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Argon 18 team up with Mercedes-Benz for line of high-end bikes

The latest in a long and sometimes questionable line of bike/car brand collaborations is an effort from Argon 18 and Mercedes, with the German car maker promising "an emotional connection" for the lucky owners...

The Canadian bike brand and Astana Pro Team sponsor Argon 18 has joined forces with German auto giants Mercedes-Benz for a run of high-end bikes, with the first to roll off the production line a handsome silver endurance machine complete with the famous Mercedes-Benz emblem.  

argon merc 4

While bikes and cars don't always seem to live alongside one another in perfect harmony (see our latest near miss of the day for a quick example), those that make them would have you think otherwise; some of the collaborations we've seen in recent years include Bianchi and Ferrari, Specialized and Mclaren, Storck and Aston Martin and this frankly hideous effort from Cervélo and Lambourghini.   

Argon 18 and Mercedes isn't a partnership we'd have thought was immediately obvious, but the bike, simply dubbed the "Mercedes-Benz Style Endurance Bike", looks pretty good and has some quality build kit too; the Ultegra Di2 version has FSA Trimax 40 Carbon wheels and the mechanical version has Trimax 30's, and both bikes have a silver carbon frame with a silver-black gradient on the forks and stays. The unusual curvature to the forks is purported to offer more shock absorption and control.  

argon merc 3

We wouldn't usually post press statements in full because they're often tedious, but this one from Martin Bremer, the Senior Brand Experience Manager for Mercedes-Benz, has to be read to be believed: "The bike blends perfectly with our design philosophy of Sensual Purity. This expresses itself in the bipolarity of emotion and intelligence. The intricate design of the carbon frame in conjunction with the typical Mercedes-Benz colour scheme, provides dynamics even while standing still, thus ensuring an emotional connection. Perfectly integrated technical components and fascinating functions represent the high competence of our new partner.”

argon 18 mercedes

How a bike expresses 'bipolarity' or 'sensual purity' is anyone's guess, but we can only assume Mr. Bremer swallowed a thesaurus in the process of describing this Canadian/German masterpiece.     

We haven't got pricing info yet (let's be honest, it's going to cost a lot of money), but the Mercedes-Benz Style Endurance Bike will be available from Autumn of this year. There will also be more bikes coming since Argon 18 and Mercedes have signed a multi-year partnership.   

Arriving at road.cc in 2017 via 220 Triathlon Magazine, Jack dipped his toe in most jobs on the site and over at eBikeTips before being named the new editor of road.cc in 2020, much to his surprise. His cycling life began during his students days, when he cobbled together a few hundred quid off the back of a hard winter selling hats (long story) and bought his first road bike - a Trek 1.1 that was quickly relegated to winter steed, before it was sadly pinched a few years later. Creatively replacing it with a Trek 1.2, Jack mostly rides this bike around local cycle paths nowadays, but when he wants to get the racer out and be competitive his preferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking - the latter being another long story.  

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10 comments

Avatar
GarethS | 5 years ago
0 likes

This bike seems to be the Krypton GF with AHB aerobars (Argon 18 Nitrogen) and different paint.

It looks like n+1.

Avatar
ChrisB200SX | 5 years ago
3 likes

no help from his friends

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Mungecrundle | 5 years ago
1 like

Anyone who buys one of these after reading the sales blurb certainly has a stronger stomach than me.

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BehindTheBikesheds | 5 years ago
0 likes

He doesn't even understand what bipolarity means, it's not even close using emotion and intelligence. Calmness and uncontrolled expression would be bipolarity, basically this bullshit puts more people off straight away.

I had a Porsche Bike R frame, it was actually designed by Storck, they have had further collaborations with Porsche and indeed Aston Martin last year with their limited Fascenario.3 bike that was £16k!

There was that abortion job earlier this year by a motor racing team, Specialized have had their Venge and Tarmac Mclaren incarnations.

it'l probably be a few tweaks and nothing more.

Avatar
handlebarcam | 5 years ago
2 likes

This is a story of great social and political import. But I would say that, as my friends all cycle Porsches, so I must make amends.

Avatar
Stratman replied to handlebarcam | 5 years ago
5 likes

handlebarcam wrote:

This is a story of great social and political import. But I would say that, as my friends all cycle Porsches, so I must make amends.

 

especially as I’m sure you’ve worked hard all your lifetime

Avatar
jnthnwd | 5 years ago
4 likes

I'm waiting for the beige "taxi" special edition

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A440 | 5 years ago
3 likes

Argon 18 are great bikes, why they chose to ally with a crap car company defies explanation.

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Biggus-Dickkus replied to A440 | 5 years ago
0 likes

A440 wrote:

Argon 18 are great bikes, why they chose to ally with a crap car company defies explanation.

You have it the wrong way round...

Avatar
OrangeRidley | 5 years ago
0 likes

A) in the automotive world all press statements are like that and B) that Lamborghini p5x is awesome

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