FabienBarelgetsouthiscrystalballtodivinemountainbiking’sdirectionoftravel
INSPIRATION
28 mbrM AY 2 019
BIKE TO THE FUTURE
Whatdoesthefuturelooklike?
Onecategoryofbikeforeverything.We’re
gettingcloserandclosertothatbyimproving
theweight,increasingtheefficiency,adding
moreversatilegeometry and playing with the
offsetandthetrail.
Onebiketoruleeverythingthen?
Yesbutthere’sstilla lotofworkthatneeds
tobedonefirst,becausethesportcame
fromroadcycling.Thelatesttopiconthe
tableis:whydowehavethesamefrontand
rearwheel?Transmissionis anotherone;
arewegoingtokeepthatderailleurthat’s
bangingintoalltherocksonthetrail?Orare
wegoingtostartredesigningthechassisand
thetransmission?We’regoingtofinda lot
ofinspirationfrommotorbikesforthat—the
transmissionis onthefrontbytheengineand
nottowardstherear.
Thee-bikerevolutionis comingtoo,
becauseatthemomentthey’reheavy,around
20kg,sowhenwillwehaveane-bikeat16kg?
Andwhenwillwehave transmission included
in the engine?
Hey,aren’twesupposedtobeaskingthe
questions?Here’sone:whatotherquestions
arebikebrandsgoingtohavetofigureoutin
thefuture?
Whenwillwehavetyresthatstoppuncturing?
Whenarewegoingtohavea realrevolution
intermsofwheelsmountingtyres?We’re
lookingatmorecomfort,moresecurity,
morecrazythingsbeingpossibletoachieve
andmorespeedwhenyouride.Soall
thiscombinedmakesthepotentialhuge.
Chainrings,cranks,pedals,offsetpedals,
there’sa lotofpotential.Wehavehabitsthat
areinheritedfrom 10 yearsago,andit willbe
differentagain 10 yearsfromnow.Carbon
hasbeenthebigthingoverthepastdecade,
somaterialtechnologywillbea bigthing
too;it’sa never-endingstory that’s giving an
interesttoourpassion.You’veredesignedtheentireCanyonrange
overthepastfewyears.Anythingyou’re
particularlyproudof?
I’mveryhappywithwhatwemanagedto
improve with the compression curve oneachbike.I workedonthegeometrya lot
beforecomingtoCanyonandI’mconfident
withwhatwehavenow—it’snewwithout
beingtoonewforme.Butit waskeyforme
tofindtherightbalanceofdynamismthrough
thesuspensionwithoutcompromising the
comfort,gripandtraction.TootechnicalFabien,whatdoesthatmeanin
realtrailconditions?
Thewheelpathlinkedtothecompression
curvereallybringssomethingnewtothe
experienceofriding.Whenyoupumpon
smallsingletrack,youfeelit massivelyon
theSpectral,a littlelessontheTorque
becauseyouhavea lotmoretravel,and
youfeelit quitea bitontheStrivenow.
Thisisformea newwaytoride,generating
speedwiththesuspension,morethan
thinkingthatyouneedtopedal.Thatfits
withmydownhill-influencedperception
ofwhatthesportshouldbeandtheflatter
thetrailgets,themoreyoucanusethebike
togeneratespeed.So for me that’s really a
new experience.