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TECH NEWS

B’Twin to launch versatile and super-adaptable B’Original

New all-rounder boasts full suspension and takes customisation to the next level letting buyers design and 3D print their own parts

B’Twin are launching an innovative new bike called the B’Original that’s designed to be versatile enough to ride both on and off-road and to be easily customisable. The B’Original is a full-suspension bike with the rear shock hidden away inside the frame.

Nine different patents cover the bike and its associated accessories. You can customise it as you like using B’Twin’s B’Clip system which, as the name suggests, uses clip mechanisms with no tools required.

For example, you can choose from a vast number of swappable B’O covers for the frame (the middle section and the chainstays) and chainset, allowing you to change the look of the bike.

They simply snap into place. Decathlon call these One Second Clip items because… well, you can work that out for yourself. You’ll even be able to go online and have those covers 3D printed in different shapes and textures for more customisation. You could design a cover with an integrated holder for your smartphone, for example, or to hold a particular mini-pump.

Other accessories, such as mudguards and a kickstand, clip into place just as easily thanks to some very neat design features. You can also add a luggage rack with a baby seat that clips on and off the top, choose from a selection of bags, or use B’Twin’s collapsible box to carry stuff in.

The pedals flip up and the handlebar folds flat for easy travelling and compact storage, the bike going from 70cm wide to 15cm wide in seconds, and the quick-release skewers and V-brakes are super-easy to open and close when you need to get the wheels on and off.

Here's a quick video presentation explaining the key features of the bike from the Oxylane Innovation Awards from before Christmas, Oxylane being B'Twin's parent company. The B'Original was one of 10 products shortlisted.

The B’Twin B’Original will be available for £269 from Decathlon (www.decathlon.co.uk) when it is launched in April. It will initially be available in 70 stores worldwide, one in the UK – Surrey Quays Road, London – with all-store availability from September.

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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6 comments

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James Warrener | 10 years ago
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I want one for getting to work and back... much better option than my mountain bike.

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FMOAB | 10 years ago
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I like it  4

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jollygoodvelo | 10 years ago
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Some quite clever ideas there.

I suspect, however, that most of the bikes made using it will B'Horrible.

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jason.timothy.jones | 10 years ago
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I think its brilliant as a commuter, its about time we saw something different

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Argos74 | 10 years ago
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Ye. Gods.

Okay, a plastic covered utility bike with dual suspension is never going to win many plaudits on a site for shaved leg roadies. The scariest moments: the look on the chap's face at 4:39. And at 6:27, the words "This one's a bit wackier!", which just sent me scurrying behind the sofa.

Be interesting to see what it's like on the ride and durability side of things. If it gets people riding to work, school, the shops, and so on, then awesome. Can't see me on one though, except maybe in a nightmare involving a pink velvet onesie, and my entire extended family watching as I ride up to a family funeral.

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surly_by_name | 10 years ago
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The Oxylane Innovation awards seem to be open to Decathlon (or Oxylane) brands - Wedze, Kalenji, Tribord, B'Twin etc. Kind of like giving yourself an award for being clever? I don't imagine any road.cc readers would buy this bike let alone ride one.

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