Bird Cycleworks aren't a company to rest on their laurels, not content with the recent release of their updated hardtail the Zero AM Boost, they are now launching a new linkage for their trail bike. Switching out the linkage on the Aeris 145 coverts it to be the Aeris 145 LT, giving it 160mm of travel and making what is a bruiser of a bike even more capable!

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Dan from Bird gave us a sneaky look at the new linkage when we visited back in November and now the cat is out of the bag, well it's loose on Instagram anyway! The 160mm linkage will be available on a new bike called the Aeris 145 LT but current Aeris owners are also able to swap out the linkage directly with their current one. The linkage upgrade kit includes the bearings and support tube and Bird say it's a 5 minute job to do the swap. 

Engineer Dan at Bird says: "The Aeris 145 suspension was designed to be a great all rounder with maximum traction around the 30-50% suspension sag point (if you look at the curves the suspension is softest in this zone). When developing the 160mm linkage I had a few different objectives. Quite a lot of our customers go for the 160mm fork options that we offer, and a few had asked for a longer travel rear option too. We wanted to do that but also wanted to lower the bottom bracket height, both to correct for the longer forks and to adapt the bike for more gravity focussed riding. Third, I wanted the suspension to be more progressive and poppy for more aggressive riders.  Fortunately, I had left enough margin in the original Aeris design to achieve all this without the rear tyre hitting the seat tube. I did have to hollow out the 160mm linkage internally which exposes the bearing support tube - this was necessary in order to give the end of the shock enough clearance with the linkage."

We found that the current Aeris 145 was slightly overdamped so hearing that the new linkage has a higher leverage ratio could be good news, meaning riders can potentially have a more 'poppy' and active suspension platform.

The process hasn't been quick, Dan said: "The final step was to stress test the frame with the new linkage and 170mm fork.  This is always the most nerve wracking part of the design process, but the frame passed and we put the new linkages into production.  It's another option for our customers and reflects our desire to give people what they want from us."

"We ended up with a 160mm frame that can take anything from 150-170mm forks, with a lower bottom bracket than the original and a more progressive shock curve. Oh, and the head angle is 64.0 degrees with a 170mm fork".

The news is pretty exciting for current and new Bird Aeris owners alike, with an easy swap out, this could be the answer to your two bike dilemma - here's two bikes in one!

For more information and to order a new linkage (or a bike) head over to the Bird website.

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