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Corratec Shows Curvy Split Tube Carbon 29er, Wicked Fast E-MTB & More Visual Goodies

2012 Corratec X-Bow 29er carbon fiber hardtail mountain bike with curved split top tube and direct mount front derailleur
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2012 Corratec X-Bow 29er carbon fiber hardtail mountain bike with curved split top tube and direct mount front derailleur

Corratec had a massive array of bikes on display at Roc d’Azur, but the real eye-catcher was their curvaceous, split toptube X-Bow 29er.

The frame is full carbon and has a list of intriguing features beyond the dual tube design. Speaking of design, the raw carbon mixed with paint on the insides of the tubes is very handsome in person. Now, features: The X-Bow design gives the bike smaller triangles with a very stiff design, made more so by the ovalized integrated seatmast and its large x-shaped cross bracing.

More on this, some interesting shock and linkage designs and a massively powerful, full carbon motorized mountain bike, after the break…

2012 Corratec X-Bow 29er carbon fiber hardtail mountain bike with curved split top tube and direct mount front derailleur

These images give a better perspective of just how curvy the toptube/seatstays are. The gap between would make a great stash place for tubes, tools, etc. using a ByKyle simple strap or similar. The dropped chainstay design puts space between it and the chain to prevent chainslap. Couple this with Shimano’s new Shadow-Plus rear derailleur and you should have one quiet ride.

2012 Corratec X-Bow 29er carbon fiber hardtail mountain bike with curved split top tube and direct mount front derailleur

The chainstays are tall and heavily shaped to keep it laterally stiff. Cable routing on the downtube could be a little cleaner, which is a shame because the rest of the bike is really well presented. The rear brake is post mount to avoid the additional weight of adapters and takes advantage of the dropped chainstay design by moving inside the rear triangle.

2012 Corratec X-Bow 29er carbon fiber hardtail mountain bike with curved split top tube and direct mount front derailleur

Thanks to their UBBS (Universal Bottom Bracket System?), you can run any BB standard you like with any crankset you want. Front derailleur is direct mount.

The Corratec X-Bow 29 will come in three trim levels. The top of the range SL is full XTR with DT Swiss Tricon 1550 wheels. The XTR model has an XTR drivetrain with Avid Elixir 7 brakes and the same wheels. The XT model gets XT drivetrain, Avid Elixir 7 brakes and lesser wheels. All three use the DT Swiss XMM 100mm fork. The frames are the same, all carbon and made in Italy.

2012 Corratec Superbow 29er alloy hardtail mountain bike

The Superbow 29 is the alloy equivalent but gets a standard bottom bracket layout and lower end build kits.

2012 Corratec E-Bow 26 electric motorized mountain bike with full carbon frame and massive motor

The E-Bow 26 uses a similar frame to the X-Bow but is completely built around using a motor. The full carbon design, integrated seatmast and high end spec suggest they’re quite serious about this beast.

From the looks of things, the bike is quite serious about its mission, too. The massive motor is built directly into the frame. How serious is it? It boasts 1500 watts and an 80km top speed. That’s 49.7mph. With mountain bike tires and a cross country race level DT Swiss fork.

2012 Corratec X-Force dual suspension 26inch mountain bike

Against the back wall were a couple of interesting suspension designs. The X-Force had a thru-shock design (through the seat tube) that looks quite similar to the LaPierre X-Race that just launched. Similar naming scheme too!

2012 Corratec Glacier dual suspension mountain bike

Below the X-Force was the Glacier, a 100mm travel XC bike with a similar suspension platform but quite different execution. The shock is a bit higher, obviously, but there’s also an additional linkage between the chainstays and the shock:

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Steve M
Steve M
12 years ago

These guys have been doing cool stuff for years. I remember a disk brake road bike from the mid 90’s. That floating upper shock mount makes a bunch of sense in terms of adapting to different frame sizes with a minimum amount of hassle.

Rob
Rob
12 years ago

Best part of the 29er hardtail is to hear of the multifit BB, thus giving an option to convert to single speed. The integrated seat mast is trendy, but, this puts the bike off my list as it would be to difficult to get into my semi-hard bike box for travel by plane.

Astrostrike
Astrostrike
12 years ago

..and on sunday mornings it’s very handy to put the bread you bought.

Apart from that I’ve always loved Corratec, awesome bikes!

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