Video: 5 High-Performance DH Bikes - 3 Prototypes and 2 Custom Frames

 If I was on the same stage as that Pivot I'd wear a bag over my head too. Hoo boy that one's a looker.

 Yeah, fast forwarded thru the prototypes. Like a circle, pointless.

 Super Dumb!

 what in the F could be so top secret about the mondy... good god. it's a 12 bar that they need to patent before everyone copies it!

 @shredddr: They're just doing it for the extra attention i think, the cover gets people talking.

 @shredddr: I wonder if the suspension design bumps up against some patents, and they're trying to skirt around that issue without paying for a license.

 @jokullthor: It's secretly a hardtail.

 @toast2266: this is the most realistic statement so far!

 its like adult material from a certain island nation in the pacific - some people will still watch it , or try to unscramble the image to figure out whats underneath

 Yeah you dont want your saddle rails bending with this

 Imagine taking a 10 year old clapped out bike, putting a prototype bag on the suspension and suddenly you have the coolest bike on the trail...

 @lumpy873: Definitely would work. I still ride my Supreme V2 (though with a bunch of updated parts) When it's really muddy I have a cover to protect my coil shock, and on a few occasions some kids came to ask if if was riding next year's Furious... They don't even notice the 26" wheels anymore

 I can't imagine Loic Bruni doing anything (or anyone) slowly...

 @duncanstrohnd: There's something in the French water it makes everything faster

 U mean Surge?

 The secret isn't in the visuals, it's the knowledge accumulated from working out how to extract the performance from it. You could just copy the Pivot design, but without this knowledge you're a long way from getting it to work well, therefore while you're giving away a little to put it on display, the fans benefit a lot, and the teams don't really lost that much.

 Get over yourself... Bike brands don't wear covers on their bikes just to annoy you. There's a multitude of possible variables that makes them use covers. Are they protecting innovation (unpatented tech, or simply hiding new tech from the competition), is the bike too "raw" to be shown to the public, is it a marketing trick, ...? We simply don't know! And I think it's great we are seeing so many prototypes in DH racing. It shows that brands might be investing more money again into developing their DH bikes, which is generally a good sign for the sport!

 @pastaman23: Don't get me wrong, I totally understand that the unpatented tech should be protected, but we need DH bikes to become production bikes at some point, and somehow I'm a little concerned that all this money that brands are investing on DH prototypes doesn't become production technology for us the fans some day. Actually this is what happened with the world rally cup recently... Rally cars are completely developed from zero for racing, they're no longer production cars prepared for competition. I just think it's quite sad that one day the fans could get the exact same car their racing idols were riding in the world cup, and now it's just another F1 2.0. I don't want the same to happen with DH, honestly....

 bagpipes

 @fektor-b: They should 100% require the fitting of bagpipes to anyone who has a bag over their suspension and have them actuated by the suspension movement.

 @Woody25: Like the rubber suspension chicken

 Kind of like Fabio Jakobsen Specialized S-WORKS?
www.cyclingnews.com/news/fabio-jakobsen-battered-and-bruised-after-crash-in-high-speed-tour-de-france-sprint

 yes there will be a loss in pedalling efficiency but its dh on xc so when ur on the gas ur going for it and from my understanding, they gain back better chain kinematics and wrap while also increasing ground clearance.

 This is a guess but… the two stage drive nearly eliminates the constant change in chain length as the bike goes through its travel, which hypothetically, would give it a “chainless” feel.

Without it, if they had opted for a standard idler setup (like all other high-pivots) the derailleur cage has to move constantly (excessively) to maintain tension in order to compensate for the lengthy rearward travel inherent to high-pivot designs. If you want a visual, watch a Norco Aurum being cycled through its travel. The derailleur cage has to move - a lot.

In short, it should have the suspension performance benefits of both a high-pivot and a chainless bike ….again, hypothetical.

 @mrosie: yes I think you could be right!
wonder about anti squat as well?

 Didn't seem so incredible when Bernard's front wheel imploded at Hardline last year? But maybe they hold up better for us mortals.

 @oskare: mere mortals aren’t hitting 90ft gaps!

 @oskare: The amount of force that rim took could have any mtb and e-mtb wheel implode like that. He landed back wheel first, hammering the front wheel to the ground, way past the landing area.

I'm low key impressed the rear wheel survived. The frame didn't survived.

 @jervis: 110 foot at Darkfest!!!

 @oskare: I actually asked Bernard about that, he was on prototype rims at Hardline due to a time crunch of his schedule. He got his regular rims the next day, which he assured me are bombproof. Fkn hell, the life of being a tester...

 didn't make it past the ad.

 The ad thing niggles - I paid for the $90 or so for outside premium which said no ads and there's adverts all over