Lal Katana
In 2021, Canadian company Lal Bikes introduced an innovative drivetrain for a high-pivot mountain bike. In the ‘Supre Drive’ system, the functions of a rear derailleur (shifting and tensioning the chain) are separated, and the traditional and maddeningly vulnerable derailleur cage is eliminated. The plan was to license Supre Drive to bike manufacturers, but uptake was slow; the drivetrain demands that a frame be built specifically to accommodate it. Happily, though, Lal founder Cedric Eveleigh recently had a ‘Screw it – we’ll do it ourselves’ moment, and the company’s first production bike, the Katana, is available to pre-order now.