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Canyon has presented a third bike in the Ultimate Artist Edition series, the Ultimate CF SLX 8 Disc LTD designed by Torben Giehler.
This follows the release of a special-edition Ultimate designed by photographer Tino Pohlmann in late 2020, and then a second designed by typographer Erik Spiekermann in May this year.
Only 50 models of this bike will be sold – making this the first Canyon bike where each individual model is a “truly unique piece, hand-painted and hand-signed by the artist”.
The Torben Giehler Ultimate LTD was created by taking the Ultimate’s design concept and adorning it with the artist’s personal touch – an abstract composition in a bold colour scheme typical of his style. “It wasn’t simply about transferring a painting onto the frame,” said Giehler.
“The frame is its own canvas. So I painted the frame using techniques familiar to me and evoke similar emotions to the ones in my paintings.”
Collaborating closely with Canyon graphic designer Lukas Beck, Giehler painted all the Ultimate frames following the same process: mask, paint, dry, remove tape. The process is the same for every bike, but the designs vary from one frame to another. There is no fixed scheme or template to create the same shapes every time. Instead, every shape is taped individually and by hand, creating a unique composition on every frame. When painting the frames, it was important to Giehler that imperfections also occur during the taping process, such as letting the tape tear and getting paint to run under the masking.
These Ultimate CF SLX builds are rounded out with SRAM’s wireless 12-speed Force eTap AXS disc groupset, Canyon-developed CP10 carbon cockpit and Zipp 404 Firecrest wheels.
Read the August issue of BikeBiz below:
