bluechair84

It's interesting that in this short article, there is no mention at all on how technology might give certain riders the edge - yet this is one of the big arguments against DH racing in the olympics. If we can have a debate on who will win which is based on talent alone and assumes that bikes offer only marginal gains, it goes some way to dispelling the notion that DH wins are too heavily 'bike' reliant. I want to see complety different manufacturers in the top 5.

Well, when I say 'no market', I mean comparatively. I'm sure someone somewhere will buy a steel FS... The advantage to that model is there's very little competition. As for fashion vs function, people seem to think that steel is more malleable and gives a better ride quality. That and the famous Tange / Reynolds tubing has given it a cult status. But you can build compliance into alu frames (not me personallly though!), it depends on how it's engineered. You could choose which ever material is most fashionable, and have it do what you want of it, it just has to be designed right.

Unfortunately, building in steel doesn't really give you a final product that you could sell on. Great for one offs, protos or build-to-order, but there's just no market for a steel FS. I only know of Cotic who make a steel FS frame... Mark, I'll get in touch sometime to see what your project is like!

I'm at work at the mo so can only think of some of the geo off the top of my head - but 67deg head (might change to a 66.5), 69deg seat. Suspension is designed around an air shock - it has a rising leverage ratio to counteract the air spring's rising rate and make the whole thing a bit more linear. At the moment it's a 150/175 adjustable frame, the 150mm setting will lower the BB height and steepen the head (when fitted with a 150mm fork) to something around 68. Oh and the final thing, the horozontal dropout is quite lengthy so you can adjust the rear centre to change the handling from 'pop and kick' to 'long and planted' using a few extra links in the chain. It's meant to be one frame that, with a few component changes, can go from AM to UK DH. Basically, the bike I want is something I can take to the Alps with a pair of Revs, Lyriks, Flows and Crests, then swap around in under 20min to be a trail bike, or DH bike. Frame material will be carbon. I'm currently in the process of making the moulds for the prototype but a full time job kinda makes this a slow process.

I have designed a frame and am currently at the point of tooling up for the prototype. I hope the proto will be ready for Summer testing, and a final version ready to showcase at the Bristol Handbuilt bike show next year. When putting my ideas down, a gearbox bike really was the only way forward for primarily the reason you failed to mention in the article - chainline. Traditional deralieur drivetrains are prohibited by squat characteristics - you can never have a fully free rear end because of growth in the rear-centre (with jack-shaft bikes being the exception). Zerode showed what can be done with an Alfine and it's a path I intend to follow. One problem I found whilst researching, is that Pinion won't supply to small / custom manufacturers. This is a real shame as going down the Alfine route has made part of the design difficult to resolve. Gearboxes will have their day yet; when they find their way into larger segments of the MTB community, and increasing market percentages encourage more manufacturers to invest time and money in them.

Nice, a bike kitted out with Brabus brakes! But... what's with all the Merc shots?

Even more interesting if you search the exact phrase: https://www.google.ch/search?q=looks+like+a+trek+session&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:de:official&client=firefox-a#client=firefox-a&hl=en&rls=org.mozilla:de%3Aofficial&sclient=psy-ab&q=%22looks+like+a+trek+session%22&oq=%22looks+like+a+trek+session%22&gs_l=serp.3...32702.34847.0.35088.2.2.0.0.0.0.101.163.1j1.2.0...0.0...1c.1.11.psy-ab.dSI9eaiCmqA&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.45580626,d.ZWU&fp=23216259250079d7&biw=1228&bih=623 No wait, it wasn't interesting...