CascadeComponents
Profile picture for user CascadeComponents
About Me
https://cascadecomponents.bike/
We have developed a range of linkages that cater to aggressive riding in rough terrain by delivering more traction and more bottom out resistance. If you ride for the downs, look no further!

All linkages are fully CNC'd right here in Seattle, Washington USA.

Member Summary
Stories: 1
Followers: 4
Forum topics started: 1
Forum replies: 342
Comments: 48
Lives in:

Everett, WA, USA

Member Since:
9/18/2020
Recent Activity

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CascadeComponents Added a reply to Frame Design

6/25/2025 2:00pm
The thing I run into is you can't add compression damping to aid with bottom out without negatively impacting small bump. You could have a high shaft speed because you hucked it to flat or a high shaft speed because you're flying over roots. The shock knows no different. With something pretty linear it's hard, or in some cases impossible...
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CascadeComponents Added a reply to Frame Design

6/25/2025 1:32pm
I wouldn't necessarily say anything less than 30% is unrideable. I mean the Stumpjumper 15 is rideable and that's all of like 12% or 4% if it's a 27.5 rear wheel. That said, i actually maxed out the IMU in the BYB at 16 g when testing the stock Stumpjumper.
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CascadeComponents Added a reply to The flex stay discussion thread

6/25/2025 1:22pm
This has somehow morphed from talking about undamped spring force and rebound from a flex stay to transmission of vibrations. Very different things. Any frame will transmit vibrations to varying degrees. To figure that out you have to look at natural frequency and then also the frequency of impacts on whatever trail you're riding. I would guess that most flex...
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CascadeComponents Added a reply to The flex stay discussion thread

6/25/2025 10:11am
Here is a 2D representation of a Blur rear triangle where the flex stay is converted to standard pivot. The dimensions are meaningless because I didn't scale the image to match anything real. In one image, the shock length is not dimensioned. Because it is not dimensioned, the lines are blue because the sketch isn't fully constrained. In the second...
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Skunk Works Suspension Liked a reply to forum topic The flex stay discussion thread

6/23/2025 9:15am
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I was working in the engineering department at Specialized during the whole "zertz" thing. They did absolutely nothing. We tested frames with them and without them on an MTS test bed as well as having strain gauges/etc and DAQ systems on for riding. They did not damp or mute anything, zero difference. The shape of the carbon stay itself did change how the rear end behaved when compared to a "normal" seat stay, but the zertz did nothing. It even got to the point where Specialized was ordering field test frames without them as the cost was a bit lower...
This forum topic has 150 replies.

SteveClimber Liked a reply to forum topic The flex stay discussion thread

6/23/2025 9:14am
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You are so lost in the sauce. Like 4 different people gave great explanations of how flex stays work and you dismissed every single one, but want a "data driven discussion" when you can't comprehend a literal Microsoft paint diagram. Now you don't like "buzzy undamped coil spring", this is comedy gold. @CascadeComponents Can i formally apologize for this member of the forum and please say come back to discuss things with us Vital users that don't have a crayon missing from the box.
This forum topic has 150 replies.

ThomDawley Liked a reply to forum topic The flex stay discussion thread

6/22/2025 12:40pm
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Hey folks, been reading here. Just wanted to chime in to say I fully agree that vertical compliance is a myth. At best it’s misunderstood. The idea that a frame is deflecting enough to provide any meaningful results when the tyre has over 2” of travel is daft. But marketing exists and here we are. I do believe certain materials and designs can help dissipate vibrations better than others but soft tyres and comfy grips will do much more. Lateral compliance is a real thing though. I often get asked about my ‘flex stay’ design - “will it snap”, etc...
This forum topic has 150 replies.

boozed Liked a reply to forum topic The flex stay discussion thread

6/21/2025 7:42pm
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As they say, "everything is a spring". Some "springs" are just intrinsically stiffer (and/or differently damped) than others.
This forum topic has 150 replies.

1llumA Liked a reply to forum topic The flex stay discussion thread

6/21/2025 7:42pm
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This a mtb forum where anybody is free to post or not. You are not paying Cascade components an engineering consultancy fee so they don't owe you shit.
This forum topic has 150 replies.

CascadeComponents Added a reply to The flex stay discussion thread

6/21/2025 5:44pm
The aluminum stumpy was more similar to the evo. I’d go as far as to say the flex stay stumpjumper had more similarities to the epic than the rest of the stumpjumper line. I think one of the things I’ve been trying to convey is that design choices for a bike on a whole drives the sensation you are talking...
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CascadeComponents Added a reply to The flex stay discussion thread

6/21/2025 4:49pm
Literally the entire bike will flex when you put load on it. Stress and strain go hand in hand. It’s just a question of how much and that entirely comes down to how you design the frame. You could make something that has no flex stays or suspension and is an absolute noodle very easily.
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CascadeComponents Added a reply to The flex stay discussion thread

6/21/2025 3:23pm
This will be my last attempt at explaining why rebound damping at the shock will control the flex stay. If you take the blur rear triangle and attach the upper pivot to the lower pivot with a rigid member, you are forming a triangle and locking out the flex stay. If the shock were to be locked at any given...
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joshmtb Liked a reply to forum topic The flex stay discussion thread

6/21/2025 2:45pm
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Buckling is a well defined phenomena in engineering and is distinct from the tube compressing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckling Short of saying trust me bro I'm an engineer, there's not many more ways i can think to explain this 🤣
This forum topic has 150 replies.

CascadeComponents Added a reply to The flex stay discussion thread

6/21/2025 9:59am
The arc I drew is just a random arc that would deflect under load without require movement of the shock. The sum of the chain stay and seat stay force vectors is equal and opposite to the vertical force the axle. So the green arrow you added in the first image isn’t a thing. This is pretty much a statics...
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CascadeComponents Added a reply to The flex stay discussion thread

6/21/2025 9:19am
When you apply a vertical load to the axle, the chain stay is largely in tension and the seat stay is largely in compression. In the case of the Blur, the seat stay is the bit that flexes. It happens to be one of the ones where the flex designed to occur over the length of the seat stay as...
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CascadeComponents Added a reply to The flex stay discussion thread

6/20/2025 7:38pm
The strange behavior at the shock you can see there is due to the tire. In my opinion most, if not all, the suspension performance gripes that people have with flex stay bikes is mostly due to the fact that they are typically less gravity oriented so suspension performance for descending is not prioritized. The Stumpjumper 15 and the Stumpjumper...
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