This week I’m joined by Jan Ehrhard, senior design engineer and one of the key minds behind the new Canyon Sender, to find out what it takes to design a World Cup winning bike.

From sketchbook to the start gate, Jan takes us inside the high-stakes world of bike development. We talk about the evolution of Canyon’s downhill platform, the wild insights from their Mule test bike, and the delicate dance between anti-rise, pedal kickback, and speed generation. You’ll hear how rider feedback, innovative thinking, and raw race emotion come together to shape the bikes that push the limits of the sport. This is a deep dive into the future of mountain bike design, and one of the fastest bikes on the planet. So it’s time to sit back, hit play and listen to this episode with Jan Ehrhard.

You can find out all about the new bike here.

You can also watch this episode on YouTube here.

Podcast Stuff

Supporting Partners

Insta360

Insta360 have just launched their latest game-changer, the X5. It shoots full 360 video in 8K, with lenses that are more durable than ever, and comes with upgraded audio thanks to a new wind guard and smarter processing. It’s waterproof to 15 metres and can film both a ready-to-share flat video and a fully re-frameable 360 video at the same time.

Use the code DOWNTIME at the checkout on insta360.com and you’ll get a free helmet chin guard with any X5 bundle order. That offer runs until the 30th July 2025 and is limited to just 30 free chin mounts, so don’t hang around.

Canyon

Head over to canyon.com and check out the details of the new Sender there.

Listener Offers

Downtime listeners can now get 10% off of Stashed Space Rails. Stashed is the ultimate way to sort your bike storage. Their clever design means you can get way more bikes into the same space and easily access whichever one you want to ride that day. If you have 2 or more bikes in your garage, they are definitely worth checking out. Just head to stashedproducts.co.uk/downtime and use the code DOWNTIME at the checkout for 10% off your entire order. And Just so you know, we get 10% of the sale too, so it’s a win win.

Patreon

I would love it if you were able to support the podcast via a regular Patreon donation. Donations start from as little as £3 per month. That’s less than £1 per episode and less than the price of a take away coffee. Every little counts and these donations will really help me keep the podcast going and hopefully take it to the next level. To help out, head here.

Merch

If you want to support the podcast and represent, then my webstore is the place to head. All products are 100% organic, shipped without plastics, and made with a supply chain that’s using renewable energy. We now also have local manufacture for most products in the US as well as the UK. So check it out now over at downtimepodcast.com/shop.

Newsletter

If you want a bit more Downtime in your life, then you can join my newsletter where I’ll provide you with a bit of behind the scenes info on the podcast, interesting bits and pieces from around the mountain bike world, some mini-reviews of products that I’ve been using and like, partner offers and more. You can do that over at downtimepodcast.com/newsletter.

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Photo – Boris Beyer