MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation

IDK- I've never done that, but I imagine it's a quick way to increase stiffness without tooling changes etc.

Like they could CNC 3 swingarms- leave one stock, wrap one a little and wrap one really thick- let greg do some blind testing.

I actually wouldn't put it past Loic to have these buttons on his bike literally just to play mind games and make the other racers nervous. Like, buttons not even hooked up to anything, nothing special under that shock cover, all just to f*ck with people.

CNC parts are pretty stiff compared to cast parts or tubing of the same diameter.  The new Atherton S170 is crazyyyy thin CNC rear end and riders still say it’s more rigid than their carbon bike. 
 

I’m just at a loss for what’s better, soft rear end or stiff. Maybe just depends on the track, rider weight and style of riding. 

You can have an open section that's still great in bending. I beams for example. Torsion is where having a closed out tube is very advantageous. Vertical and horizontal stiffness might be up there, but if the whole rear end is twisting then closing out the cross sections would be a good approach.

Carbon on aluminum can be a nightmare. Galvanic corrosion is extreme compared to just about anything else if they aren't isolated.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7E4yfFO4-f/?igsh=bGExa3JoZWFkNnp5

I can't figure out how to embed but this is a neat bike to come across my Instagram feeds. I'd be curious to see the full thing, and how it's different from DW6

Click the little play/youtube icon and paste Insta link:

Thanks! It was right there all along.

here we go with the video

It's still just two short links connecting the chainstay to the BB area. One of the links just happens to be mounted to a bearing that's bigger than the link. All DW6 bikes I've seen have the lowermost of the two short links oriented such that the pivot on the front triangle is below the one on the chainstay. The way this is set up, the front triangle pivot point is above the chainstay pivot. I'm not sure how the DW6 patent is written. That could be enough to differentiate them. That's the fun thing with patents... you can patent just about anything, but if you get too specific it doesn't prevent anyone from doing something very similar.

I was under impression Weagle patented the attributes of his system (ar/as/pk/lr) rather than the specific layout. This may be different for dw6 and Orion.

Since we’re talking pocket machined stays and chainstay mounted short links. Behold, the future happened already, 30 years ago:

This looks cool, but the "It slightly isolates the axle path from the anti-squat valve resulting in a stronger pedal platform with less pedal kickback" sounds like BS. The only way to truly decouple anti squat from the axle path is with something that alters the chain tension, like an idler pulley

A good example from the DW patent would be the dependent claim:

"4. The compressible linkage suspension system according to claim 1, wherein said the tube of said seat is located behind a damper unit of said suspension system."

You instantly differentiate yourself from this if you design a frame with a shock tunnel since the seat tube is no longer behind the damper.

Another odd bit from it is:

"7. The compressible linkage suspension system according to claim 1, wherein said links are located on the side of said frame member."

I bet someone could have placed links between the frame similar to a SC frame and said the links are no longer on the side of the frame so it's now different. All in all, it was a pretty broad patent and I wouldn't be surprised if there were things that violated it that were never pursued. It pretty much patented all four bar bikes with decreasing anti squat throughout travel. 

The DW6 patent likely has some things related to kinematics but likely also has things defining the physical layout. If it were to have something saying "A rear frame member connected to a link wherein the connection between the link and rear frame member is located above the connection between the link and forward frame member", then flipping a link gets you out of it. If anyone has a link to that patent please share. I'm curious what all is included.

Is it even patented? 

CNC vs. tubes and what's stiffer is a bit more nuanced than just CNC vs. tubes and their diameter. Cross section shape plays a big role. Material thickness and material choice also play a big role. Heck, material orientation matters when it comes to carbon fibre.

True about open sections and bending and I beams. I beams are practical to build upon (flat surfaces) and easy to manufacture though, that's why they are a thing, they are not as good in torsion where any enclosed shape will be better. That and buckling, enclosed shapes resist that better than open sections. 

True galvanic corrosion is a problem between aluminium and carbon, but like I said, should be fine for a weekend or two. 

what do we reckon those Fox sensors are doing on the Frameworks bikes? 

Sensing how fuckin fast Asa's going so they know how much to turn everything down for us mere mortals

Pretty much guaranteed to be an accelerometer/IMU unit. I have similar units on DAQs and you can see how the acceleration spikes are precursors to peak shaft speeds.

If the damper adjustment is done by a fast responding solenoid you could run the damper more open in the base setting and pile on HSC during very high impacts.

If you are using multi-axis accelerometer gyros you might also be able to play a bit with compression during high speed corners.  

Getting predictability out of these systems can be challenging so I suspect whatever logic is used is probably on the conservative side to avoid disrupting the rider too much. 

I doubt it has 'real time' damping adjustments. More likely just over rides the firm/lockout mode when you hit a big enough bump.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7I8ymPNH2u/

TJ from Ohlins Racing confirms that the secret rear shock on Bruni's proto DH bike is using a electronic system.

This is what they tried with the V1 Live Valve and it was generally not well received for gravity riding. There are no technical obstacles to a more refined system. Notably they now have the axle sensors which is a much better input to use than relying on shock sensors. 

Ronan Dunne mentioned in a post-race interview with Sven Martin that he ran the new Maxxis "High Roller 3" on the front for his winning run.

lawlor-slowmo-super-investigation-for-nerds video from poland

I wonder if Maxxis is also using a new compound in addition to a new tread pattern.

Itd be interesting to know who was running what tires. A few top riders going down is strange. Dak in particular is used to greasy southeast tracks.

I'm no world cup rider, but I don't think those bars could have helped in that situation unfortunately

edit: didn’t know this was so divisive

Did anyone else notice the green LEDs on Loic and Finn's stem/top cap?

Was on during the woods  but off by the finish line

Dak tried to cut the one corner on an otherwise dry track that had a puddle of greasy mud on the inside... 

I wonder if this was a sneaky line he wasn't showing in practice and only attempted in finals? There didn't seem to be any tyre marks through the inside.

Was wondering about this. He was fast all weekend, some of those runs were surely greasy... his setup is working for him. Bummer about the crash in finals, awesome to see Ronan win and would've been insane to see Dak win/podium with him.

Yeah, looked like he was holding onto that line until finals and probably assumed it would be dry as alot of the track was drying up but that one spot looked oddly greasy compared to the surrounding dirt. 

Yes, I did take a pic of of my screen because they've disabled screenshots and I haven't figured out how to get around it (yet).

The white stuff is light reflecting off water/mud

"press this button if you want tacos at the finish line"