Black Market Killswitch: In Detail

Black Market will soon release their much anticipated full suspension frame, the Killswitch. We caught up with the Killswitch's designer, Pablo Tafoya, and fired him some questions to get the inside scoop on the new bike. There is also a great video inside of Adam Hauck getting rad on the new bike!

Updated with X-Fusion suspension video!

Read on...Listen to Slayer and watch Adam Hauck shred on his Killswitch!

Black Market Kill Switch Promo

by Njdirtnick

Add to Favorites Added to Favorites Views: 32,265    Faves: 349    Comments: 38

X-Fusion worked closely with Black Market to develop the correct tune for the Killswitch's unique suspension. Watch the video to find out!

Killswitch Suspension Video

by golfkook

Add to Favorites Added to Favorites Views: 17,658    Faves: 123    Comments: 16

---

There are not many bikes that have generated as much buzz before their release as the Killswitch has. When we first showed you pictures of the prototype back in August of last year the interest was overwhelming. The new 4" travel full suspension frame can be used to shred bike parks, bring home the gold in slope style events, and as a burly short travel all-rounder that handles very similar to Black Market's already proven hardtail offerings. Despite the addition of a rear shock and pivot, the Killswitch maintains the simple and clean lines that the company's bikes are known for. We caught up with the man responsible for the new design, Pablo Tafoya, and he was kind enough to sit down and answer our questions.


The Killswitch uses your Hammer-Link rear suspension. Can you tell us what the design goals were when coming up with this system?
Carter has a great company and we've know each other for a long time. When taking on projects I don't care about the product at all, I just care about being inspired by friendships and when the relationships are great the design goal always comes out rad. The Killswitch is one of those rad results. The best goal when designing the Killswitch is being aware that it's a service, not a product. It's the result of listening to both the environments of riding and manufacturing and when you do it right those environments design the product... not you. I'm not a fan of swoopy soft shapes so the all-business, military style shows. The Killswitch is a gun in bike form and it matches the identity of BlackMarket and Carter. Geometry is by far the most important environment to listen to so when we finalized it 'one' of the trillions of ways to compress a shock came to light.



The rear suspension uses a floating rear shock, why?
The Black Market Identity fueled the idea of getting away from the other common straight push suspension solutions. Running a BB pivot location and the environment this bike's going to be put through fueled the position and rate of the linkage. I like hiding high tech functions into the bike and not flaunting them for marketing. Like diamonds on the inside of the ring rather then outside.


One of the design goals was to make a full suspension bike that handles similar to a hardtail. What are the features of the Killswitch that help this?
Geometry. Its constraint controls the functions of everything designed into Killswitch. Without a deep study into what creates confidence for the rider there can be no technology that assists it. Like all suspension bikes, without great geometry and good suspension tuning there is not one suspension design on the planet that can make up for them.


The rear end pivots around the BB. Was this done only to make running single speed easier, or was this another reason?
I did studies of both a BB and mid-pivot locations and for the intended purpose of the bike the BB won out for stiffness, simplicity and the single speeding...

The Killswitch uses a custom tuned X-Fusion RCX shock - Can you tell us what the custom tune accomplishes?
The compression and rebound settings are the most significant decisions Carter makes with X-fusion and they did a great job of helping it get to where the bike is now. So to really answer that... it accomplished maximizing confidence.



There are a lot of small, but smart details, on the Killswitch (replaceable threaded inserts, nylock nuts, ect).
How many revisions have there been throughout the design process from start to finish? One revision came though with the nuts and bolts and that came from what I did with the Corsair designs. We just can't trust ourselves with being nice to threads so everyone else gets nice countersunk hardware.

Where would a rider benefit from using a Killswitch over a hardtail?
Options. The option to cross over to more than one type of riding though purchasing a single bike. Again designing and bringing a product to market is a service to everyone who buys the product. This service is like being a sushi chef... handing the rider a plate with both California and Spicy tuna rolls.

Is the Killswitch strictly a slope style slayer, or can it be ridden effectively as a short travel aggressive f/r bike?
It just fits into riding FR, but keep your eyes peeled for something new....


Who are the riders that we can expect to see shredding on the Killswitch?
Adam Hauck, Carter Holland, everyone who's pre-ordered and ME! I can't wait to get my production one from Carter!


Killswitch Features:

-Handmade from a custom 6061 T6 tubeset with precision CNC'd linkages & yokes.
-Black Market's own proprietary Hammer-Link design with 100mm travel.
-Replaceable Nylock nuts and threaded inserts milled into the frame at all bolt locations and shock mount points protect against over zealous mechanics and owners a like.
-Custom Killswitch tuned X-Fusion 02 RCX shock.
-All hardware and bearings are easily accessible for ease of maintenance and repairs.
-Blk Mrkt Cartridge Zero Stack headset (included) design to allow for the lowest front end possible. Replaceable BB shell also acts as massive 40mm pivot axle keeping things stiff and true.
-Replaceable drop outs in horizontal (included), vertical or Maxle versions(sold separately). Sizes: S (21"), M (22") & L (23")


Killswitch Vital Statistics:

TT - 21", 22", 23"
CS - 16"
SO - 26"
BB - 12.5"
WB - 41.25"
Shock - 6.5" x 1.5"/ 165mm x 38mm air
HA - 69 degrees
Weight - 7 lbs. 10 oz. with shock
Travel - 4"

Seat clamp - 34.9mm (included)
Seat post - 30.9mm
ISCG 05 mounts
Internal headset

Colors: Flat Black, Flat Grey, Flat Purple.

For more info or dealer inquiries please e mail Mondo@BlackMarketBikes.com or visit BlackMarketBikes.com