The ascent to the perfect downhill. The Strive has great touring and climbing potential without having to make any compromises in terms of suspension travel and performance as a freerider. The uniquely organic contours of the frame achieved by tube hydroforming as well as the light and stiff 270° Box characterize the bike's appearance. The trail optimized geometry with a low centre of gravity and shorter chain stays guarantees agile handling characteristics. Further highlights include the responsive rear shock mounted using needle roller bearings, conical mounting of the main pivot bearing and the use of the lightweight X-12 thru-axle. All of these features combine to guarantee the optimum stiffness of the rear triangle. The Strive models offer the best of both worlds and the ultimate in ride fun with their ideal mix of all-mountain and freeride characteristics.

We now have a hydroforming tube, which has to go through 14 different reforming processes before it achieves its final shape. It is multi-butted and the wall thicknesses of the tube vary greatly in different areas depending on loads. It's rather similar to a bone. It has very varying dimensions and wall thicknesses. A bone is therefore a fascinating thing. It changes and copes with all types of loads. This is something that we also need to recreate and help evolve in engineering. However, it's not just about the manufacturing processes involved in the production of the frame, but also the choice of the pivot rotation points. The kinematic is a significant part of this bike. This kinematic has specific and specialised design features. The frame does not sag while the bike is accelerating, it releases the full range of travel in appropriate situations, it has sufficient reserves to accommodate shocks and operates sensitively at the start of the range of travel.”

– Lutz Scheffer, Canyon head designer