Madonna V3.2 Frame Kit

Rides amazing, silent, stable, smooth.
However, the frame that was shipped to me had multiple welding issues that should not have passed basic quality control checks.

Before talking about the bike itself, I think it's important to explain what I was looking for in a mountain bike, because that heavily influenced my decision. I'm 200 cm tall, so I need a quite long bike to feel centered and have enough room to move around. At around 95 kg in full riding gear, durability was also a major priority. Since my arms are a bit more on the short side for my height, I generally prefer a higher cockpit setup to stay comfortable and maintain a balanced riding position. I also do all the maintenance and repairs on my bikes myself. I enjoy working on them, and as a bit of a bike nerd, I love experimenting with different components and settings. That made ease of maintenance another important factor when choosing a frame. Finally, I only own one mountain bike, so it has to do everything. It needs to pedal efficiently on long climbs, be fun on my not-so-hard home trails, and still feel capable during the occasional bike park day.

After discovering RAAW online, I had the chance to test ride their Madonna V3 in XXL at the Bike Festival Freiburg 2026. I can highly recommend test riding any bike before buying it, since there are some things about a bike you cannot get from paper. The first thing Felix and I (who did a great job assisting my test ride) noticed was that the front could be even higher for me. Even though the cockpit and suspension weren't perfectly set up for me during the test ride, I immediately enjoyed how the bike handled. It also became clear that the XXL Jibb LT would still be a little too small for me, while the Madonna felt like the better platform. The test ride showed me that I wanted to keep the bike's balanced handling while raising the front end slightly. Because of that, I decided to order the long chainstay dropouts from the start. I contacted RAAW by email to ask whether they could offer the frame with the long dropouts already installed, saving me from buying two different sets. They were kind enough to accommodate my request. In the end, I ordered an XXL Madonna V3.2 frame with the long chainstay dropouts and the headset, without a shock. The ordering process was smooth, payment and shipping were straightforward, and the frame arrived timely, perfectly packaged, and in flawless condition.

For the build, I chose a Fox Float X2 Performance Elite air shock and paired it with a RockShox ZEB Select fork. I may upgrade the fork to a Charger 3 damper in the future, but for now it performs ok.

I installed a OneUp 240 mm dropper post and a 35 mm stem with a 50 mm rise handlebar and 20 mm of spacers underneath the stem. This gives me the higher front end I was aiming for and suits my body proportions very well. The rest of the build consists of a mix of parts from my previous bike and components I already had available, including the wheels, Shimano drivetrain, and brakes. Building the bike was refreshingly straightforward. Everything is intuitive, and whenever I had a question, the excellent handbook provided all the information I needed. It's clear that someone considered serviceability during the frame's design.

The end result is a bike that fits my rather unusual proportions exceptionally well. Despite weighing about 17.5 kg with pedals and bottle cage, it pedals surprisingly efficiently. The front-to-rear balance feels great for me, and although the wheelbase is very long, the bike still corners quite good. Most importantly, this is the most confidence-inspiring bike I've ridden so far. It encourages me to ride faster and tackle more difficult terrain while still feeling composed and predictable. Since I bought the bike in early summer, I haven't yet put it through a full winter of mud and bad weather. The real durability test is therefore still to come, but based on build quality and my experience so far, I'm optimistic that it will perform well in the long term.

Dass perfekte Bike! Mit Bedacht um den Rest der Komponenten am Madonna, baut man sich ein Bike für die Ewigkeit.

Awesome bike with top performance! The service was great too—fast, professional, and hassle-free. I’m completely satisfied.

Mega Bike das sich von Beginn an TOP 💯 anfühlt und von Ride zu Ride schneller wird. 🌪️