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Overview
The Katana is a new bike offered by Lal Bikes. It combines an innovative suspension system, unmatched drivetrain durability, and a dialed ride feel. The rear travel is 130 or 150mm depending on the shock and rocker link installed (190x45 or 210x55 shock size). The front triangle is made of steel for a balanced amount of sprung weight, and the swingarm is made of carbon for stiffness and lowering the unsprung weight.
The Katana is for the rider who wants a playful bike that balances the ability to hold a line, rail corners, and charge at high speeds. It’s for those who crave the performance of high-pivot suspension without sacrificing pedaling efficiency. And most of all, it’s for riders who want to have fun.
The Katana isn’t just another high-pivot mountain bike—it features the Supre Drive. This drivetrain has the reliability of a gearbox combined with the efficiency and low weight of a derailleur drivetrain. The hydraulically damped chain tensioner keeps the drivetrain dead silent, while the Supre derailleur, with its ground clearance, eliminates the risk of bent derailleur cages.
What's included
- Katana frame
- seat collar
- rear axle
- OneUp Bash Plate
- Supre Derailleur
- Supre Chain Tensioner
- Supre Idler Pulley Kit
When completing the purchase right before shipping, there will be an option to add a shock and other parts. You can also ask us about getting a fully custom build.
Product details
- Travel: 130mm or 150mm rear travel depending on the rocker link and shock installed. The suspension is high-pivot, so it punches above its weight. The recommended front travel is 150mm for the Katana 130 and 160/170mm for the Katana 150.
- Carbon swingarm: The swingarm is made of carbon fiber for its low weight and high stiffness. The swingarm is unsprung weight, just like the wheels and everything else that moves with the suspension. Decreasing unsprung weight improves suspension performance by allowing the wheel to react more quickly to bumps, maintaining better traction and control.
- Steel front triangle: The front triangle is made from high strength Reynolds 853 tubes. This steel front triangle has an excellent ride feel. The ideal amount of unsprung weight is zero, but the ideal amount of sprung weight (like the front triangle) is not zero. We believe that steel hits the sweet spot for sprung weight.
- Durability: The Supre Drive is the Katana’s core durability advantage because the derailleur is tucked far from the ground. At the same time, the Katana has huge main pivot bearings (double row, 13mm wide, 3002 LLU), and there are secondary o-ring seals for protecting the pivot bearings from contamination.
- Colors: For the founders edition of the Katana, the front triangle is powder coated black and the aluminum parts are clear anodized.
- Wheel size: The bike can be purchased as a mullet or full 29er. The change is made by swapping the rocker link that will also be available by itself.
- Shock size: standard eyelets, 190x45 for 130mm rear travel and 210x55 for 150mm rear travel with shock-specific rocker link
- Weight of frame: 3.5kg (size S3, no shock)
- Water bottles: Big water bottles fit in the front triangle.
- Dropper insertion: The seat tube is short and straight all the way down to the bottom bracket shell for excellent dropper insertion capability.
- Cable routing: Shift and brake cables are fully external. (The designer of this bike was once a local bike shop mechanic.)
- Drivetrain part compatibility: The current version of the Supre Drive is compatible specifically with Shimano 12-speed chains, cassettes, and shifters. The chainline is 52mm and the rear hub is Super Boost (like the We Are One Arrival) for reduced cross-chaining angles and an increased drivetrain lifespan. The tensioner arm works with chainring sizes from 28 to 34 teeth, and it requires a T47 bottom bracket (threaded).
- Lifetime warranty: We’ll repair or replace any Katana frame or Supre part that we determine to be defective in materials or workmanship. This warranty is for the lifetime of the frame or drivetrain part and is available only to the original owner.
Kinematics
The Katana has a unique, high-pivot suspension system with flex stays. This means that one of the pivots that would've normally been needed was replaced with flex in the swingarm. This simplifies and lightens the frame, and it reduces maintenance needs by eliminating a set of pivot bearings. The locations of the pivot points were carefully selected so that there's a sufficiently small amount of flex—only 3 degrees for the Katana. The same way a coil spring flexes over and over again, the swingarm is like a very light coil spring.
Anti-squat
The Katana has a lot of anti-squat but with normal pedal kickback because of the magical effect of the idler pulley. The anti-squat increases in higher (faster) gears for more support when pedaling out of the saddle.
Leverage ratio
The leverage ratio is moderately high for a less damped and more energetic feel. The shape and height of the leverage ratio curve is similar to that of the We Are One Arrival.
Anti-rise
Although the Katana has a single-pivot high-pivot suspension system, the anti-rise is low because of the forward placement of the main pivot. Moving the main pivot forward reduces brake caliper rotation, bringing anti-rise in line with other state-of-the-art suspension designs.
Axle path
The axle path has a maximum horizontal travel of 15mm which we believe is the sweet spot for high-pivot bikes. This gives the benefits of high-pivot suspension—including square-edge bump absorption, maintained momentum, a stable wheelbase, and low pedal kickback—without excessive change in rear-center.
Geometry
The Katana will initially be offered in three sizes - S2, S3, and S4:
Katana recommended equipment
Cassette
The Supre Drive on the Katana is designed around a Shimano 12-speed 10-51t cassette. Any level, from Deore to XTR, will work perfectly.
Other brands of cassette (Gabaruk, E13) may be used, but shift performance may vary.
Chain
We recommend Shimano HG+ chains. Slightly more than one chain is typically needed, although bike shops may have extra from other bikes.
Shifter
The Supre drive is designed to work with any Shimano 12-speed trigger shifter.
Headset
The steel Katana front triangle uses a ZS44-EC44 headset.
An aluminum front triangle is in development, and it uses a ZS56-ZS56 headset, which allows for aftermarket angle and reach adjust headsets from Works Components.
Fork
The Katana is compatible with 140-170mm forks, but it’s important to remember that the geometry varies with your fork choice. 150mm front travel is the default recommendation for the 130mm rear travel Katana, and 160mm front travel is the default recommendation for the 150mm rear travel Katana.
It’s also worth noting that Fox and Rockshox forks have varied axle-to-crown measurements; for example, a 160mm 2026 Fox 36 is similar axle-to-crown as a 150mm 2026 Rockshox Lyrik or a 150mm Fox 38. Not to mention that 2021-2025 Fox 36s look nearly identical and have different axle-to-crown due to a running change. All that to say that if you want to get into the weeds with geometry, you should know what axle to crown your fork is.
Rear shock
The Katana offers two rear travel options, 130mm and 150mm, based on the rocker link and rear shock size used. Shock hardware size is 8x40mm top and 8x50mm bottom.
The 130mm rear travel Katana uses a 190x45 shock size. Fox Float X and Rockshox Super Deluxe are both great options for this travel that give a poppy and playful ride feel. The 130 Katana has 16% progression.
The 150mm rear travel Katana uses a 210x55 shock size. There are many great air and coil options available. The Katana 150 has 28% progression and is coil compatible. Using a 210x50 for 138 travel is also possible.
We chose a slightly higher leverage ratio for the Katana because we found this gives the best small bump sensitivity and feel. You can tune support with compression as opposed to running the shock with the compression always wide open.
If you find yourself with compression fully closed AND a very firm spring setting/ low sag AND a high amount of volume spacers (on an air shock), congratulations, you are a heavy and/or hard charging rider who would benefit from a firmer compression tune.
Rear wheel
The Katana features 157mm rear hub spacing and can use a 27.5 or 29er rear wheel depending on the linkage installed. 157mm “SuperBoost” hubs or legacy 157mm DH hubs are effectively interchangeable. We chose this hub standard because it offers a significant advantage in chainline and drivetrain durability.
But we understand that many people have chosen 148mm “Boost” as their preference. That's why we offer all Katana buyers the option to include a boost hub adapter.
The boost adapter retains the advantageous chainline of 157 while giving the option to improve the spoke angles on the boost hub with a re-dish. Most hubs will need the drive side loosened by ½ to 1 turn and the drive side tightened by roughly ¼ turn to re-center the rim. Please use a spoke calculator or talk to your local wheel builder before redishing your wheel.
Bottom bracket
The Katana uses a T47 Inboard bottom bracket. This is a common size of threaded bottom bracket that is much more durable than BSA due to its larger bearing size. There are many great OEM and aftermarket options available to choose from.
Shimano - 24mm spindle
Shimano does not offer an OEM T47 bottom bracket, but there are great options from Wolftooth, WheelsMFG, Praxis, and Chris King
SRAM Dub - 29mm
SRAM offers an OEM T47 option, and there are of course aftermarket options
Race Face / TRP / Hope - 30mm
Again, there are many great options - Wolftooth, WheelsMFG, Praxis, and Chris King
Preorder terms and conditions
Thank you for your interest in preordering our Katana frame with Supre drivetrain components. These products are the result of years of design and testing, and we're excited to bring them to riders who demand next-level performance and innovation. Please read the following terms carefully before placing your preorder.
Preorder overview
By placing a preorder, you are reserving a Katana frame equipped with Supre drivetrain components (or a complete bike, depending on your selection at checkout). This is a limited-production item with an estimated lead time of April 2026 for orders placed now.
Deposit and total price
Deposit Amount: 500 CAD (refundable at any time)
Total Product Price: 4,850 CAD
Balance due: 4,350 CAD (plus applicable taxes and shipping), payable when your Katana frame and Supre Drive is ready to ship.
Your preorder is not a full purchase but a reservation. The deposit will be applied toward the final purchase price.
Refunds and cancellations
You may cancel your preorder and receive a full refund of your 500 CAD deposit at any time before the final invoice is paid. To request a refund, contact us at cedric@lalbikes.com. Once the final payment has been made and your order has shipped, the standard return policy applies (to be provided separately).
Final payment and delivery
You'll be notified via email when your product is ready. At that time, you'll receive a secure payment link for the remaining balance. Once payment is received, we will ship your product to the address on file. If final payment is not received within a month, your preorder may be canceled, and your deposit refunded.
Estimated fulfillment timeline
We estimate product delivery within 12 months of your preorder date. This is an estimate and may be subject to change based on production, supplier, or logistics factors. We will provide periodic updates throughout the process.
Product Changes
Due to the nature of prototype-to-production development, some design or specification changes may occur. We commit to maintaining or improving the performance and quality of the final product and will notify you of any major changes.