ONZA Dream Builds: Vitor Büchli's BiXS Lane

If you have been following us for a while, you will have heard about our team rider Vitor Buchli. We first met him around 10 years as a little grom when he just started mountainbiking. Already back then Vitor was riding our tires. Today, Vitor is one of Switzerland's best Freeriders, and we're proud to support him with tires and beyond.

For 2022 the local young gun has secured himself a factory ride from Swiss bicycle brand BiXS. For the special occasion, Vitor has put an extra amount of thought and effort into this bike, and it turned out truly drool worthy.

 The Fundation

As with every mountainbike, a reliable and well-thought-out frame forms an important basis for the build. Being a BiXS team rider, Vitor got the chance to build a pre-series frame of their brand-new Lane platform. The Lane has been around for many years and has collected uncountable Enduro race titles. For 2023, the success story will be continued with the all new frame that Vitor will be riding this season. In addition to the completely fresh and new appearance, the frame received the longer, lower, slacker treatment as well an internally routed cables through the headset. For this specific dream build, additional modifications to the cable-routing have been made.

Currently, the complete BiXS team is testing the frame with the same paint job. To make his ride stand out even more from the team and to make it truly his won, AMS frame protection in a Leopard pattern was applied to complete the look and protect the valuable frame from any damage.

Squish

A duo consisting of Fox's heavy duty 38 Performance Elite Enduro forks with 170 mm of travel and the Float X2 Performance Elite air shock handle even the biggest hits. Vitor doesn't know the exact numbers of his suspension settings, but we can state the obvious; it's set up pretty stiff and the rebound damping is a lot quicker than we could comfortably run. Bottom out resistance and absorption of big hits are definitely more important to him than small bump sensitivity.

Control Center

The cockpit is remarkably clean and tidy. This special look is mainly due to the specific requirements of Vitor as a freerider, because to be able to perform barspins and other tricks, it is essential to be able to turn the handlebar multiple times. Shifting and dropper post duties are handles by Sram and Rock Shox GX and Reverb AXS wireless components. Hydraulic brakes don't come in wireless configurations (yet) so some more effort had to be made to include them into the concept. The front brake is routed internally through the steerertube by using an Intend Smarty expander and drilled topcap. Another German piece of engineering and manufacturing is the Trickstuff Trixer used for the rear brake: It's a hydraulic gyro that fully disconnects the brake hose for infinite barspins. Using this part on the BiXS Lane required some modifications on the frame: brake hose routing was changed from internal to external with stick-on cable guides and “gyro tabs” had to be drilled and riveted into the frame by the BiXS engineers. Don't try this at home! Steering is handled by nothing else than Freeride superstar Brett Rheeder's own brand Title with the ST1 35 mm stem and an AH1 35 handlebars in 780 mm wide and 35 mm rise.

Wheels 

Already early in the testing phase, it was identified that Vitors moves put an extra amount of stress on his wheels. For this reason, he chose a reinforced DT Swiss HX1501 E-MTB wheel set. Wrapped around the strong rims, Vitor trusts our rugged Porcupine RC in Gravity Casing and Tubeless Sealant, with additional damping fine-tuning provided by Cushcore.

“After riding the Porcupine RC for over two years, I have to say that I have found my tire of choice for every ride, weather, and trail. It may not be the fastest rolling option up the hill, but it's a weapon on the downhills. I have never ridden off camber sections and rough terrain with more confidence than with the Porcupine RC”

Brakes

As someone who loves to ride down steep tracks fast, having a lot of stopping power is essential for Vitor. Sram's Code RSC 4-poston brakes with metallic pads on meaty 200 mm rotors are handling braking duties even in the most heated situations. Extra style-points are hidden in the oil-slick titanium bolts of the levers and calipers.

Drivetrain

Nothing too special going on here, pedaling isn't Vitor's favorite bit of mountainbiking either… Both reliable and reasonably priced, a full GX AXS drivetrain found its way onto the bike. A set of Crankbrothers Stamp pedals with Ti-axles provide the right amount of shoe grip.

Driver's Seat

To lose another cable up front, Rock Shox's wireless Reverb was the dropper of choice while Title's JS1 dirt jump saddle provides comfort when pedaling, grip for tricks and cushioning for harsh landings.

Full Partlist

To stay up to date with Vitor's plans, stay tuned for future blogs on our webiste and follow him on social media here.

Pictures: Jaques Merkle