Actofive has previewed a new trail bike which blends classic and contemporary mountain bike engineering.
The German company has been developing its P-Train for a while and as the project is nearing production, it has finally dropped images and details of the bike.
In terms of appearance, the front triangle's steel tubing profile is immediately apparent. Actofive desired to create a slim-looking front section and used Reynolds 853 steel to fabricate that portion of the P-Train frame.
The rear-triangle and suspension linkage is where this boutique brand mountain bike gets interesting. Actofive have the rear shock pushing through an arch in the seat tube, which is like Santa Cruz’s latest evolution of the VPP system.
Structurally supporting the P-Train’s rear wheel is a beautifully machined 7075 aluminium low-profile triangle, which is unlike anything you’d see on most mass-production frames.
Borrowing inspiration from Commencal’s World Cup-winning downhill bikes, the Actofive also has a high-pivot idler chain guide. This idler wheel is very neatly integrated to the CNC machined rear triangle and significantly reduces the influence of drivetrain tension on the bike’s suspension kinematics.
Instead of building an oversized enduro frame with huge suspension travel, Actofive is being sober in its ambitions with the P-Train. This is a progressive trail bike, aimed at riders interested in a 29er with 130mm of rear travel, running a 140mm suspension fork.
Actofive has not released a comprehensive size chart, but there is a confirmation around geometry numbers with the size medium P-Train. It features a 66-degree head angle and generous reach, measuring 480mm.
There has been a resurgence of interest in alternative chain routing technology, Commencal having dominated downhill mountain bike racing over the last two seasons with its high pivot-idler.
For those riders who seek to have the high pivot-idler feature on a trail bike, Actofive might have the product of destiny. Price and production details for the P-Train should become available in the next few months.
