A pin-up with so much patina tempts you to let your imagination wander instead of focussing soberly on the hardware. So let's start by telling the story of the bike and then move on to the technology in the usual matter-of-fact way.
Marc Maurer, a middle-aged man from Cologne, cycled from home to Istanbul in 2014. It must have been a pretty infectious experience, because in 2015 he continued where he had left off the previous year: he cycled from Istanbul via the Black Sea coast, Georgia and Azerbaijan to Tehran. Four thousand kilometres, mostly alone. Through the Caucasus, through dusty wastelands and again and again to overwhelmingly hospitable people. His enthusiastic report can be found on the Internet (link at the end of the article). Marc felt that he had everything he needed on board and yet was travelling with less ballast than some people on the Lake Constance cycle path. And that brings us to the bike and the concept behind it.
After Marc's first trip, the Cologne-based brand Bombtrack got a few ideas from him about what a bike should have to suit his taste. A few of these were incorporated into the "Beyond", and so Marc was given this prototype of the model to test for his ride to Tehran, which was only adapted to his specific needs in a few details: The "Flite" saddle is a classic and simply Marc's favourite. He replaced the standard wide tyres with smooth-running Schwalbe "Marathon Supreme" tyres. A hub dynamo rotates in the front wheel to charge the electronic companions for navigation, documentation and communication. And because soloists know no slipstream, he mounted a triathlon attachment on the wide, sweeping touring handlebars. The rest is standard - and nowhere near as classy as real material freaks would choose.
Marc Maurer drove 4000 kilometres from Istanbul to Tehran with the Bombtrack Beyond. He describes his experiences in detail in his travel diary. Take a look:
The complete article was published in Trekkingbike issue 1/2016. You can read the entire issue in the Trekkingbike app (iTunes and Google Play) or order the issue in the DK shop.
You can download the individual articles as PDF files here.
