The Montague Paratrooper is a heavy duty folding mountain bike that was developed thanks to a grant from DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) for use by US Special Forces when parachuting into enemy territory.
The Paratrooper was designed from the ground up to be borderline-Herculean in strength, able to carry a soldier and their gear over the roughest terrain imaginable, and do it reliably. The benefit of using a bicycle is that they’re nearly silent, and give off no heat or electrical signals that can alert opposing forces of your presence.
The Montague Paratrooper is a heavy duty folding mountain bike that was developed thanks to a grant from DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) for use by US Special Forces when parachuting into enemy territory.
History Speedrun: The Montague Paratrooper
Montague received a two-year DARPA grant in 1997 to work with the U.S. Marines on a folding, all-terrain military bike program – official named the Tactical Electric No Signature, or TENS Project. The bike was developed to have a folding frame, but to be very strong once unfolded and capable of handling airborne, parachute deployment into a war zone.
The folding frame concept that came out of this work was later applied to its civilian Montague X-Series, and the Paratrooper was released as a commercial, non-electric military-style mountain-bike model in 2001.
The Paratrooper was built around a full-size hardtail layout and Montague’s “X-frame” folding system. Paratrooper models all use standard mountain-bike wheel sizes (26″ on earlier and some current versions, and 27.5″ on some higher-trim models). The packed down size for Montague’s folding bikes is approximately 36″ × 28″ × 12″ when folded, and the bikes can be unfolded and be ready to ride in a matter of seconds.
Montague soon split the Paratrooper line into multiple trims rather than a single overarching spec. The current lineup includes the base Paratrooper, the Paratrooper Pro, the Paratrooper Highline, and the Paratrooper Elite.
The Pro remains a 26″ platform in Montague’s catalog, typically paired with a 100 mm travel suspension fork and a multi-speed Shimano drivetrain. The Highline moves the concept to 27.5″ wheels (still with a 100 mm fork) and it’s positioned as a cross-country step-up. The Elite sits at the top end and keeps 27.5″ wheels, but with higher-grade suspension and drivetrain/braking components compared with the lower trims.
The Paratrooper was designed from the ground up to be borderline-Herculean in strength, able to carry a solder and their gear over the roughest terrain imaginable, and do it reliably. The benefit of using a bicycle is that they’re nearly silent, and give off no heat or electrical signals that can alert opposing forces of your presence.
The Paratrooper series has enjoyed significant popularity because it makes hauling a full-sized mountain bike easy – even for those with a small car. Once folded the bikes will fit into almost any trunk, or even into some passenger footwells, and it doesn’t require a roof rack or a hitch mount. The folding system also makes it far easier to take the bike with you on flights, boats, buses, or trains.
The Montague Paratrooper
The Montague Paratrooper is the original civilian version of the DARPA-version developed for the Marines. It’s a tough, time-proven platform that’s capable of handling almost any ground you point it at, and it come with the benefit of SR Suntour XCT front suspension with 80mm of travel.
Each Paratrooper has a Shimano 24-speed drive system, front and rear disc brakes, front and rear fenders, and a clever Rackstand, which works as a traditional cargo rack, a kickstand, workstand, and a folded bike stand all in one depending on its orientation.
The bike has a strong, lightweight 6061 series aluminum frame. It rides on 26″ alloy wheels shod with Kenda Kinetics tires, alloy handlebars, an alloy stem, a total weight of 32 lbs or 14.5 kgs, and it comes in both medium and large sizes.
The bike has a strong, lightweight 6061 series aluminum frame. It rides on 26″ alloy wheels shod with Kenda Kinetics tires, alloy handlebars, an alloy stem, a total weight of 32 lbs or 14.5 kgs, and it comes in both medium and large sizes.
The Montague Paratrooper is now available direct from Montague and you can visit the official store listing here.
Images courtesy of Montague
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
