I nnovations
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Backfire Carbon.29 The New Reference for CENTURION Hardtail Racers. The endurance athletes of our renowned marathon team TEAM CENTURION VAUDE, led by multiple Transalp winner and German Marathon Champion of 2012 Markus Kaufmann, have achieved their biggest successes on their carbon-fiber hardtail Backfire Carbon Team.29. Why, then, revise this successful 29er...? “The primary development objective was weight reduction,” summarizes CENTURION development engineer and ex-pro racer Hannes Genze. At approximately 1,150 grams (frame size 46), the “old” Backfire Carbon.29 was no heavyweight at all. However measured against the developments on the market, there was a little room for of improvement. The result is impressive: The new size-43 top frame weighs a slim 920 grams – a reduction of a full 20%! This was possible not just thanks to optimizations of the tube cross-sections, but also due to a large number of development-related considerations. “A revised internal installation of all cables or for instance a fully integrated headset makes a big difference overall,” says Hannes Genze, describing two of the innovations. However, the new Backfire Carbon.29 impresses not just due to its weight. Together with the steering head stiffness of 85 Nm/°, a just as impressive bottom bracket stiffness of 65 N/mm as well as chain stays of just 433 millimeters in length, an overall concept results that is one of the most agile among 29er hardtails. “Di2ready,” mountable with a 1x11-, double or even triple drivetrain and highly “mechanic-friendly” despite internal cables thanks to a special “service access” below the bottom bracket, the new Backfire Carbon.29 is a masterpiece that defines a new reference in several respects. More lightweight, faster, cleverer. The new Backfire Carbon.29.
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+ Extremely lightweight frame: 920 g at frame size 43 + “Ultra Short RC” chain stays (433 mm) + Internal cable routing “Di2-ready” with service access + Prepared for 1x11 as well as 2x and 3x drivetrains + “Side-swing”-compatible (high-direct mount) + Head tube stiffness: 85 Nm/° + Bottom bracket stiffness: 65 N/mm