Who wouldn't want to be as fast as Adelheid Morath from Team BH-SR Suntour-KMC? The former German champion, who currently lives in Freiburg, was also able to make a name for herself in the World Cup last season. Her highlight was certainly fifth place at the World Cup stop in Windham. In the 2015 season, she only managed 13th place at the World Championships, the European Championships and the overall World Cup.
Flatter, more comfortable, lighter: the new BH Ultimate 29
For the 2016 season BH Bikes has now unveiled a new version of Morath's World Cup bike. The new BH Ultimate 29 has been completely adapted to the high demands of the World Cup slopes. The reach has been extended by 15 millimetres to place the rider even more centrally on the bike, while the steering angle has been slackened to 68.5 degrees. This takes account of the increasingly technical cross-country routes, which place ever greater demands on the athletes' riding technique as well as their fitness.
The rear triangle has also been given a new shape. Slightly flexing chainstays and seat stays are intended to ensure better riding comfort and therefore less fatigue on descents. However, the extremely short 430 millimetre chainstays remain the same, which should continue to enable agile handling despite the slacker steering angle.
Dropper seatposts soon in the World Cup?
The manufacturing process of the monocoque carbon frame has been further optimised, so that the frame weight is now only 950 grams (in frame size M) despite the high stiffness values. The Ultimate 29 is now also compatible with Shimano XTR Di2 drivetrains, whose battery can be integrated into the seat tube, and even telescopic seatposts with internally routed cables. This makes it absolutely state of the art. Perhaps an indication that the lightweight, dropper seatposts will now also find their way into the World Cup?
This technology is not cheap, but those who invest the 7999 euros for the top model will get a 9.5-kilogram racing file straight from the pits of the World Cup teams. There will be two other models: the Ultimate 29 9.7 for 4300 euros and the 9.5 version with a Sram GX groupset for 3100 euros.
You can find all the technical details about the new BH Ultimate 29 on the Website.
Adrian Kaether
Editor
