The German forge Alutech is not one for swimming in the pack. In 2013, maker Jürgen Schlender was one of the first to plant large 29er bikes in an enduro bike. In the meantime, the concept has established itself among the industry giants. At the BIKE Festival in RIva, Alutech then presented the latest version of the Tofane enduro bike: the suspension travel has been increased to 160 millimetres, the steering angle has been flattened to an incredibly slack 64 degrees and the reach has been extended (440 millimetres for size M). That smells like a full-throttle racing rocket and pure smoothness. "It hasn't lost its playfulness despite its forward thrust," says developer Jürgen Schlender. We tried out the prototype.
First ride impression of the new Alutech Tofane
The Naranch Trail on Lake Garda is the perfect composition of a test track for long-stroke mountain bikes. After a short climb, blocked full-throttle straights are followed by numerous bends with a wide variety of radii. But even the steepest rocky sections didn't scare our enduro test candidate with 29er tyres. The slack steering angle and what feels like a long wheelbase ensure seemingly endless smoothness - no matter how fast you're going. It's a completely different story on the winding sections of the Lago trail. As you would expect, the Alutech Tofane requires a lot of pressure to change direction when cornering. We are curious to see how the bike with its extreme geometry will perform in comprehensive BIKE tests in the lab and in practice.
The series model comes with the Boost standard and should offer tyre clearance for plus dimensions. The first bikes should be available in early autumn 2017.
Florentin Vesenbeckh
Editor CvD
