Reality Redesigned: The GAUNTLET Ep2: Fork Sleeve

84 Comments

65 7

saturnine (May 2, 2012 at 0:05)

the reason that these don't work is because as soon as something gets in behind the sleeve it's going to maim the stanchion and make it worse than having no sleeve at all.

23 4

mtb24pride (May 2, 2012 at 0:10)

Yes, or if it's not made perfectly and slightly rubs the stanchion it will damage it in little time. Also if there is a really big impact like hitting a rock during a crash, the plastic might not be strong enough to prevent a dent. This would be useful against scratches, however if it rubs on the stanchion itself or if what you said happens, this isn't really something interesting. I personally wouldn't buy one.

40 4

nakeddave (May 2, 2012 at 0:13)

100% agreed, there is a reason fork manufacturers stopped fitting ribbed (F.H.P) boots over the stanchions nearly 10 years ago!

chyu (May 2, 2012 at 5:47)

Waiting for design like Dorado guard.

cyberhawk (May 2, 2012 at 7:11)

/\/\ right.. if anything would work that would be it.. just fixed guards on the lowers.. but even then i would seriously hessitate to mount this..

14 8

foshizz (May 2, 2012 at 7:16)

It's a concept for a reason. There are going to be some flaws.

nouser (May 2, 2012 at 7:29)

I agree with you foshizz, it's looking at an issue from a different angle which you have to give props to the designer for. Coming up with a new idea is not easy and it's with collaberation with others that ideas are made better or determined not to work. From an idea standpoint, it sounds like the judges like it but they don't necessarily have the perspective of a rider - both perspectives are important in innovation. I am curious to see which other designs are going to be in this top 9.

RaleighVoid (May 2, 2012 at 10:43)

@cyberhawk may i correct your design, put the guard(s) on the crown then (a) less unsprung weight and (b) the guard would not sit higher than the crown when in sag - think if you bottom out and steer 90 degrees at the same time.. would look so UGLY though

cyberhawk (May 2, 2012 at 11:23)

true ! even better idea.. but i was mostly thinking about DC forks.. i am going to tinker something next month.. maybe from pvc pipe or something..

TobeyNicht (May 2, 2012 at 13:40)

If the sleeve has got too much friction, your performance and your responding behaviour (?) will be very bad.

RaleighVoid (May 2, 2012 at 17:43)

well i'm gonna paint my stanchions with hammerite, i've heard it protects stuff

MeAlex (May 3, 2012 at 5:50)

The reason manufactures stopped fitting boots is that we are all victims to fashion. sure somewhere like sunny eastern US where mud and rain is little more than myth they don't make scene and look silly, here in the wet, muddy, sandy station eating uk the really do.

38 10

chazdog (May 2, 2012 at 2:59)

This competition gets more stupid as time progresses. Its frankly a bit of a joke now, and more a source of entertainment than inspiration.

14 7

Stewartlowe (May 2, 2012 at 8:40)

How has your entry done?

10 9

chazdog (May 2, 2012 at 8:59)

Cant enter from the uk i think, and i dont fancy handing over the rights to any of my stuff for the chance of winning a bike

nouser (May 2, 2012 at 9:11)

You don't hand over any rights by entering the contest. You have the chance to be in direct contact with the guys at Straitline Components, Cane Creek Cycling Components and Intense Cycles as they judge your design. The rights of the design fully belong to the designer.

11 5

truckiller (May 2, 2012 at 9:41)

chazdog, it's so great to see that you put 2 minutes of your precious time into knowing what this competition is all about so you can make somewhat intelligent and informed comments on it..... Oh wait, you didn't and it's very apparent.

10 5

chazdog (May 2, 2012 at 9:50)

lol, I did when it came out, then, I will admit, lost interest when the uk wasn't involved. Have just been majorly dissapointed with the level of 'innovation' and quality. It seems childish at best, most of the ideas are bearely developed to a point that they could be considered viable concepts, let alone designs. For a competition with so much potential, it's been a serious let down, this is a finalist, and its fundamentally flawed in many ways.

11 2

joe701 (May 2, 2012 at 12:34)

Didn't realise the UK wasn't involved. Explains all the shitness.

RaleighVoid (May 2, 2012 at 17:45)

that is a bit harsh hahaha

21 5

measure-twice-ruin-once (May 2, 2012 at 0:11)

plus, the friction caused will make even the smoothest kashima forks sticky...

Ryanlak (May 2, 2012 at 0:50)

AHA! Just what i was thinking!

Worm-Burner (May 2, 2012 at 4:02)

Kashima Gauntlet!....

22 6

carrot-cruncher (May 2, 2012 at 1:53)

bikebasher FL (May 2, 2012 at 11:43)

Seems like all the projects that have come from this contest are complete turds! Reality redesigned my butt, more like bored in middle school shop class!

Where are the good ideas?

willy94 (May 2, 2012 at 18:41)

i agree, there were some real cool ones, the thomson -> i-beam adapter and the DF-350 were my two faves

14 5

Jimfunn (May 2, 2012 at 2:19)

uhhh, about a month too late for April Fools.....

13 6

spunion (May 2, 2012 at 0:12)

Rubber boot re-invented. No thanks.. It was not a great idea first time round..

raph11 (May 2, 2012 at 0:41)

the original was still better in the worse

markmjh (May 2, 2012 at 5:25)

sorry guys but it does seem a little of "lets think of something crap that everyone used to remove, and then we'll try and re-invent it!" I think the fact that none of the fork manufacturer’s have been fitting these for a decade sort ofsays it all really tells you all you need!

gozerthegozarian (May 2, 2012 at 21:24)

Sort of like internal routing of cables, couple FR/DH bikes started doing it in the last few years and everyone is like "whoa that's soooo cool" well if any of you have had to re cable an internally routed frame you know it can be a serious pain in the ass. It's crazy in some ways bike tech is jumping forward and in others dropping way back. But this is a cool insight into how new products are designed and prototyped, that's very cool.

measure-twice-ruin-once (May 2, 2012 at 5:40)

oh, and fork travel will be reduced by the minimum stack height af the "serpentine" guard as well....I like this idea more and more!

Slangthatthang (May 2, 2012 at 9:47)

This thing is garbage not to mention they have had these type of products for dirtbikes for 20+years

nouser (May 2, 2012 at 13:46)

these have been going on motorbikes for many many decades... looks horrible and i cant see it working due to the fact with it being plastic they will rub on the forks, there is also a slight gap at the bottom by the seals which is going to let mud and crap in so these in my eyes arnt going to work!

fedz (May 3, 2012 at 3:18)

I agree james-h, They may be ok in moto when you're 6" behind a guy at the start who's rear tyre is throwing up pebbles at you like a gattling gun but you just don't need 'em in mtb... and they look shit !

Shellemonster (May 2, 2012 at 19:44)

It's really awesome how much effort is put into testing and presenting these designs! They actually made the product to hold and observe and if you've ever designed and built something it is such a cool feeling to have your design to hold in person. I can't wait to see how they present and test the frame ideas...

bluebikesben (May 3, 2012 at 5:32)

This could work if it was removable and only used to protect the stations when the bike is being transported, for example in a car or on an uplift, it could then be removed before the start of a run and would fold up to easily fit into a pocket or a bag.

nomnom (May 3, 2012 at 14:07)

I thought that's what towels were for... Maybe for an uplift but now that most lift's are "bike friendly" who needs these.

bluebikesben (May 3, 2012 at 5:49)

live-n-ride (May 3, 2012 at 16:18)

The hole point of Kashima coating was that it's better protection than standard stations and it creates less friction and it looks F**king cool! So why put these on. Don't get me wrong I can see where the designer is coming from but they look pants! Your forks getting battered is a part of riding and tbh your rarely get chips n that but if you do it's usually gets caused by a big impact or object and theses are not going to completely stop scratches and chips. They may pro-vent but as soon as you get any thing under/inside them there going to arse rape your forks. We're ment to be going into the future, not back in time. Props to the guy who put the time into them but I don't like them. Sorry!

utopic (May 2, 2012 at 5:34)

wouldn't it be easier to use those 'shields' i saw on rental bikes? Aren't those more practical? I'm not bashing this idea, I just think that's better.

wakaba (May 2, 2012 at 8:35)

Spiralthingy might make a decent and easy to fit chainstayprotector. After 20 years of dh - never seen much wear or damage on stanchions.

cuban-b (May 2, 2012 at 9:24)

Lizard Skins made these ten years ago that just covered the bottom parts of the stanchions - and they were neoprene so it looked flat and streamlined. those didnt take off. these wont either.

bender-oz (May 2, 2012 at 16:14)

So how many of the judges have ever ridden a bike??? Any opinion given if they haven't is irrelevant and useless. "Ooh, i like the concept but i think it needs a little more work" "well i've made a non funtional model of it on my 3d printer and on closer inspection i can't get any useful insight into the design but it looks pretty cool eh..."
If it wasn't for Mike on the panel this whole thing would be pointless.

miff (May 12, 2012 at 12:42)

The concept is sound. No one would deny that protecting their stanchions is a bad idea. This however is a terrible idea. How it got this far is beyond me. Without even listening to or reading the article, it has issues which hit you in the face. I'm extremely disappointed with this whole series. It's very amateur and holy fuck can you please muzzle Mike Montgomery. He's an absolutely killer slope styler but that doesn't gift him with technical knowledge.

instigator (May 2, 2012 at 10:13)

1990 called they want their technology back

mountainbagger (May 2, 2012 at 21:15)

I like it, i think it will work. i would also add a soft material like a rubber coat to the inner of the sleeves somehow, so that they themselves dont rub if they stop an impact. I think with a good enough interface to attach on the top and bottom, this would work great.

mbb191a (May 2, 2012 at 3:15)

Tube guards are already made. fox makes them for snowmobiles, thev just need to alter it to fit better on the mountain bike fork.check the photo of my canfield jedi in my profile.

icowan (May 2, 2012 at 22:57)

what about Shiver type guards on a triple clamp? they would be attached to the lowers with guides built into the lower clamp?

JamisB (May 2, 2012 at 1:58)

I had some of them on my '98? RST MOZO PROs, fork boots were crappy then, and I can't see that ~14 years of progress has helped the situation any.

tacubaya (May 2, 2012 at 19:40)

Crappy idea and design.

Surface engineering is the answer. Cermet coatings and other HVOF/CVD coatings should result in super wear resistant stanchion surfaces.

beeboo (May 2, 2012 at 20:25)

Is this really necessary? All i could see this doing is scratching up your stanchions

treewizzard (May 2, 2012 at 4:40)

someone should tell that guy that theres some trash stuck to his bike!

mtneuhaus (May 2, 2012 at 7:13)

So many good articles on pinkbike.......why even post this? Ridiculous.

bikerocker87 (May 2, 2012 at 9:20)

wow. everyone has a lot of crap to say about these designs. before you rip on someone else, lets see what your ideas are.

fedz (May 2, 2012 at 1:40)

Ok, lets get one thing straight.... it looks shit !!!

nouser (May 2, 2012 at 11:22)

Correct! Look at the negative props on all the correct comments! Come on pinkbike! what is this!?

AloxT (May 2, 2012 at 5:24)

I'm using neoprene since years and is the best you can get. This stuff is crap.... For many reasons that are evident for everybody. Plus this stuff looks really ugly !

summit800 (May 2, 2012 at 6:33)

lizard skin fork boots work great, not sure why you would even bother with something like this. these ideas suck lately.

tsuful (May 2, 2012 at 9:11)

so much time , effort and money went into reducing friction on my forks and they introduce THAT ??? WTF

majixmatrix (May 2, 2012 at 9:24)

What if these were cheap enough to just throw on a new pair of these guards everytime you raced? Sort of like those disposable goggle shields?

nouser (May 2, 2012 at 10:49)

"Reality Redesigned" redesigned? ... this is nothing new therefore should not win.

mickeydesadist2 (May 2, 2012 at 15:09)

It wont be as good as the Lefty fork boots from Cannondale I dont think because it doesnt seem to seal out everything.

foghorn1 (May 2, 2012 at 17:16)

If you're going there, why not make the spring external and have it do the protection job?

Dan255 (May 3, 2012 at 12:47)

Not sure why people don't run the old moto Seal Savers. Simple, but work pretty well

crcristian12 (May 2, 2012 at 0:57)

Just put some neoprene fork boots on...

SmokeSignal (May 2, 2012 at 7:53)

Good Luck!!!

Antti69 (May 2, 2012 at 1:02)

Are they serious?

lely-pie (May 2, 2012 at 6:55)

does he have a wonky eye?

chris86 (May 2, 2012 at 1:01)

Ugly-up your bike!

lockwood (May 2, 2012 at 2:27)

No thanks

rustybones (May 2, 2012 at 3:35)

This is a wind up right?

Irritum (May 2, 2012 at 4:06)

I pass.

brians20 (May 2, 2012 at 6:56)

Who are these people anyway? How can someone talk about mountain bike design
when they don't even know what a mountain bike is? BAD article Pinkbike!!

iffy (May 2, 2012 at 4:34)

reality made worse...

rustybones (May 2, 2012 at 3:36)

And those two chuds presenting the video... Hold shit. Strap me in man...

diesel84 (May 2, 2012 at 5:37)

This looks like it took about 5 minutes to come up with.

SwintOrSlude (May 2, 2012 at 5:59)

April's fool? Oh... no.

Below threshold threads are hidden

mtbschrader (May 2, 2012 at 6:30)

I can't believe this is a top ten submission? A few of the peoples choice ideas were way better than this. Things like that front derailleur/chain guide actually had some potential.

nouser (May 2, 2012 at 7:29)

Another desperate attempt to create something new... (See the ridiculous single lever front and rear brake idea) these wont work. Simple as. People spend ages fine tuning their suspension set up and for this to work it has to be something that 1. doesnt allow anything at all to get in, 2. DOESNT MOVE WITH SUSPENSION COMPRESSION.

nouser (May 2, 2012 at 10:46)

Negative prop me if you want but i don't see why... my points are valid. The single lever design is bad because we need control over both our brakes separately (if you don't under stand, look at the post).
My point here is that this is an extremely elementary attempt to design something. Yes the wrap around idea will compress but it is not suited for this application. Reason being as someone has already pointed out; it will dull down your suspension feedback and make it feel sticky.
It is fitted too close to the stanchion and will rub causing damage, because there is not a full seal moisture will get in, probably containing mud/ grit and this will cause damage.
Plus, i know this is only a concept but these things look crap. Suspension manufacturers got rid of there years ago and they are only and should only be seen on kids bikes.

nitpoo FL (May 2, 2012 at 0:40)

i still like these then most of the other crappy designs. these are at least sound from an engineering standpoint imo