BOLD LINKIN 150 ULTIMATE
Swiss brand Bold are back with a precisionengineered carbon superbike
£10,099 / 29in / boldcycles.com
Swiss brand Bold launched its first bike back in 2015 with a frame that was as clean as a glacial stream and a hidden shock that was better protected than a Geneva bank vault. With a single showroom in Beil, it remained an exclusive proposition, but in May 2019 Scott Sports bought a majority stake in the boutique brand, unlocking access to Bold’s patented Internal Suspension Technology. Then, a year later, Scott launched a new Spark XC bike with, you guessed it, a hidden shock.
At that point, I was convinced that was the end of the line for Bold, as
Scott took this unique suspension configuration and applied it to as many bikes in its range as possible. However, and not for the first time, I’ve been proved wrong, as Bold is very much still alive and kicking. Indeed, this new Bold Linkin is proof that its “strategic partnership” with Scott has allowed the brand to go from strength-to-strength.
Scott gets to give its mountain bikes a unique look that offers something completely different to its competitors, and Bold gets to tap into Scott’s 30,000-strong global dealer network, engineering knowledge, factory access and buying power. The advantages for both brands are extensive.
The Bold was always an aestheticallypleasing design, but this new Linkin is easily its most beautiful yet. It’s also the best to ride, by a long way. But before I delve into the handling, let’s take a look at the design and engineering behind it, because the beauty of this bike goes more than skin deep.
For this second-generation Linkin trail bike, Bold gave itself the brief to repackage the suspension to create a new ride character, reduce the centre of gravity for better handling and take it to the next level in terms of integration. In pursuit of these goals, the two most fundamental changes it made compared to the old Linkin were to move from a vertically mounted shock to a horizontal position, and from a four-bar linkage to a virtual twin-link design.
Now the shock is mounted just above the BB, filling the ample void where the base of the down tube meets the seat tube, and gets driven by a large link that rotates around the bottom bracket on a couple of monster bearings. Anchored to the other end of this concentric link is the swingarm. A further link, almost completely hidden behind the swingarm moulding, provides the second bridge between the front and rear ends. It’s an incredibly compact and well-disguised linkage that airbrushes the lines with graceful elegance. If Henry Moore had taken up mountain bike design, the result might have looked something like this.