Novel showstopper at the Geneva Motor Show



Geneva, Feb 28, 2006
The Mercedes-Benz press conference at the Geneva Motor Show culminated in a surprising two-wheel display when, shortly before the end of the Mercedes presentation, Thomas LaSorda, Head of the Chrysler Group, rode onto the stage on a hand-crafted high-tech tandem to pick up his boss, Dr Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of DaimlerChrysler AG and Head of the Mercedes Car Group. The two top managers then joined forces to ride to the Chrysler Group stand. This special surprise picked up on Zetsche's reference to "individual mobility" and the wide range of Mercedes-Benz products during his earlier presentation. Zetsche: "We offer our customers premium products in every market segment – from high-end passenger cars to bicycles."

The tandem, built especially for the press conference, was developed and exclu-sively hand-crafted by a company called Juchem which is based at Vorpochten in Ulmen, Germany. Juchem bikes feature custom-designed frames. And the one-off model ridden by Dieter Zetsche and Thomas LaSorda is no exception. Interested editorial teams can test the tandem used at the Geneva Motor show by contacting Tobias Müller (+49 711 17-77368).

Juchem tandem specifications
Length 2470 mm
Width 600 mm
Height 1060 mm
Wheelbase 1825 mm
Frame Juchem custom-built aluminium frame with full suspension
Fork Rock Shox Pike 426 U-Turn
Gear change Rohloff 500/14 CC EX Tandem
Brakes Magura Louise FR 210 Tandem
Rims Syncros DPS 32
Hub (front) Syncros
Cranks Stronglight Oxale
Tyres Conti Flow Pro Tection 26x2.3
Shocks DT Swiss HVR 200
Saddle Selle Italia SLR
Handlebar/stem/headset Ritchey
Paint finish AluBeam Bluetec

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Mercedes Automatic Bicycle



Safety and comfort - the Automatic Bike: Equipped with a Shimano 'Cyber-Nexus' eight-speed gear shift system and sensor-controlled lights, the bike adapts itself to the current cycling conditions. The central on-board computer mounted on the handlebar stem provides the rider with important information such as the current bike speed and the engaged gear.

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