Rachel Atherton’s Trek Session looks to be all new, with a non-floating shock linkage
Manon Carpenter’s CarboCage chain guide looks light, with a reinforced carbon bash and alloy roller
Data acquisition equipment on Faustin Figaret’s Radon
Various speed and suspension data is collected from riders, with the aim of providing feedback later in the season
Precision on one hand, brute force on the other; a torque wrench and hammer sit on the workbench
Brendan Fairclough’s mechanic gets tyre pressures spot on
What else would you do when you’re bored?
Commencal are another team looking at collecting data – the lower linkage has been shaved to prevent it hitting their equipment
Custom light tune for Myriam Nicole’s suspension. She’s also using custom carcasses in her prototype Hutchinson tyres
No, Commencal aren’t racing their e-bike here, but we wonder what SRAM and Shimano think about running an EX1 group with a Steps motor
Tahnee Seagrave has the new Mallet DH pedal with the pins ground right down and the thicker plate in place – she finds it easier to clip in with this set-up
Mismatched organic and sintered pads, there to tune heat management and power
This Cavalerie enduro bike had an interesting spring contraption on the down tube
This Nicolai DH bike allows a Effigear gearbox to be used with a standard SRAM shifter
Agata Bulska is riding an Antidote Dark Matter custom carbon bike
The suspension linkage looks to get the benefit of a high pivot point, with idler, without the associated brake jack due to the floating rather than fixed pivot point
Big data is everywhere these days, even on the bikes of world-class downhill riders. As the UCI World Cup kicked off this weekend in France, data acquisition sensors were found on many bikes. Some teams talk of using the data to compare suspension and gear setups; others aren’t quite sure exactly what to do yet with all the measurements of frame-mounted accelerometers and gyroscopes.
The pre-race hype was all about 29ers, but there weren’t actually all that many on hand in Lourdes.
Commencal are another team looking at collecting data – the lower linkage has been shaved to prevent it hitting their equipmentTom Marvin / Immediate Media
Check out the gallery above for a closer look at the data acquisition setups, plus some unique bikes and brake-pad configurations.
Advertisement
Keep an eye out for more in-depth pro bikes from Lourdes in the coming days.
Rachael Atherton’s Trek Session looks to be all new, with a non-floating shock linkageTom Marvin / Immediate Media
