THE ALL NEW HUGENE

Tour, Trail, Allmountain? What now? The new Hugene is the answer. A bike with 140-150 mm of travel that always fits. Whether it is a quick trail loop, an all-day tour or even an alpine cross. The Hugene is a summiteer on the uphills and a rocket on the downhills. One bike to rule them all!

We continue to rely on carbon and 29″ wheels, but we took the criticisms of the previous Hugene very serious. Therefore, our new trail rocket has a slightly steeper seat angle, a lower steering angle and a longer reach. The travel has increased by 10 mm and the chainstay remains at a moderate length of 445mm. As with our other models, the damper is placed in front of the seat tube. For this purpose, we have neatly optimized our proven PRO10 suspension system. The result is an even better balance of smoothness and agility to give the trail rider safety and stability without being sluggish.

The new Hugene is even lighter and more dynamic, with a lot of attention to the drive efficiency. With 110% anti-squat, nothing will upset the rear triangle on the uphill. The bike climbs like a hardtail, but also offers you a steady downhill performance. The kinematics has been further optimized to give more support in the mid-travel and to increase the sensitivity at the same time.

It climbs, it jibs, it shreds, it’s huge – huge on trails!

Highlights

We have completely redesigned the Hugene for the model year 2021. We have responded to the criticism and wishes of our customers:

  • Optimized frame material made from Blend Carbon
  • Wheelsize 29”
  • Travel: 140/150 mm front; 140 mm rear
  • PRO10 suspension system
  • Two mounts for drinking bottles or straps, tools, pump, etc.
  • PROPAIN DirtShields (double sealed frame bearings)
  • New frame design: “clean and highend”
  • Selectable headtube badges and new decal colors
  • New selectable frame colors
  • Removable ISCG chainguide mount
  • Bolted BSA bottom bracket
  • New Drivetrain: Eagle 52z
  • New hanger standard: SRAM UDH
  • New cable routing above the bottom bracket with internally routed cables in ducts
  • Upper linkage made of carbon and in frame color
  • HIGH5 Warranty: 5-year warranty and crash replacement

Overall concept and geometry

By combining a flat steering angle of 65.5° with a steep seat angle of 76.5° (effective) and the floating damper, which is centrally mounted in the bike, we achieve exactly this: easy pedalling on the uphill with a lot of pressure on the front wheel and an optimal weight distribution on the downhill. A characteristic that you notice once you get on the bike and never want to miss again afterwards. Remarkably, this geometry change has significantly improved both the uphill and downhill performance. A reach of 480 mm with a chainstay length of 445 mm at size L makes the new Hugene smoother and more agile than before and creates a noticeable balance.

Suspension system / kinematics

The PRO10 system is known for its drive neutrality. With the optimised suspension system we can top that once again. The anti-squat has been increased from 100% to 110% compared to its predecessor. The system nevertheless retains its sensitive response and works even on the slightest unevenness.
The progression of the rear suspension was also optimized compared to the previous model and provides the rear wheel with optimum traction on every occasion.

Travel

Front: 140 mm/150 mm; Rear: 140 mm

Wheel concept

Comfort! Grip! Smooth running! We continue to rely on 29″ wheels for our trail bike. The advantages are obvious: The larger wheels ensure better rolling behavior and rough terrain can be rolled over more quickly than with smaller wheels. The larger contact area of the 29″ tires also improves traction resulting in better grip. The longer wheelbase makes the bike more stable and the larger wheels store more energy during the ride, which keeps you going faster for longer. And that is exactly what we want to achieve with our trailbike: speed, smoothness and comfort both uphill and downhill.

New design concept

We are also breaking new ground in the design language, as with our other models. The modern design of the Hugene looks elegant, clean and dynamic at the same time. To achieve that we use the versatility of the material in the processing of the carbon. The upper linkage is now also made of carbon and painted in frame color. Many visible edges and flowing shapes characterize the look. With attention to detail, a design was created that is tidy, noble and puristic. In addition to new frame colors, the customer now also has the option to configure the headtube badge. As usual, the bike can also be further individualized from the wide selection of decals for every taste.

Uphill

Forward on the uphill with the new Hugene. Thanks to the steeper seat angle, the lower steering angle and the 29″ wheels, you have a lot of pressure on the pedal and plenty of propulsion and traction even on steepest climbs and technical uphills. The high anti-squat keeps the PRO10 rear-end tight and you do not experience any energy loss. The stiff frame made of full carbon provides lightness and agility. The new Hugene wants only one thing: go forward!

Colors and Decals

The new main frame colors of the Hugene are “Safari (matte)” and “Petrol Dark (gloss)”. The third color, “Carbon Raw (gloss)”, is already known from the Tyee and Spindrift. A visual varnish creates a unique look and the special processing of the “Blend Carbon” becomes visible.

Safari (matte)

Petrol Dark (gloss)

Carbon Raw (gloss)

Frame features

Blend Carbon

We are convinced that it is not enough to use “one” high-quality carbon fibre for a frame. Instead, it requires different carbon fibres and their various properties to meet the respective requirements. PROPAIN carbon frames are made of pre-impregnated (prepreg) carbon layers. Each with special properties and corresponding functions at a specific area of the frame. Based on the requirements for stiffness, flexibility, impact resistance, weight, strength and the direction of tension, different fibres and fabrics are used. PROPAIN uses only the highest quality materials. For example, the same carbon fibres are used for our frames as for the latest generation of aircraft parts.

Internal cable routing

Today, internal cable routing is standard on modern bikes. It is the cleanest, safest and above all the most beautiful way of routing cables. We take it to a new level by fitting the carbon frames with internal cable channels in which the cables run. This makes the routing super easy and noises in the frame are eliminated. With the new Hugene, the cables run above the bottom bracket.

Newly added are selectable headtube badges in three different colors: “Venomblack matte”, “Diamondblack gloss” and “Chrome gloss”.

Going into Details

PROPAIN Dirt-Shields and Acros Bearings
Better safe than sorry! The robust Acros frame bearings are additionally protected by the PROPAIN Dirt-Shields. An extra seal which protects the underlying bearings from dust, water and dirt.

PROPAIN ISCG mount
We also developed a new chainguide mount which is not screwed but plugged onto the frame. This way it offers double protection. In the event of a hard impact from below, the bashguard absorbs the energy and transmits it to the frame over a large area. The frame is thus protected from damage and the bashguard can be easily replaced if necessary.

Frame protection
It is important to PROPAIN to assure an optimal protection of the frame ex works. Therefore, a newly developed down tube and chainstay protection is used, which can be easily replaced if necessary. The chainstay protection was also specifically designed by us. The vibrations of the chain are absorbed by different materials and thus noises and a rocking of the chain is prevented.

Shock clearance
We have further improved the shock clearance to make room for an easy operation of all lockout and adjustment levers. The most common air shocks are compatible, we have deliberately not focused on coil or DH-specific products.

Bottle cage
The new Hugene frame has two mounts for drinking bottle cages and/or straps, tools, pumps which are located at the top- and downtube.

Our opinion:

Spec and prices

When selecting components, we continue to focus on a large and high-quality variety from which everyone can configure their dream bike. In addition to the new RockShox Pike Ultimate and the Fox34 Float FIT4 Factory with 140 mm, we also offer the new Fox36 in orange with 150 mm in our configurator. In addition, new features include SRAM’s Eagle 52 cassette, carbon wheels from Newmen and the new Schwalbe Nobby Nic Supertrail tires. The electronic Sram AXS drivetrain and longer seatposts up to 185 mm from Bikeyoke and Fox complete the package.

The customizing options are extended by various rise-options for handlebars and stem lengths. Besides the individual customization option, we also offer three pre-configured models (Start, Performance, Highend), which simplify the selection of the bike and are a recommendation.

The “Start” model starts at a price of 3,399.00 EUR. The Performance Kit is priced at 4,549.00 EUR. The high-end version is available from 7,129.00 EUR by 02 February 2021 in our web shop. Prices outside Europe may vary.

Weight

One of the most important goals in the development of the Hugene was to reduce the frame weight. To achieve this, we have implemented three things:

  • Optimizing the frame structure by using straighter tubes with less curvy features to make sure the tubes do not experience any unnecessary stress.
  • Optimizing the carbon layup itself. We are still using our Blend Carbon material but with higher percentage of very high tensile strength fibres.
  • Manufacturing the upper linkage from carbon as well which also saves some grams.

As a result, we use less layers of carbon while maintaining the same high frame stiffness. Overall, we were able to reduce the frame weight by 300 grams to 2.3 kg.

  • Frame weight: 2.3 kg (size S)
  • Total weight: 12.9 kg (in size L, highend spec)

Development

During the development process, the frames undergo extensive testing on our in-house test bench. In stress tests with a total of more than 500,000 cycles per frame, they are tested for stiffness, overload and fatigue. All frames are tested far beyond the mandatory standards, so that our enduro bikes are listed in category 5 and our trail bikes in category 4.

Geometry