Each year, there is The Bike. Last year The Bike was the crazy Factor One that I spotted at the Dauphiné, with its wild fork and unusual… well, everything. The year before, we waited until late in the day, but The Bike was the leaked Colnago Y1Rs, with a radical seat cluster. Van Rysel, debuting at the Velofollies trade show in Belgium – which we will be bringing you a tech gallery from – has launched an early bid to become The Bike for 2026 with an undoubtedly crazy, non-production concept machine.
Dubbed the FTP^2, this bike is an e-assisted machine designed to double the rider’s FTP and allow them to reach previously unattainable speeds using a combination of added power and aerodynamic efficiency. It’s clearly a very striking machine, but is derived from some tried and tested trends. Beyond the bike, there is a total system involving ‘wireless shoes’, a new skinsuit, and a modular aero helmet, all of which very much sit outside the framework of the UCI’s technical regulations.
The bike
Image 1 of 4
The core of this suite of conceptual products is of course the bike. The FTP^2 itself looks utterly wild compared to UCI-constrained road bikes, but by the standards of the machines piloted in the comparatively unregulated triathlon scene, it’s not all that crazy.
Up front the forks follow in the footsteps of the now legendary Hope x Lotus track bike, and the fresh-in-the-memory Factor One, with wide-set and extremely deep legs. Curiously, unlike the most aero bikes we’ve tested in the wind tunnel, which all have a bayonet fork, the FTP^2 opts for a traditional tapered head tube, which will have undoubtedly increased the frontal area of the machine.
The downtube is positively enormous, holding as it does the battery and Mahle M40 motor assembly to “multiply the input effort by up to four”. Cooling fins at the bottom bracket are the only initial indication that this is an e-bike, until you reach the cockpit, which to my mind is the most interesting part of the whole setup.
Riders seeking an aero advantage nowadays are rarely ever seen in the drops, the traditional go-fast hand position of old, with it…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…