve ever made. The threads allow reliable, quiet operation over the life of the bike, and the 47mm shell allows compatibility with all crankset spindle diameters while also leaving room for internal Di2 and dropper post routing.

The Trail Donkey is available in a few “Naked” options, with coloured decals, and a few different paint options. A little birdie told us they may be offering more colours for 2022. Stay tuned.
They also offer custom paint for an additional $