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Bold Cycles Linkin Trail bumps up to 154mm travel, still hides shock inside frame

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bold cycles linkin trail long travel enduro full suspension mountain bike with rear shock hidden inside frame

Last year, Bold Cycles introduced a radical new 130mm travel mountain bike called Linkin Trail that hid the rear shock inside the seat tube. Now, they’ve added a long travel version that bumps the rear to 154mm, all with minimal changes to the original frame.

The Linkin Trail Long Travel accomplishes the extra squish by simply changing the linkage and seatstays section. So, the Boost 148 rear spacing stays, which means possible 27.5+ or 29er compatibility, though we see this one as more of a pure 27.5″ all mountain bike. The front triangle’s the same, too, but it does introduce a few new features that’ll carry over to the original…

bold cycles linkin trail long travel enduro full suspension mountain bike with rear shock hidden inside frame

The rear shock inserts through the access port on the bottom of the downtube. The same front triangle is used on both the 130mm and 154mm travel versions, but it gets an updated pocket for the shock that makes room for an internal dropper post remote cable. The original didn’t and required the line to be ran along the outside of the seat tube, so now the rest of the bike’s clean lines aren’t marred by a dropper cable.

bold cycles linkin trail long travel enduro full suspension mountain bike with rear shock hidden inside frame

bold cycles linkin trail long travel enduro full suspension mountain bike with rear shock hidden inside frame

bold cycles linkin trail long travel enduro full suspension mountain bike with rear shock hidden inside frame

The new, large volume DT Swiss R414’s adjustable banjo and remote lockout capability help it fit inside the frame.

bold cycles linkin trail long travel enduro full suspension mountain bike with rear shock hidden inside frame

The LT linkage simply changes the amount of movement on the shock. That, plus a slight geo tweak to the rear end lets them get more travel out of it. The black cover plate just in front of the lower linkage hides mounts for a front derailleur mount.

bold cycles linkin trail long travel enduro full suspension mountain bike with rear shock hidden inside frame

They’ve also added a sag guide that fits into the window for the upper shock mount. A line on the inside section of the linkage matches up with gradients on the guide. You’ll need a friend to spot for you, but it finally provides a way to know what the percentage is.

bold cycles linkin trail long travel enduro full suspension mountain bike with rear shock hidden inside frame

Air vents and extra cable guide ports on the headtube vent air into the frame to help cool the shock. The Linkin Trail Long Travel will be available mid May 2016. Retail is €5,358 with SRAM GX, DT Swiss Spline 2 wheels and Race Face Turbine cranks…and goes up from there as spec improves.

BoldCycles.com

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24 Comments
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Eric Hansen
Eric Hansen
7 years ago

How do you:

-add air to the shock
-adjust rebound and compression
-switch shock modes on the fly

Looks cool, though.

Tomi
Tomi
7 years ago
Reply to  Eric Hansen

There is a cover beneath the downtube that you can open. Shock mode can be switched remotely.

Phil
Phil
7 years ago

Dumbdee dumb dumb dumb

Bikes are for riding, not looking pretty sitting in your garage. There’s no way suspension kinematics weren’t sacrificed to make this work. Not to mention the major pita required to adjust air pressure or rebound. Let’s not forget shock overheat…oh the air vents you say! Those holes are pinpricks, I might buy it with a full blown hood scoop.

JBikes
JBikes
7 years ago
Reply to  Phil

Suspension kinematics are sacrificed for lots of things, and there is no one right answer to the kinematics problem. It is as much a science as it is subjective for the rider. There is no evidence that this is any worse, suspension wise, than any other bike. Maybe it rides like a complete donkey, but until I ride one, I’ll at least left my mind open.

AlanM
AlanM
7 years ago
Reply to  Phil

So do you have any evidence to back up your claims that kinematics were sacrificed or that this shock overheats?

greg
greg
7 years ago

Air vents? Maybe if the air can had a heat sink, and vents had a small computer fan…
Then again, some air cans are made of thermally insulating carbon fiber. But this is supposedly a trail bike, not an XC whippet.

boah
boah
7 years ago

servicing the shock seems fun on this haha.

tonik666
tonik666
7 years ago

Will there be a frame piggy back compatible version of the frame?

Andy
Andy
7 years ago

You all forget that a shock never exposed to dust and dirt theoretically would never need servicing? Sign me up. I love this.

Antipodean_eleven
7 years ago

Regardless, that’s a super tidy looking frame.

PaulM
PaulM
7 years ago

But if the shock is sealed away from dirt and grime, it won’t need servicing as much? Surely that’s half the point.
Push the boundaries, try something different. Bloody doom-mongers and nay-sayers…

Bazz
Bazz
7 years ago

Another bike without an XL size. Bunch of heightists!!!

Eric Hansen
Eric Hansen
7 years ago
Reply to  Bazz

I got an XXL Highball. For the very first time in my life, I know what a properly sized bike feels like. It’s glorious.

Steven Lamb (@slamb2002)

True that the servicing is probably a PITA, but dirty seals are a #1 reason. This keeps ’em cleaner.

Matt
Matt
7 years ago

I’m diggin it. Besides, I just sit and look at my bike in my garage. 😉

Oli
Oli
7 years ago

Always liked the look of the old GT RTS.

Reubenmc
Reubenmc
7 years ago

2 bottle mounts in the front triangle please?

Tad Dickman
Tad Dickman
7 years ago

Wow, all the complainers here. Do you people’s shocks lose air all the time or what? I maybe adjust my pressure twice a summer if that. You have to take one extra minute to unscrew that bottom panel… OHHH NOOO! So difficult. This is a pretty brilliant design and I’m sure well tested. Armchair speculation and nit-picking are so easy though behind the computer.

AlanM
AlanM
7 years ago

I feel like I could copy and paste this on half the articles on BR. Don’t like it, don’t buy it. What’s wrong with options, innovations, and taking risks. Can you imagine what the comment sections of BR would have been like when suspension, carbon fiber, and disc brakes first came out?

Padrote
Padrote
7 years ago
Reply to  AlanM

the long list of reasons why this isn’t a good idea leads people to think it’s gimmicky. because it probably is, coming from a fledgling company with ultimately nothing else interesting about it in a sea of other unremarkable mountain bike brands.

JBikes
JBikes
7 years ago
Reply to  Padrote

What are the long list of items? All I see is heat and service issues.
Heat? Well maybe, but someone needs to first prove that this shock overheats to the point that your preload is significantly altered, and that oil viscosity changes where damping is significantly affected. Current shocks are really designed to maximize cooling in the first place.
Service? Please. Drop a panel and its basically as easy as any other shock since the mounting bolts/pins are external and easily accessed.
Air pressure check? The only issue. But this is easily overcome with a modification to the cover panel, or an extension that passes through the panel.

AlanM
AlanM
7 years ago
Reply to  JBikes

Careful JBikes, you’re using logic and facts.

bart
bart
7 years ago

I don’t get excited about too many bikes but this one certainly looks the part. I love how clean it looks well done!

Tom
Tom
7 years ago

You don’t want a rear shock? get a hardtail…

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