THE ALL

Featuring Alistair Baron – TRF/Privateer Technical Product Manager. Video and photography – Sam Taylor

Introducing the Privateer DJ101 – The fun doesn’t end with the trail

The development of the Privateer DJ101 began with a simple realisation that the fun doesn’t end when the trial does. Instead, we found ourselves drawn to the pump tracks and dirt jumps or sneaking off to the local skatepark during our lunch breaks to extend play.

Looking around the office, the passion for riding dirt jump bikes was palpable. Inspired by this collective enthusiasm, we created a bike that encapsulated what we cherished most about hitting the local riding spots with our mates.

Our aim for the Privateer DJ101 was to offer the same principles as our full-suspension bikes; a sorted frameset, confidence-inspiring geometry, and a no-nonsense build kit, all in a package ready to rip out of the box.

At the heart of every Privateer is a well-thought-out and featured packed frameset, developed and built to offer the rider confidence and performance on every trail they ride. For the Privateer DJ101, we baked in these traits to ensure that our dirt jump bike is fun from the first pedal stroke and that riders of all abilities can confidently try out bigger jumps or more gnarly tricks.

Dialled Frame and Geometry

It all starts with a custom hydroformed 6061-T6 aluminium frameset that gives the rider the best balance of high strength and durability while remaining low in weight and offering an extremely agile geometry. A 410mm reach provides stability on high-speed flow trails while giving plenty of room to still be playful when throwing whips and tricks, and the 69-degree head angle provides the perfect balance of quick steering response and confidence at speed.

Chunky, Adjustable Dropouts

When trying out new tricks and new lines, it’s a given that sometimes even the best riders will come up short. This is why we’ve paid close attention to the dropouts on the DJ101 and provided that they can handle the strain of repeated big hits and harsh landings. Our chunky alloy 6061-T6 horizontal dropouts also offer the rider up to 10mm of adjustment so you can dial in the chainstay and wheelbase based on your riding style or the type of trails you’re tackling that day. To keep your wheel where it needs to stay and to ensure consistent chain tension, the DJ101 ships with heavy-duty chain tugs that offer simple and secure adjustment.

Gears or Singlespeed

While we expect most riders to run the DJ101 as a single-speed, we’ve included a chunky replaceable mech hanger as part of the frameset giving you the flexibility to ride as a simple DJ bike or add gears for some weekend 4X action.

Barspin Ready Design and Secure Cable Routing

The DJ101 features a tapered headtube with bosses that allow riders to run a gyro for those who want to perform more than one barspin at a time. These bosses are designed to work with the most popular cable or hydraulic gyros on the market though additional mounting hardware may be necessary (not included).

No New Standards

We love that dirt jump bikes are fun and simple to build, ride and look after, and to keep with this ethos of simplicity, we’ve designed the DJ101 to accept standard mountain bike parts. The headset is an easy-to-source ZS44/56 standard, and like all of our bikes, the DJ101 uses a threaded BB.

Everything in the box to build

Every Privateer DJ101 frameset ships with the following parts: Seat clamp, FSA ZS44/56 headset, heavy-duty chain tugs, replaceable mech hanger, and bolt-on cable/hose clamps.

Learn more about the DJ1o1 frameset here.

No Nonsense Build Kit

Like all Privateers, we’ve kitted the bike out with a well-considered build kit.

Up front, we have fitted the Manitou Circus Expert fork with 100mm of suspension travel and alloy stanchions to reduce weight. The Circus’ air spring and ABS damper are easy to tune so you can achieve your perfect setup.

Keeping you running fast and smooth is a pair of Vee Tire Co. XCV dirt jump tyres mounted to a durable custom Privateer 26in dirt jump wheelset with a 20mm thru axle up front for accurate steering. With such a fast-rolling wheelset, and a dialled geometry, you need quality brakes to keep you in control, and so we’ve fitted powerful Clarks M2 dual-piston hydraulic brakes that offer amazing performance.

Through months of in-house rider testing and working with our trusted OE partners, we are able to spec out the DJ101 with quality parts, all custom-made for Privateer. Everything fitted to the DJ101 is ready to rip right out of the box. From the comfortable high-rise bars to the durable single-speed chainset, the DJ101 is built to keep on riding even when the trail ends.

Privateer DJ101 Complete Bike Specifications