With the UCI MTB World Championships already underway, we are seeing more off-road racing gear roll across the desk. The next new bikes we’ve seen are the bare carbon Protek 29Victoria hardtails & 29FSTeam full-suspension rides being raced by the BrujulaBike Racing Team. We already stepped into the Spanish team’s tent earlier this season to check out their new MSC Tires, but no we check back in for their Italian race bikes.
Protek 29FSTeam 100mm full-suspension XC race bike
This 29FSTeam is the latest iteration of Italian bike maker Protek’s full-suspension cross-country race bike, with frameset pricing starting at 3678€. Raced in earlier iterations to a Marathon World Championship back in 2016, this handmade-in-Italy carbon bike has continued to evolve.
Of course one of the most striking features of the Protek bike is its use of a large 12K carbon weave top layer that is said to provide additional impact protection to the frame over the low-resin T800 prepreg fiber, while not adding much extra weight. Available in three stock sizes (S,M,L) Protek claims a 1700g frame weight without shock.
The bike gets 100mm of rear wheel travel with a single pivot suspension design using a single-piece, pivotless rear triangle with dramatically thinned seatstays which flex vertically, just above the rear axle.
Like many others we’ve since seen, the 29FSTeam places its high single pivot aligned with a 1x-specific front chainring to balance traction & climbing efficient anti-squat. That 1x setup allows wide main bearing spacing for overall frame stiffness, also aided by the large boxy carbon construction of the downtube & seattube as they come together at the bottom bracket.
Looking at the details the 29″ wheeled 29FSTeam hits pretty much all of the modern standards – a tapered 1.5″ headtube, PressFit BB, Boost 148 rear thru-axle, and modular internal cable routing. Complete builds of the 29FSTeam start around 6000€ with GX Eagle, and climb to over 10,000€ with XX1 Eagle and carbon wheels.
Protek 29Victoria lightweight carbon hardtail XC race mountain bike
The technical Lenzerheide Worlds course will likely see Protek sponsored riders facing the full-suspension 29FSTeam. But in less technically demanding races riders will reach instead for the lightweight 29Victoria carbon hardtail which sells for 2871€ for the frame.
Like the full-susser, the 29Victoria is laid up by hand in Protek’s central Pescara, Italy workshop. Here the low-resin T800 carbon hardtail gets topped of with a more fine 6k weave, with a claimed frame weight of just 950g for a medium.
Again the same tech details carry over for the 29er hardtail – tapered headtube, PF BB, Boost thru-axle, and modular internal cable routing. First introduced earlier this year, the lightweight 29Victoria race hardtail is available in three stock sizes (S,M,L), with some customization also available. Complete hardtail builds are available from 5000-8700€.
