Bicycles 2023: What New Products Can We Expect Next Year
Every two or three years, you can expect new prototypes to show up at races and shows, but if you look at the bikes that have been updated lately, it becomes clear that now it clearly takes longer. There are several reasons for this, but the main ones, in our opinion, are the degree of changes in the geometry of the frames and, of course, problems with the supply of spare parts that have arisen due to the coronavirus pandemic.
And, of course, because of the pandemic, the production of components, especially transmissions, has generally slowed down, which means that the production of complete bicycles has often stopped. Manufacturers sat waiting for components to finally release their new models.
Santa Cruz V10
Bicycles
We don’t know if this was part of the company’s plans or not, but in 2022 Santa Cruz released six updated models at once – these are Heckler, Megatower, Nomad, Hightower, 5010, and Tallboy. Not on this list is the V10 downhill model. The 29-inch version of the V10 was officially unveiled back in December 2018, and the mixed-wheel version was released in July 2020.
The geometry of the frame and the kinematics of the suspension were then slightly changed with the help of milled aluminum parts, but the carbon part remained unchanged. However, this did not stop the pro riders from riding fast – for example, Jackson Goldstone won races on this bike more than once. Even so, we wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a new V10 anytime soon.
Commencal Meta P003.1 and Flame
Everything looks rather strange here. It seems that Commencal has decided to update all of its full suspensions, inspired by the success of the new downhill bike. We’ve already had a glimpse of the new Metamodel, but then we saw, for example, Commencal pro rider Cecil Ravanel riding the new short-travel bike while training Pauline Ferrand-Prevost on the XC World Cup circuits.
Considering that the company recently released a Meta SX model with wheels of different diameters, and no statistics have yet been published about this prototype, it is not clear what awaits the new Commencal line. The advantage of the brand from Andorra is that all their frames are made of aluminum – this significantly reduces the time period from the first drawings to real models compared to carbon bikes. We wouldn’t be too surprised if we saw updates to both lines in 2023.
Specialized Demo, Enduro and Kenevo
Another favorite manufacturer of full-suspension extreme riding is, of course, Specialized, and this company has not yet officially introduced a new downhill bike either. Note that Specialized pro rider Finn Eales managed to win his first World Cup event in 2022 at Mont Sainte Anne on the new prototype, while his teammate Loic Bruni became the World Champion for the fifth time on the old Demo frame. In fact, the new downhill frame looks quite different from the FSR four-link frame that was introduced back in 2020.
By the way, Specialized’s enduro bike could well get a refresh too. In our opinion, major changes should not be expected here, since the existing suspension works very well, and there is a SWAT compartment in the frame, but the geometry of this bike, like the geometry of the similar Kenevo SL electric bike, can be slightly modified.
When it comes to electric bikes, the Kenevo model has been around in its current form since 2019. And the carbon version of this bike with an updated motor and battery can clearly be lighter and more interesting.
Scott Gambler and Ransom
It was great when Scott themselves wrote a popular comment online “looks like a Trek Session”, hinting at the similarities between their Gambler bike and Trek’s popular downhill model, and then it all turned into a contest with prizes in the form of bicycles. The weight of the bike from Scott was also impressive – 15.7 kg.
What happened next? Then the Gambler got swivel frame elements that allowed both rear wheels of different sizes to be put on the bike and suspension progression to be changed. I remember when the fashion for high hinges began, Scott also experimented in this direction, but it was already difficult to save even more weight.
Another Scott model that hasn’t changed since 2020 is the Ransom full suspension with 170mm of travel. One way to modify this long-travel bike was to increase the number of integrated components. Scott engineers have done this before with the Spark XC when they tuck the rear shock inside the frame.
Giant Glory
It looks like the biggest bike manufacturer in the world is on the cusp of updating the Glory downhill model. We’ve seen quite a few new Glory prototypes at World Cup races in recent years, but none of those versions have made it into production since 2018. And then, we recall, in serious races they still used 27.5-inch front wheels.
But I must say that with veteran pro-riders like Remy Tyrion, the company is not standing still, but rather waiting for the right moment. In addition, downhill is just a drop in the ocean compared to other disciplines, and therefore we would not wait for the appearance of new carbon frames for downhill. But it is clear that the prototypes, on which the same Tyrion has been performing since 2018, have evolved, and in 2023 it is quite possible to expect the appearance of a new Glory.
Norco Aurum and Sight
Another brand that is interested in downhill bikes and isn’t afraid to make aluminum prototypes is Norco. So, two-time Canadian champion and one of Norco engineers Kirk McDowell has already three times this season driven one of these prototypes into the top 40 of the World Cup. And it’s likely that Norco’s full-fledged downhill bike called the Aurum is different from the updated Range that the Norco team has raced in the World Cups for the past two years.
In addition, the popular Sight full-suspension with 150mm of travel may also be affected. It is quite conceivable that this frame could have, say, a high-mounted suspension pivot, as was the case with the Range model.
Yeti SB150
August 2018 is a long time ago, but the old Yeti bikes have performed very well since then, with the SB150 still being ridden on the EWS podiums. It turns out that it took about four years to finalize the new and, without a doubt, already legendary turquoise enduro bike – we probably saw such a new version at the EWS round in Crans Montana. It is clear that the new bike will be, as expected, longer, and the frame angles will be sharper, but how much will it cost?
We might assume that the new SB150 will have the same impressive six-link suspension as the 160E e-bike, but it is quite possible that we are wrong, as we have already done. Most likely, whatever the new Yeti model is called, we will see the Switch Infinity system there.
Devinci Wilson
Devinci released the Spartan HP last year, and we saw an aluminum prototype at the Crankworx contest with freerider Cam Zink – it looked like it had over 160mm of suspension travel. And the Wilson frame prototype was shown to us at the end of 2019.
Now the Canadian brand makes the Wilson aluminum frame parts at its home plant in Quebec, but we haven’t seen a real version of this 29-inch bike since 2019.
Pivot Phoenix
Will the new Phoenix frame be longer, and will there be a vertically mounted rear shock? For sure.
It now appears that the Phoenix downhill bike is the latest model in the Pivot line that does not yet have an updated suspension. In terms of dimensions and geometry, the effective front triangle (“reach”) length of an XL frame is 485mm, in fact, the same as most manufacturers of frames of this size.
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