If you're about to hit a stone field, you generally give little thought to the origin of your sports equipment. The BIKE Project Europe wants to raise awareness of precisely this issue - and our Europa bike was built especially for this purpose. The parts list was determined less by the function than by the production location.
With Pinion gearbox and Intend chassis is the project bike Alutech Fanes 6.1 definitely an exotic bike. Setting up the two air chambers in the shock in particular takes some time and prior knowledge. Once the setup has been found, the rear suspension smooths out even the densest root carpet with extreme sensitivity while maintaining constant contact with the ground.
Thanks to its sensitive suspension, the Europa bike is a comfortable downhill rider. Thanks to the gearing and its low bottom bracket, it is extremely stable on the trail with a low centre of gravity. Enduro racers will miss some end progression and should work with volume spacers. An experienced rider is required to apply sufficient pressure to the front. The fork is higher in its travel and, together with the large 29-inch front wheel, gives the bike relaxed handling.
The bike moves effortlessly onto the 27.5-inch rear wheel and manoeuvres nimbly through tight bends. The agile Fanes is more at home on technically winding trails than fast flow trails. Powerful brakes and grippy tyres give you a lot of confidence on downhills. Unfortunately, the power of the chain tensioner is not enough to completely prevent rattling on the aluminium chainstay.
The EU bike takes it easy on tour. At almost 17 kilos, it is slow to get going. On steep climbs and with the shock open, the rear suspension sinks in considerably due to the flat shock curve, resulting in a rear-heavy pedalling position. However, a grip on the platform lever effectively calms the rear triangle and prevents it from sagging. Due to the low bottom bracket, the 175 millimetre long cranks tend to bottom out in technical passages.
Summary by Jan Timmermann, BIKE volunteer:
In our EU set-up, the Alutech Fanes 6.1 is a very special bike with a long price tag. However, the feeling of riding a locally produced one-off is priceless. Its existence is an exclamation mark to the bike industry.
Technical data and notes Alutech Fanes
Manufacturer information
- Price: 10,543 euros* - Custom bodywork
- Material / Size: Aluminium / S, ML (43 cm, tested size)
Measured values
- Weight without pedals: 16.65 kg
- Frame weight without shock: 5773 g
- Weight of wheels: 5021 g
- Acceleration of running wheels: 4119.3 kg x cm²
- Handlebar width: 780 mm
- Frame rigidity (absolute): 44 N/mm
Equipment
- Wheels: DT Swiss EX 1700 Spline
- Tyres: Continental Argotal / Kryprotal Re, 2.4"
- Fork: Intend Edge Enduro
- Damper: Intend Hover Gamechanger
- Front/rear suspension travel: 170/170 mm
- Brakes: Magura MT7 203 mm / 203 mm
- Gear system: Pinion C1.12 1 x 12
- Bandwidth: 600 %
- Tele support: / stroke Vecnum Nivo / 182 mm
- Ease of maintenance: medium
*Total RRP for all individual parts of the custom body.
Jan Timmermann
Editor
