This bike won’t interest you flatlanders, but for the mountain folks out there, hold on to your trekking poles. The Bergmonch is essentially a mountain bike that folds up in a back pack. Amazingly, this full suspension bike with front and rear hydraulic disc brakes weighs in at a svelte 18.3 pounds. The accompanying backpack comes in at 3.3 pounds and provides storage space for provisions, pockets for additional items, and attachment straps for hiking poles. It even has a net that carries your helmet which you might just need for the downhill thrill that awaits after you summit.

If you like to hike then you’re familiar with the abuse you knees can take on the decent. If you’ve ever experience true single track mountain biking, then you know that the uphill is challenging fun, but the downhill is pure bliss. The German born Bergmonch saves your knees by replacing the joint pounding hike down the mountain with an adrenaline filled ride that’s sure to leave you thinking “why didn’t someone think of this sooner?”.

When you leave the trailhead, the bike is neatly tucked into your back pack along with anything else you’re taking on the hike. When you get to the top, you drop the pack and spend about 2 minutes unfolding the bike. The back pack surprisingly does not return to your back for the descent. When the bike is in ride mode, the pack is integrated with the frame to provide a surface to kneel on. In typical mountain biking fashion, you’ll probably be standing for the challenging sections of downhill, but when you get to the easier stuff, you can lean forward and take a load off.

The Bregmonch is not available in the US yet but according to the company, it will be here “soon”. For those of you that don’t speak German, Bergmonch means “Mountain Monk”. Why? It’s a bike used in the mountains and when you ride it, you kneel on it like a monk. Hey, while your down there, say a quick prayer that it gets here soon.





Specs:

Brakes: Shimano SLX Hydraulic Disc

Shocks: 80mm Travel Front and Rear

Tires: Schwalbe 2.4” Rear / 2.0” Front

Price: Around $2,000.00

Website: http://www.bergmoenc...en/Default.aspx