We have been sifting through patents again looking for interesting titbits of future bike tech and this time a Canyon patent caught our eye for a number of reasons.
Canyon are well known for developing innovative ideas such as the Shapeshifter tech found on their best enduro bike, recently released Keep It Stable (K.I.S.) steering dynamics, as well as some very wacky-looking concept such as a sustainable, 3D-printed, alloy MTB concept bike.
The patent we are looking at here (DE102021130049B4) is for a storage system that is built into the top tube. The patent's text is clear that this could be used to hold tools, spare parts, clothing, or anything else you might want on the trail. The image clearly shows a water bottle (highlighted in blue), which we think would be the best use of this configuration. Moving the bottle to the top tube not only makes it easier to reach so we don't forget to hydrate, but keeps it out of the wheel spray firing line. Removing the bottle from inside the front triangle could also allow designers more freedom when designing suspension systems as they would no longer need to work around a water bottle.
Positioning a bottle within the top tube would require a significant amount of frame engineering and the patent could hint at a new frameset coming from Canyon. Based on the shock mount position, we would speculate this is either Canyon's Spectral trail bike which last received a major update at the end of 2020 or the Torque which was refreshed in 2021.
There is a potential that Canyon is working on a complete redesign of the Strive or LUX, although considering both these bikes received updates last year we think it's unlikely.
The third thing we spotted in this patent was the integrated handlebars which we have highlighted in pink. Canyon already has a Canyon CP08 XC one-piece bar on their website that's listed as "coming soon", although stock won't be available until sometime between April and July 2024 – it's worth noting 2024 is an Olympic year and traditionally sees a lot of new cross-country bikes and tech being released to coincide with the event.
The handlebar in this patent looks to have a much shorter stem than the CP08 XC's quoted 70mm which opens up the possibility that Canyon is also working on an integrated one-piece trail or enduro bar.
We will continue to keep our eyes peeled to bring you any more developments.
