Alutech Cycles: a drop bar enduro bike, and a bike designed by committee. Eh?

Dotted amongst the big brands’ bike livery at the Garda Bike Festival were several smaller German and Italian companies proudly showing their wares. And none caught my eye more than Alutech Cycles, probably because smack bang at the front of their stand was a drop-bar build of their 140mm travel hardtail enduro bike complete with flat pedals, a dropper and a crazy-angled stem all finished off in a 1980s disco pale turquoise and pink paint job with corresponding retro Manitou forks. With my attention duly grabbed, I went to chat and find out more.

The modern-day Alutech Cycles was established back in 2001 when Jűrgen Schlender, a German DH racer, bought the rights to the brand name. In those early years the company focused on developing bikes for big downhill racing. Today the Sennez remains Alutech’s flagship bike and is now available in 200mm 27.5” and 180mm 29er guises keeping up with all the current downhill and freeride trends.

After concentrating on downhill for a good 10 years it was time for a change. Cue a huge redesign of the suspension platform and the birth of the Fanes Enduro bike. Now in its fifth generation the 170mm travel front and rear, 27.5” or 26” wheeled, the rock eating machine remains the biggest seller across the range.

Alutech had a few newly updated models on show too. First up is the Tofanes, an eye-catching 160mm full suss 29er trail bike. Lauched this year the second generation has a carbon rear triangle and alloy front end with a redesigned suspension platform to improve the feel and performance of the shock at the end of its range.

Pictured here is the super-stealth TrailReady build with Rock Shox Super Delux shock and Formula Selva fork, WTB Frequency i29 Team wheels, SRAM GX drivetrain and Magura MT5 brakes. It’s available in M, L and XL with reach ranging from 440mm to 500mm, stack 594mm to 612mm on a head angle of 64^o and seat angle of 75^o. Price for the full bike is €3,599.90 and €1,999.90 for frame only.

Also redesigned for this year is the CheapTrick hardtail with updated geometry and hydroforming of its alloy tubes. In comparison to the Frankstein bike which caught my attention, the standard 29er bike looked rather understated in comparison. On the trail I imagine that the 140mm travel, 65^o head angle and 425mm reach on the medium, and Plus tyre option make it anything but. Like the other models it’s available as a frame (€599.90) and full builds (€999.90 – 2,099.90) in sizes M, L and XL.

Last but not least for the 2018 models is a rather interesting side project. The ICB, or Internet Community Bike, was designed by asking a bunch of people via an internet discussion group what made their ideal trail bike. Now in its second iteration, the ICB has a geometry which is more of a balance between pedalling efficiency and a full on all-mountain machine than much of the rest of Alutech’s range. In fact, the 130mm front and rear travel on 27.5” wheels with a 435mm reach on the medium on a 66.5^o head angle, 74^o seat angle is downright modest in comparison. The ICB is available in S, M, L and XL as frame only (currently reduced to €1,119.90), frame and forks (€1,749.90 – 1,899.90) and full bike options which start at €3,199.90.

There are no UK dealers but all bikes are available direct from Alutech Cycles. All bikes are assembled by hand to order and there’s a range of customisation options so your choices of finishing colours and kit are pretty endless.

Disclosure

Rachel’s travel and accommodation were paid for by Abus.