On the fly geometry adjustment getting increasingly practical
Canyon have updated their Shapeshifter system on the Canyon Strive 2019 enduro bike. It uses a gas spring to move the rear shock, simultaneously changing seat and head angles, bottom bracket height and suspension characteristics.
![Side view of the Canyon Strive 2019 enduro mountain bike](https://i1.wp.com/betterbicycles.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Canyon-Strive-2019.jpg?fit=1024%2C576)
Although we don’t generally cover developments in mountain bikes, this shows what’s possible for bikes in general. Geometry adjustment could make a responsive and fun bike become super stable when needed. Bikes that are fun to ride but also safe and practical are exactly what we’re about at Better Bicycles. Even better, a practical city bike that can also handle a blast around a mountain bike trail when the mood takes you.
Shapeshifter is intended to shift an enduro bike between two modes: cross country (XC) and downhill.
Canyon Bicycles
With its Shapeshifter technology, the Strive successfully combines the climbing performance of an XC bike with the descending abilities of a downhill bike.
Despite the claim that Shapeshifter can perform like an XC bike or a downhill bike, the actual adjustments are more modest. When you move from the XC setting to the downhill setting, the bike changes in the following ways:
- Suspension travel increases from 135 mm to 150 mm
- The suspension softens
- The steering angle relaxes from 67.5 to 66 degrees
- The seat angle also drops back from 75 to 73.5 degrees
- The bottom bracket lowers slightly, the amount isn’t given
Compare this with the differences between an actual full suspension XC bike and a downhill bike:
- Suspension travel increases from around 100 mm to 200 mm
- Steering angle of approximately 70 vs 63 degrees
- Seat angles don’t actually change much
- Bottom bracket height may also be similar
Clearly, Shapeshifter doesn’t achieve anything like the same geometry changes. Similar systems are available, for example, Scott’s Twin-Loc. We’d be much more interested in seeing a true variable steering angle, something not yet available in a production bike.
Let us know what you think