Canyon has released its new shape-shifting enduro bike, the Strive. This year though, it sports 29er wheels instead of 27.5 wheels and comes only in carbon builds.
The most unique feature of this bike though is it’s Shapeshifter Stage 2.0 suspension system. The shapeshifter is a gas spring integrated into the suspension pivots that allows the rider to adjust the rear travel from 135mm up to 150mm. Along with this the geometry of the bike is modified in the longer travel mode. The bottom bracket height is lowered and the wheelbase is extended. Because the shapeshifter physically changes the suspension pivots it also changes the kinematics.
Switching from 150mm to 135mm mode increases anti-squat. This in theory should help the bike be a more spritely climber. Beyond the shapeshifting the geometry numbers are pretty standard and are comparable to other bikes in this category like the Specialized Enduro.
With the shapeshifting technology come some inherent complexity. It will be interesting to see if the more complex system really provides benefits a standard 3 position lockout shock cannot.
You can find out more about the strive at https://www.canyon.com/en-us/mtb/strive
Interesting concept.