The man behind Bold is Vincenz Droux, one of the most outstanding bike engineers of our time. He is regarded as the Daniel Gyro Gearloose of the bike industry and he lives up to this reputation with his latest creation. Although the brand new Linkin still has the same Bold genes on the outside, no stone has been left unturned on the inside. The most important change: the rear wheel suspension travel is now based on VPP-like kinematics. The linkage of the suspension strut rotates around the bottom bracket. In turn, the shock absorber is positioned horizontally in the down tube. This means that the weight of the suspension and therefore the bike's center of gravity is very low. This significantly optimizes the riding characteristics. The enormously short linkages also lead to increased stiffness.

The new Linkin turns out to be a quick-change artist. The linkage of the rear suspension, which rotates around the bottom bracket, can be replaced, allowing the suspension travel to vary between 130 millimetres and 150 millimetres. The headset can also be rotated by 180 degrees, which changes the steering angle by one degree. And last but not least, the bottom bracket height can be adjusted by turning the flip chip in the rear triangle. In other words, the Linkin can be adjusted to individual preferences with little effort. This adjustment is usually made once and not during the tour.

Bikers were at work here

With many other innovations on the Linkin, you can see that the Bold engineers have mountain biking in their genes. For example, the sag indicator is located on the outside: a small, movable magnet indicates the stroke. Or the Vario seat post: the new Linkin can be fitted with posts with a very long stroke because the suspension in the down tube has resulted in a continuously straight seat tube. Bold relies on its partner Syncros, which has a new post with a 200 millimeter stroke in its range for the Linkin. The "Save the Day Kit" is also a practical tool: if you open the cover on the down tube, you can pull a 40 centimeter long toolbox out of the frame. This contains a spare tube, pump, tire lever, chain link and mini tool.

Bold goes international

With the new Linkin, Bold is living up to its reputation as a driver of innovation. And at the same time, the noble and small bike brand from the Bernese Jura is now becoming a global company. Thanks to the takeover by Scott, Bold is taking the global route with the new Linkin and exploiting the new sales potential: the Bold brand will now also find its place in the 30,000 stores with Scott bikes spread across 25 countries. And what about the development of an e-mountain bike? Vincenz Droux is keeping a low profile and says: "From an engineer's point of view, it would be very interesting to adapt the Internal Supension Technology system to an e-bike". However, Bold's next step is more likely to be to equip their enduro model "Unplugged" with the new suspension technology.

The details of the Bold Linkin

• Frame: Carbon with VPP-like kinematics and Internal Suspension Technology (IST)
• Suspension travel: 130 or 150 mm
• Weight: 13 to 14 kg depending on the model plus 400 grams for the Save the Day Kit
• Price: 6,000 to 11,000 euros depending on the model
• Availability: from spring 2022
• More details in the Techreport: click here

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