Red Bull Hardline Tasmania returns this weekend, with some of the rowdiest riders descending on Australia’s island state to compete in one of the world's toughest downhill races.
The event is invite-only, with the biggest names in downhill, freeride and slopestyle battling it out on a huge purpose-built course in Maydena Bike Park.
One of those riders is Australian Troy Brosnan, whose Canyon Sender CFR is tricked out with unreleased SRAM and RockShox electronic components.
The bike looks to be a glimpse into the future, with electronic tech seeping into its suspension and shifting.
Let’s take a closer look.
Canyon Sender CFR
Brosnan is riding Canyon’s Sender CFR, the brand’s full-carbon fibre, high-pivot downhill bike.
Canyon has engineered adjustable geometry into the frame, with adjustable cups enabling Brosnan to fine-tune the reach of his bike by 8mm fore and aft.
Last year, we caught up with Brosnan’s bike in Lenzerheide, where he appeared to be experimenting with a different rear triangle featuring a bonded aluminium insert to enable stiffness adjustability.
It appears he's still using this setup, with the rear brake mount looking oversized compared to the stock option.
RockShox Flight Attendant Boxxer
Brosnan has been using an unreleased RockShox Flight Attendant Boxxer fork and Vivid rear shock since the middle of last season. However, the fork no longer features the Blackbox label that indicates RockShox and SRAM prototypes, meaning we could see it on the shelves in the not-so-distant future.
The system looks similar to the brand’s current XC and enduro Flight Attendant range. However, we don't know how it operates the damper.
Current systems use data collected by accelerometers to set the damper to Open, Pedal or Lock, depending on the surface or position of the bike.
With downhill riders rarely needing a lockout, we're unclear as to when this option would be selected.
Other brands have been experimenting with electronic dampers, with Finn Iles teasing an Öhlins electric shock at the Les Gets UCI World Cup last year.
There's a mystery bump at the bottom of the fork stanchion, labelled Linear XL, which could be a tiny supplementary air chamber that gives compressing air more space at the end of the stroke, reducing ramp-up.
SRAM DH AXS Transmission?
We spotted this derailleur on the bike last year, with only a thin piece of tape veiling the new groupset's name.
With SRAM having given the rest of the mountain bike world electronic shifting, it seemed a matter of time before AXS would make its way to downhill racing.
It’s been 10 years since we’ve seen SRAM release a downhill groupset, with many riders still riding it to this day.
The electronic groupset carries over the design principles of Transmission, bolting directly onto the bike via a UDH.
It shares the battery placement of GX AXS Transmission, sitting within the bracket connecting it to the UDH mount, rather than hanging off the rear as seen on X0 AXS Transmission.
The range appears to be seven-speed, with the derailleur matching the new crankset's design.
Brosnan is using an Ochain device at the centre of his bike to reduce pedal kickback. The brand was bought by SRAM last year and already looks neatly integrated into its design.
