Hi There, welcome to the Buzz!
Below is an exerpt from an article written by OPEN founder Gerard Vroomen that gives some background on the MIN.D California frameset.
"First off, what is the MIN.D. California exactly? Like the original MIN.D., it is a road frame with an old-school aesthetic but high-tech DNA, offering racing performance combined with extra-ordinary comfort thanks to its continuous seattube, unique geometry and beefed up tire clearance. The California-made version takes this but uses a completely new layup, new production tools, and a whole bag of different tricks to eke every last bit of performance out of the frame. Every gram of carbon represents at least one headache in developing this frame.
The end result is a lighter, stiffer version of the regular MIN.D. To be exact, the RAW MIN.D. California is 775g including the full seatmast. Obviously that's also the weight if you leave it RAW. To add a finish, you could add as little as 30g but of course depending on your desired paint scheme, it can also be more.
As for the stiffness, we perform a lot of different stiffness tests, not just BB and headtube stiffness as is the standard, but what you will notice most from the way the California's stiffness increase is distributed over the frame is its handling. The way it climbs and corners just has a different feel to it than you're used to (and I don't like saying that as it's such a cliché and in many cases, it's very tough to feel the difference in layup between frames. But here you really can). I'm not a poet so I can't really put it into words, it's just very different from the original (which I like anyway).
Before we continue, it's important to understand RAW. The MIN.D. California is delivered almost "out of the mold" with only minor finishing. This means what you see is what you get, it is a very industrial carbon finish (whereas RTP frames have a primer finish that show less of the actual carbon structure) with also some filler where needed. Some will like this and may even consider leaving it untouched, for others this look - showing all imperfections - is not for them.
Either way, the RAW look definitely polarizes. We already shipped the first frames to a handful of retailers around the world and one contacted us the next day saying he really didn't like the RAW finish (I'm putting it mildly, there may be children reading here :-). A week later, we talked again, he loves it and he plans to leave his personal MIN.D. California completely RAW.
The RAW finish also means that getting the frame custom painted is a little more more work for the painter than the RTP finish is. Not a problem for any of the custom painters we or our participating stores recommend, but it's something to keep in mind (no pun intended). In fact, because this is such a special frame, Andy and I decided that we should only offer the frame RAW; that way they will all end up being ridden RAW or custom painted which would be pretty cool."
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