2021 Viral Derive Pinion Hardtail

As mentioned in the review of this bike, the Viral Dérive gets its name from Guy Debord’s Theory of the Dérive written in 1956. The term is described as “an unplanned journey through a landscape in which participants drop their everyday relations and let themselves be drawn by the attractions of the terrain and the encounters they find there.” With such a fitting name for bikepacking, it’s good to see this Pinion gearbox-clad bike live on for a new update. The Viral Dérive is still a hardtail at heart and can be built up with a rigid fork, a Lauf fork as shown, or a 120-130mm suspension fork, but gets a couple minor geometry tweaks, including a longer top tube that results in a longer reach.

Viral Dérive frame kits retail for $4,795 and include a triple butted titanium frame, a Pinion C1.12 gearbox, CNC cranks, shifter, Gates CarbonDrive belt and cogs, a lockring tool, and the first year oil change for the gearbox. Colors for 2021 include raw Ti shown here and complete bikes can be built to suit any rider’s needs.

This year, Viral is offering a similar pre-order promotion: put 50% down on a new frame kit and received a free Industry 9 wheelset valued at $1355. Learn more over at Viral.bike.

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