Black Market Killswitch - Interbike 2009
by Mike Levy
Oct 2, 2009
About a month ago Black Market released a bit of info as well as some pictures of their new Killswitch 4" travel frame. Interest in the new bike was off the charts but there really wasn't that much information to share at the time. Fortunately for you guys we were able to catch up with Carter Holland of Black Market while in 'Vegas to give us the lowdown in his new machine. Inside we have loads of new pictures, as well as Carter on video explaining the new Killswitch!
Read on...
Read on...
Watch the video and let Cater tell you about his new ride!
Five years after blowing up the street and DJ scene with his original Mob frame, Carter Holland is back again with the new Killswitch. Built with the same simple lines and massive stand over of their Mob and Riot frames, the Killswitch is a 4" travel aluminum bike that is designed to take a beating and outlast you.
Pablo Tafoya (designer of the Killswitch) and Carter worked together to come up with a machine that has all the benefits and forgiveness of a 4" park bike, but lost none of the fun and playful feel that the original Black Market bikes are known for. The 6061 T6 aluminum frame has one of the lowest stand over heights of any FS frame, something that all prospective riders of the Killswitch will surely appreciate. The new bike's chainstays sit a 16", still shorter than some other companies hardtail offerings!
More details:
1) The Hammer-link's custom full floating suspension "rate" guards the rider from(or fights) the large scale(worst) impacts that come with pushing the limits of DJ, trail and street.
2)The Hammer-link dumps "traditional" for a full floating system and new level of compact, sleek construction...this gives the rider the best performance possible when progressing to larger and more difficult styles of riding.
3) The Killswitch's function and "look" are meant to give you confidence over the growing traditional copies of copies on the market.
• TT - 21" Actual or 22.25”
• CS - 16"/406mm
• SO - 26"/ 660mm
• BB - 13"/ 330mm
• WB - 41.25"/ 1047.75mm
• Shock - 6.5" x 1.5"/ 165mm x 38mm air
• HA - 69 standard with the option of 68 or 70 with concentric headset
• Weight - 8 lbs./ 3.62 kgs. with shock
• 26.5 lbs./ 12 kgs. as shown
• Travel - 4"
• Seat clamp - 34.9mm (included)
• Seat post - 30.9mm
• ISCG 05 mounts
• Internal headset
Options: Concentric headset, Replaceable drop-outs available in: Maxle Horizontal or 10mm QR
Colors: Flat black with gloss grey and black sticker kits, Flat grey with gloss grey and black sticker kits, Flat purple with gloss purple and black sticker kits.
Versatility is the name of the game with the Killswitch. Knowing that the new bike will be used to tackle many different kinds of terrain, from skate parks and dirt jumps or bike parks and local mountains, it was decided to use a 1 1/8" concentric headset to adjust the steering angle to suit the terrain. The Killswitch also uses replaceable dropouts that can be easily configured to run gears or single speed, as well as a Maxle option.
Head over to Blackmarketbikes.com to see the entire line of bikes and gear!
Mike Levy
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115 Comments
- + 23
freeride-shawn
(Oct 2, 2009 at 0:09)
I want one!!!
Does anyone know if it's made in the s/m factory or overseas? Not that it really matters I just didn't know those guys did anything with aluminum. Cool Bike tho!
i cant follow how the rear travel works if its connected to the rear triangle. someone fill me in =]
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Very nice... not much choice in this category, only really the cowan DS right? Maybe transition also?
really? the pink looks like it'll break at any moment, this looks to have a bit of versitility but each to their own i guess =)
cowan ds (bass)
commencial absolute sx
doberman pink
transition double
this idea isn't new they are just falling into order
commencial absolute sx
doberman pink
transition double
this idea isn't new they are just falling into order
Yeah but most of those arn't hardcore Street/Trail hardtail's. Most are short travel 4x frames. E.g the Yeti As for the Karpiel, its more like a 4' stroke shock not full travel...that bike is a monster.
intnese 4x dual slalom aswell, theres loads of them once you start thinking about it. and proberbly alot lighter than the bm
not even in the same class. why am i recieving neg props for saying id take a dobermann pink over a blk mrkt killswitch? they are pretty much identical and i prefer dobermann.
i like everything on the doberman better except the shock through the seattube.... it limits the choices... i doubt a coil shock like a dhx would even fit a pink esp with the external res.
a DHX actualy does fit in there. a pinkbike member has a pink and hes running a DHX. i think hes got like, 3 shocks sitting around that he switches every so often.
i do see your point. i thought the same thing, but i prefer this over the type that has the cut out seat tube. looks more like a park and slopestyle bike. but i dont think it would be to much of a problem.
[Reply]
i gotta be honest, i wasn't that impressed with the bike. i was thinking it was gonna be a ton better than it was. carters bike was the only light one too. every other bike that didn't have a velvet on it was easily over 30 pounds. imo they felt too heavy
That bike had Tubeless DH Michelin's and DH tubes to avoid flats at Boulder City... and still was 30 lbs. with a Vengence and 9 speeds. So.......
yeah i know. maybe i was just too stoked to see someone make a proper full suspension dj bike that i was too critical. i know my setup would be different though and i'd feel better if it were mine.
Can someone explain how this linkage works? I can't figure out how the triangle or linkage attaches to the frame. I see the concentric pivot around the bb but if that's the only place the rear triangle touches the frame wouldn't the entire triangle just fall forward?
The link up top attaches to the frame. it attaches to shock, then swingarm, then frame. Its just hidden.
The Hammer Link...
The Killswitch utilizes 2 links to actuate the shock. The first link is a dog link that attaches to a beefy CNC’d mount located under the top tube/seat tube junction. This link connects to the bottom of the “Hammer Link” which acts as a rocker both compressing and rotating the shock towards the downtube. This is what allows our design to remain compact and stiff. I hope this helps....
Carter
The Killswitch utilizes 2 links to actuate the shock. The first link is a dog link that attaches to a beefy CNC’d mount located under the top tube/seat tube junction. This link connects to the bottom of the “Hammer Link” which acts as a rocker both compressing and rotating the shock towards the downtube. This is what allows our design to remain compact and stiff. I hope this helps....
Carter
[Reply]
The lower stand over height is nice. I predict a lot of hard tail dirt riders going over to to short travel bikes like these , they're so much more forgiving. They need to improve the prices on these frames tho , 1400 bux is too much for a bike pretty much limited to dirt riding. Yea you could ride some street on it but its not nearly as efficient as a hard tail.
you could ride street on that bke aswell just adjust the pedaling platform on the shock and it will pedal and feel much like a hardtail while still absorbing big hits
thats so true. correct me if im wrong, but the atomlab forks arent considered suspension, because their only active on a hard hit. couldnt they apply the same concept to a dually frame?
yes thats what a pedalling platform does, they are designed to give optimum pedaling performance while still absorbing larger hits
super nice design looks dope and floowy for whatever soots ur needs if costs less then rampant i might think of picking one up whats the msrp in the states on this bike
f*ck yes. my dream bike list has been updated, its now, 1) Yeti 4X 2) transition double, 3) blackmarket killswitch 4) kona bass 09 5) ns metropolis 2 09. its deffinatly gonna be on the scene in a short while.
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http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2151/2431393951_d34f35aeb4_o.jpg
No you don't :-P (You scared the hell out of him)
No you don't :-P (You scared the hell out of him)
[Reply]
I don't do any DJ or slopestyle riding, but this bike is so sick it makes me wanna start! BlkMrkt makes really good stuff.
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