A lot of you guys might not remember Mike Ardelean but if you did, he was a mid school rider that had unbelievable style, flow and grace to his riding. Don’t think there was a time where he didn’t have his flair just right or something was just a tad bit off. Back then when the majority of riders didn’t care for their appearance, Mike took it serious and showed in all his photos and videos he put out.
His signature Volume frame, the Ardelean was definitely ahead of it’s time for a 2004 frame. He wanted something that wasn’t overbuilt like most that were being produced at the time, was extremely lightweight, and was aesthetically clean. All that goes back to Mike’s main motto, “easy on the extras” and is something he still holds true today.
The Ardelean frame was our first integrated head tube that was compatible with the IS-2 headset, and we moved over from the big American BB shell to the simple Euro BB. Mike also made a big change from a longer chainstay to a 14″, which was a big move since majority of frames at the time were way over the 14″ mark.
On occasion, riders come by our office and pick up the old frame relics that we have on our wall, and are always in awe of the weight, how big the tubes are and how awful the graphics are but the Ardelean frame is one that always gets praise from the current riders. You can say it’s a timeless gem that we’re proud to still show off on occasion. Check out the photos of the Ardelean frame below and his 2005 ad. Click photos to go big>>
