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Canyon and Kraftwerk collaborated to create the ultimate techno bike

Canyon and Kraftwerk collaborated to create the ultimate techno bike

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Cyclist Tony Martin will ride a version of it in this year’s Tour de France

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Canyon’s Kraftwerk bike
Image via Canyon

Canyon bicycles has announced that it is collaborating with famed electronic group Kraftwerk to produce a limited edition run of bikes.

Called the Ultimate CF SLX Kraftwerk, the 21 bikes produced will feature a geometric black-and-white design that harkens to Kraftwerk’s signature aesthetic developed by founding member Ralf Hütter. It’s the most complex design ever applied to a bike by Canyon; every reflective strip is cut to measure and hand-laid, taking a total of seven hours per frameset to complete.

The limited edition bikes will also feature the SRAM wireless eTap groupset, a gear-shifting system that allows riders to shift with electronic switches instead of mechanical cables and switches. The components are placed on a bike, then paired using SRAM’s proprietary 128-bit wireless encryption system, called Airea. Small satellite shifter buttons, called Blips, can also be placed anywhere along the handlebars.

Every reflective strip is cut to measure and hand-laid, taking a total of seven hours per frameset

Kraftwerk has a long history with cycling and the Tour de France, and Hütter’s passion for the sport is well-documented. In the 1970s and early ‘80s, he and bandmate Schneider would ride up to 200 kilometers a day, an obsession which, at the time, actually impaired the band’s productivity. In 1983, the band recorded single “Tour de France” and 20 years later, produced album Tour de France Soundtracks, which coincided with the race’s centennial anniversary in 2003.

This year’s Tour de France is hosted in the Rhineland city of Düsseldorf, where Kraftwerk originally hails from. Time Trial World Champion Tony Martin will begin the race on a Canyon Speedmax CF SLX bearing the same design, and Kraftwerk will perform Tour De France Soundtracks at a Düsseldorf concert following Saturday’s race.

Canyon’s Kraftwerk bikes will be available on canyon.com starting Monday, July 3rd, with a retail price of €10,000 ($11,411.90 USD).