Even though the bike industry is facing difficulties at the moment, the cycling technology race is showing no signs of slowing down. If 2023 is anything to go by 2024 looks set to be yet another bumper year for some massive tech releases as prototypes transition into fully-fledged products. Here’s my latest look into what future tech we might see in 2024.
Fresh wireless shifting from Shimano
Throughout 2023 SRAM took the lead in the drivetrain arms race with the release of the XX SL, XX, and XO Transmission drivetrains, and then released the cheaper GX version a couple of months later. 2023 was a hell of a year for the US drivetrain giant as it also announced its Eagle Powertrain e-MTB drive system, albeit years behind Shimano, along with its new Stealth brake lever design.
With SRAM taking full monopoly in the mountain bike wireless shifting market, Shimano’s silence is deafening. But that’s understandable as the brand has had numerous difficulties to contend with, the most recent being its somewhat fragile Ultegra road cranksets.
Shimano has been busy though, working hard on the new EP801 motor and e-bike-specific XT Di2 drivetrain that brings new features such as Auto Shift. With that in mind, Shimano’s very own mountain bike wireless groupset must be on the horizon – the brand has, after all, produced semi-wireless shifting for its new road griupsets. While we don’t know exactly what it may look like, the Japanese brand has patented its own direct-mount derailleur. This does things a little differently by including B-tension adjustment. Very interesting indeed.
Is 2024 the year we’ll see mainstream adoption of cable-integrated handlebars of mountain bikes?
Integrated cable routing has been inching nearer and nearer up the bike, with internal cable routing initially guiding cables from the head tube to wherever they pop out. In recent months, cable routing that runs through the headset has become increasingly common, to the dismay of many. Yes, it looks nice but how practical is it?
Something that’s setting the industry up for cable-integrated handlebars is SRAM’s latest Code and Level Stealth brakes, and the new Shimano CUES levers that look to point the cables towards the bar. While this does make for a tidier cockpit, the intentions are clear – to guide cables into the handlebar.
For the end user, this means a cleaner cockpit but it could lead to a huge pain in the neck when it comes to changing something as simple as stem spacers. But let’s not get hysterical. If and when cable-integrated handlebars come to fruition, surely designers will conjure up a useful way around this kind of issue.
We’ll see more Eagle Powertrain-equipped e-bikes
This is a safe bet but when SRAM announced its e-MTB motor, it only came powering four bikes: the Nukeproof Megawatt, the Propain Ekano 2 CF, the Transition Repeater, and the GasGas ECC. All of these are pretty heavy-hitting enduro-focused e-bikes. In the world of e-mountain bikes, that’s a small selection and, without a doubt, SRAM will want to up those numbers and spread the love to a greater range of e-MTB types.
New fork tech from fox
Ignoring the new trail and cross-country shocks we saw earlier this year, it’s been a little while since Fox brought something fresh and fork-flavoured to the market. The last new release we caught a glimpse of was its 32 Taper Cast gravel fork. However, the brand did bring a new crown to its 36 in 2022. While its GRIP, GRIP 2 and FIT4 dampers are still very good, the last time we saw an update to those was in 2020 along with the release of the 38. So it’s been a few years and 2024 is a big one for Fox as it marks its 50th year in the biz and it makes sense the brand will have something cool in the works to celebrate the occasion.
There has been a new cross-country fork spotted on the elite-level circuit and it looks pretty cool, featuring what looks to be a 3D-printed rearward fork bridge. With it already on the race scene, that’s surely due to blast onto the market soon.
Triple clamp forks on more than just downhill bikes
The bikes of enduro mountain biking are already revered as quiver killers due to their general ability to go up a hill as effectively as they can go down and a number of them are compatible with long-travel dual-crown forks that are mostly reserved for downhill bikes. Those that can run these forks are the likes of Yeti’s SB165, YT Industries’ Capra, and the Canyon Torque.
To say that we’ll see a bike with a triple-crown fork from stock is still a bit far-fetched, although I’d love to be wrong. But I believe that more brands will offer bikes with compatibility for big-travel forks and more people will ride their bikes as such. Especially e-MTBers.
Wireless suspension lockouts
We saw that Pauline Ferrand-Prevot’s Pinarello Dogma XC HT was kitted with some kind of electronic lockout for its SR Suntour fork, and we locked eyes on Loic Bruni and others from the Specialized Gravity team covering up their bikes. In both of these genres, lockouts make an awful lot of sense as they help riders maximise every watt.
2023 Pauline Ferrand Prevot Pinarello Dogma XC HT Rouleur-6.jpg, by Suvi loponen
For cross-country mountain biking, this is a given. Teams and riders are looking for any way to drop the kilos and getting rid of cables altogether is one way of doing so. For downhill mountain biking, this also lowers the weight but it can increase reliability.
750d probably won’t pick up
When Moots partnered with WTB earlier this year to unveil the experimental 750d, a larger wheel size for gravel bikes, the company caused a massive stir with many shunning the idea through the distaste of ‘yet another standard’. As much as I love to embrace a new idea, this one wasn’t without its backlash. And, of course, a Moots bike doesn’t come cheap and tyre brands have to develop new tyres given the current climate, the case of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ will ring strong. Moots stresses that this is just an experiment so it’s unlikely we’ll see any more of this for at least a good while.
For this to pick up, adoption of the new wheel and tyre size will need to be much larger than just one bike and one tyre but we’ve seen it happen once with 26-inch, 650b and 29ers, so who am I to say that it won’t happen again?
Celebratory Olympic Games stuff
Brands love an opportunity to celebrate an event with cool-looking products and with the 2024 Olympic Games being held in Paris, it goes without saying that we’ll be seeing some cool colourways at the very least. That already makes 2024 quite exciting.
Nino Spark RC – #34 Special Edition, by SCOTT Sports
Scott is no stranger to this, giving Nino Schurter a new bike with a fresh colourway every other weekend, it seems. So if Nino manages to wrangle a spot in the 2024 Olympics, Scott will no doubt unveil a special bike for the GOAT.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The tiny Mideast nation of Kuwait has banned the release of the video game “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” which features the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and is set in part in the 1990s Gulf War.
The video game, a first-person shooter, follows CIA operators fighting at times in the United States and also in the Middle East. Game-play trailers for the game show burning oilfields, a painful reminder for Kuwaitis who saw Iraqis set fire to the fields, causing vast ecological and economic damage. Iraqi troops damaged or set fire to over 700 wells.
There also are images of Saddam and Iraq’s old three-star flag in the footage released by developers ahead of the game’s launch. The game’s multiplayer section, a popular feature of the series, includes what appears to be a desert shootout in Kuwait called Scud after the Soviet missiles Saddam fired in the war. Another is called Babylon, after the ancient city in Iraq.
Activision acknowledged in a statement that the game “has not been approved for release in Kuwait,” but did not elaborate.
“All pre-orders in Kuwait will be cancelled and refunded to the original point of purchase,” the company said. “We remain hopeful that local authorities will reconsider, and allow players in Kuwait to enjoy this all-new experience in the Black Ops series.”
Kuwait’s Media Ministry did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press over the decision.
“Call of Duty,” which first began in 2003 as a first-person shooter set in World War II, has expanded into an empire worth billions of dollars now owned by Microsoft. But it also has been controversial as its gameplay entered the realm of geopolitics. China and Russia both banned chapters in the franchise. In 2009, an entry in the gaming franchise allowed players to take part in a militant attack at a Russian airport, killing civilians.
But there have been other games recently that won praise for their handling of the Mideast. Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed: Mirage” published last year won praise for its portrayal of Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age in the 9th century.
Copenhagen, 22.10.2024 – COBOD International, the global leader in 3D construction printing technology, proudly introduces the BOD3 3D Construction Printer for 3D printing of real concrete. Equipped with an extendable ground-based track system, the BOD3 advances the construction process by eliminating printer downtime between multiple buildings on the same site, setting anew benchmark for productivity and efficiency. The BOD3 is the most advanced solution for high-volume low-rise construction and a very effective alternative to conventional construction methods.
The heart and key feature of the new BOD3 3D printer is the advanced extendable ground-based track system. This system enables limitless extension along the Y-axes (length), expanding the printable area to cover 2 or 3 buildings, and reducing setup time to a single installation for multi-building projects. It’s a game-changer, allowing continuous, uninterrupted printing across large sites, increasing efficiency for high volume and mass production at an unmatchable scale.
Render of COBOD BOD3 3D Construction Printer.
The BOD3, COBOD’s third printer model, is the outstanding achievement of years of dedicated research, development, and close collaboration with customers. It is a vital advancement in automated construction technology, directly addressing the urgent global demand for faster, smarter, more efficient and sustainable building solutions. Like every COBOD 3D printer, the BOD3’s modular design offers customization, allowing it to easily adapt to any customer’s size wishes in addition to complying with the various sizes of construction sites anywhere in the world.
The BOD3 follows COBOD’s vision to build smarter through automation. Its operational stand combines the control and monitoring of both the 3D printer and supplementary equipment in one user-friendly system. The Advanced Hose Management System (AHMS) transports 3D printable material from the materials delivery system to the printhead via hoses secured within E-chains, minimizing physical labor and optimizing material flow. With the addition of the dual dosing system for additives, operators can better control the concrete and adapt it to onsite environmental conditions. By introducing additives directly at the printhead, the system reduces drying time between layers, speeding up the overall construction process. Designed for easy operation and precision, the BOD3 can be operated by a small, trained, and certified team, reducing the costs of projects.
Incorporating the innovative Universal X-Carriage, the BOD3 is ready for future COBOD advancements and technologies, like the introduction of additional tools for the printer aimed at insulating, painting, sanding, etc. This ensures long-term versatility and performance that will keep the BOD3 at the forefront of the industry for years to come.
Universal X-Carriage with Printhead.
Already deployed to the global market, the BOD3 is currently active in Indonesia, by Modula Tiga Dimensi, Angola, by Power2Build, andBahrain, by Ab’aad 3D. The customers report faster project execution with near-zero downtime between individual buildings on the same site. The projects showcase the BOD3’s ability to speed up construction and print with real concrete, with 99% locally sourced materials and 1% of innovative D.fab, a co-developed solution by COBOD and Cemex to make concrete 3D printable.
Henrik Lund-Nielsen, Founder and General Manager of COBOD, commented on the BOD3: “The global housing crisis demands a more efficient construction solution that is faster, more efficient, and scalable. The BOD3 is our answer to this challenge. Drawing on years of research and expertise, we’ve designed the BOD3 with innovative features, making it our most cost-effective and efficient model yet for multiple low-rise buildings. Its design supports high-volume, linear production of houses, enabling mass production without compromising quality. The fact that six units have already been sold before its official launch speaks volumes about the BOD3’s market demand and the trust our customers place in our technology.”
Michael Holm, Chief Innovation Officer at COBOD, states, “The advanced ground-based track system was developed as a response to our customers’ needs to increase efficiency and productivity. Now the 3D construction printer can be easily extended, and multiple consecutive structures can be printed with minimal repositioning and zero downtime between projects, making 3D construction printing more efficient than ever before.”
The BOD3 is now available for purchase worldwide; for more information, please visit our website, www.cobod.com, or contact us at info@cobod.com.
COBOD stands as the global leader in supplying 3D printers for the construction sector, with over 80 printers distributed across North and Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Driven by a mission to revolutionize construction through multifunctional robots based on 3D printing, COBOD envisions automating half of the construction processes to achieve faster, cost-effective, sustainable results with enhanced design versatility.
From residential, commercial, and public buildings, COBOD’s 3D printers have been instrumental in erecting 1- to 3-story structures across all six inhabited continents. The innovative technology also extends to fabricate large-scale data centers, wind turbine towers, tanks, and more.
Embracing an open-source material approach, COBOD collaborates with global partners, including customers, academia, and suppliers. The company, backed by prominent shareholders such as General Electric, CEMEX, Holcim, and PERI, operates from its main office in Copenhagen, Denmark, and regional competence centers in Miami, Florida, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. COBOD’s dynamic team comprises over 100 professionals from 25 diverse nationalities.
ABOUT MODULA TIGA DIMENSI
PT Modula Tiga Dimensi is a joint venture between Bakrie & Brothers (BNBR) and COBOD. BNBR focuses on offering and providing solutions for housing backlog problems currently encountered by the country.
Teaming up with COBOD International, the company is now set to adopt the latest 3D printing construction technology and is ready to offer the Indonesian market a new and better solution to housing obstructions.
ABOUT POWER2BUILD
Reshaping the construction sector and adapting it to urgent human needs.
Power2Build is a technology company for the construction industry, prepared to establish partnerships with private, public, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) so that they can make the transition to Build 4.0 through 3DCP.
We offer our clients value-added services and high-quality projects, always with a multidisciplinary approach that brings together the necessary experience to deal with complex issues.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Artificial intelligence‘s recent rise to the forefront of business has left most office workers wondering how often they should use the technology and whether a computer will eventually replace them.
Those were among the highlights of a recent study conducted by the workplace communications platform Slack. After conducting in-depth interviews with 5,000 desktop workers, Slack concluded there are five types of AI personalities in the workplace: “The Maximalist” who regularly uses AI on their jobs; “The Underground” who covertly uses AI; “The Rebel,” who abhors AI; “The Superfan” who is excited about AI but still hasn’t used it; and “The Observer” who is taking a wait-and-see approach.
Only 50% of the respondents fell under the Maximalist or Underground categories, posing a challenge for businesses that want their workers to embrace AI technology. The Associated Press recently discussed the excitement and tension surrounding AI at work with Christina Janzer, Slack’s senior vice president of research and analytics.
Q: What do you make about the wide range of perceptions about AI at work?
A: It shows people are experiencing AI in very different ways, so they have very different emotions about it. Understanding those emotions will help understand what is going to drive usage of AI. If people are feeling guilty or nervous about it, they are not going to use it. So we have to understand where people are, then point them toward learning to value this new technology.
Q: The Maximalist and The Underground both seem to be early adopters of AI at work, but what is different about their attitudes?
A: Maximalists are all in on AI. They are getting value out of it, they are excited about it, and they are actively sharing that they are using it, which is a really big driver for usage among others.
The Underground is the one that is really interesting to me because they are using it, but they are hiding it. There are different reasons for that. They are worried they are going to be seen as incompetent. They are worried that AI is going to be seen as cheating. And so with them, we have an opportunity to provide clear guidelines to help them know that AI usage is celebrated and encouraged. But right now they don’t have guidelines from their companies and they don’t feel particularly encouraged to use it.
Overall, there is more excitement about AI than not, so I think that’s great We just need to figure out how to harness that.
Q: What about the 19% of workers who fell under the Rebel description in Slack’s study?
A: Rebels tend to be women, which is really interesting. Three out of five rebels are women, which I obviously don’t like to see. Also, rebels tend to be older. At a high level, men are adopting the technology at higher rates than women.
Q: Why do you think more women than men are resisting AI?
A: Women are more likely to see AI as a threat, more likely to worry that AI is going to take over their jobs. To me, that points to women not feeling as trusted in the workplace as men do. If you feel trusted by your manager, you are more likely to experiment with AI. Women are reluctant to adopt a technology that might be seen as a replacement for them whereas men may have more confidence that isn’t going to happen because they feel more trusted.
Q: What are some of the things employers should be doing if they want their workers to embrace AI on the job?
A: We are seeing three out of five desk workers don’t even have clear guidelines with AI, because their companies just aren’t telling them anything, so that’s a huge opportunity.
Another opportunity to encourage AI usage in the open. If we can create a culture where it’s celebrated, where people can see the way people are using it, then they can know that it’s accepted and celebrated. Then they can be inspired.
The third thing is we have to create a culture of experimentation where people feel comfortable trying it out, testing it, getting comfortable with it because a lot of people just don’t know where to start. The reality is you can start small, you don’t have to completely change your job. Having AI write an email or summarize content is a great place to start so you can start to understand what this technology can do.
Q: Do you think the fears about people losing their jobs because of AI are warranted?
A: People with AI are going to replace people without AI.
