[Eurobike] Canyon’s Project Disconnect

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Canyon just showed off something that is absolutely brilliant in execution but time will tell how the DH world takes to it.  At the very least, it’s an incredible idea – basically a lever connects to the hub which houses a ratchet that completely decouples the drivetrain from the suspension.

Why does this matter?  Well, as most suspension designs go through their travel, they cause pedal feedback. What is pedal feedback?  It’s where the chain grows and literally tugs on the pedals.

The image and explanation above should make more sense of it, but pedal feedback causes suspension to feel harsh and it’s essentially bad : it tires the riders and limits traction in addition to a host of other things.  Aside from this system, as far as we know, the only other bikes on the market which eliminate pedal feedback typically have either one of 3 things : a main pivot concentric to the BB with an uninterrupted chainstay, some sort of gearbox or some sort of jackshaft.  At this point in time, it appears that Canyon is working on bringing this system to the masses, but it’s not quite there yet.  It will be interesting to see what they come up with…Stay tuned.