Powered by AI with 360-degree sensors, is Canyon's new Predict prototype the future of bike safety?
The futuristic machine will be on show at Eurobike next week
With radar, AI, cameras and a display inside the bars, is this futuristic new prototype from Canyon going to revolutionise bike safety in the coming years?
The sleek new Canyon Predict will be appearing at the Eurobike show in Frankfurt next week and promises to raise eyebrows – not just for its safety features but for its looks too. Safety might have a dowdy and unexciting image, but it's nowhere to be seen on this bike, which has the appearance of a machine that could easily keep pace in the fastest of pelotons.
But its safety features are the heart of the bike. Radar and cameras and other sensors can see obstacles, interpret them and warn the rider accordingly, says Canyon in an introductory video. Those warnings come via flashing lights on the lever hoods as well as vibrations, not unlike the lane-assist on modern cars.
As well as spotting obstacles, the bike's 360-degree sensors can suggest cornering speeds and predict tricky road surfaces. The bike can even connect to Canyon's Stingr Smart helmet, with its drop down visor and data display.
Rather than connecting to the cloud, the bike displays information on a rectangular data screen on its aero-style bars, all powered by on-bike Edge AI. Canyon says this cuts out crucial split-second latency that could make all the difference in an emergency situation.
The seatpost, while looking ultra-aero, is actually a dropper-post, designed to help the rider through tricky moments by allowing them to lower their centre of gravity.
“We considered the numbers of people killed or seriously injured while riding, or the numbers who simply don’t cycle because they don’t feel safe, and we asked ourselves what we could do to address this problem, said Canyon’s head of design Fedja Delic.
“Cars have become inherently safer and motorist deaths over the last 10 years have fallen, but bicycles have not seen any significant safety improvements. In fact the proportionate and absolute number of cyclists killed or seriously injured is shown to be rising in many countries. While technology has made driving a car safer than ever before, riding a bike on the road has arguably become more dangerous than ever before. Yet with the technology available, significant bicycle safety improvements are more than possible.”
Being a prototype you're unlikely to find it available to buy any time soon, but it has already garnered admiration from Canyon's pro riders with Kasia Niewiadoma saying: "With this sort of new technology, it makes me eager to see where it can go in reality and what the next generation of bikes can deliver to the rider.”
