No, your eyes don’t deceive you, that is a full-suspension bike. Except, it appears to be missing that most vital of components on a suspension bike; a shock. Bold bikes, has got creative, and hidden the shock inside the frame, creating one of the sleekest trail bikes you are likely to have seen – the Linkin.

Bold is a new Swiss company led by Vincenz Droux and Oliver Kreuter. It claims that this bike is the world’s first to have the shock entirely integrated into the seat tube, resulting in cleaner lines and a better-protected shock – a bonus in muddy British conditions.

In typical Swiss engineering style Droux told us that he wanted to create a “retro” design utilizing the diamond frame that is “already in the head of bikers when they think of a bike”. He took advantage of improved carbon technology, large volume tubes and bar-mounted shock controls to make his vision a reality.

The designers also claim that the design gives extra stiffness due to its shorter swingarm and that it helps the shock to remain active under braking.

We like how the neatly hidden shock allows for the frame to boast low-slung, straight tubes, giving plenty of standover clearance and still leaving room to fit a water bottle. Cocooning it in carbon should keep out of harm’s way from dirt and grit and increase service intervals.

You may think that the shock is inaccessible, however Droux estimates it takes only 15 seconds to remove the shock and 15 seconds to refit it. The shock is released by a screw on the left hand side of the bike and slides out of a hole in the downtube underneath the downtube protector.

For on the fly adjustment you have to remove the downtube protector and reach in, lockout can be changed using a bar mounted remote.

Bold operate a direct sales model to anywhere in the EU. The bike comes shipped in a very cool, custom-sized coffin, which will take about three weeks to arrive. Unfortunately this Swiss tech comes at quite a hefty cost with prices starting at 7,000 Francs (£4,832).

There are 4 build options from Bold, with the XC focused Race Day and the more trail focused Early Bird and Sick Day, there is also an option to pick up a 27.5+ model if that’s your bag.

The Early Bird model (pictured) rolls on 29-inch wheels and, with its relatively slack head angle and long wheelbase, seems like a pretty sorted modern trail bike. It is well specced too, with a 130 mm Rock Shox Pike complimented by a custom DT Swiss X313 shock and an XTR groupset.

The webstore will launch on 8 May at www.boldcycles.com, but the bike won’t be available for shipping for a short while yet. They also have working prototypes for four other frames and we can’t wait to see what Bold turn out next.