Bearorso

The snapped chainstays on the Forbidden Supernaught - Yikes! And, I think the rider is wearing knee braces outside his pants - mine, are Always protected by pants - CTIs cost a bit too much to have hangin' out in the breeze. And fools going bare handed, at World Cup level - " But I Need Sensitivity! " - let's see how sensitive your hands after tearing them apart / losing a fingernail or two, or more.....

This is not a reply centered just on freerideglory's post. It was rumored that with the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, that there was a push for DH to be included. And, much of it was from the major TV people. As, there isn't a huge ( there are some , so, I'm Not blindly slagging other sports here folks) amount of sports that are 'spectacular' in the Summer Olympics. And, DH was coming on strong, in that respect. There was an area - the Wollongong Escarpment - that was close to Sydney, and, with potential for quite a run. I used to go there with my Team Riders and mates, (I'm not from there - Blue Mountains is my area) and do a lot of runs - though, even then people were getting 'nabbed' for riding in , what I think was / is a Water Catchment area. But, I heard that t was largely nixxed by the Cycling Authorities - both OZ and UCI - those 'types' that (still) think even XC MTB is 'not worthy'. That, and I think, getting back to the argument put up so often about too many Athletes / Sports/ Event, really killed it. I'm not sure if I'm correct, but didn't XC ( and BMX?) get in through at least one arcane Cycling event ( track Event?) being dropped, so, effectively, XC and BMX didn't 'add' more athletes / Events? I may be wrong, but it's been a 'Tale' that has been around for more than 2.5 decades now. I myself, will Never forgive the B***ards that stopped DH from being at the 2000 Olympics.

The 'Floating Rear Brake ' driving into / onto part of the linkage....... well, that's just bizarre. I can't see the definite attachment point on the new frame set, but it could now be directly to the frame - where , in my extensive experience with floating rear brakes, on both my Bicycle and Motorcycle frames , over Decades, is the way to do it. As I said, it, feeding brake force into a linkage arm, is bizarre. However, the 2nd generation has a Very Good idea in making it both Gear Box and 'normal' BB compatible. It's a 'heavy' frame - as mine are, so, I doubt it's amounts to much of a penalty in weight, from the first iteration. Indeed, I think it will be lighter than the first frame - Kudos to that!

Well, there's a 'USP' for chain adjustment! I'll give that to Cjell - something 'different', indeed. Having to undo pinch bolts, one on the Left, and 2 on the RH side (not to mention the brake torque arm - though the wing nut I see should make that easy - just another 'thing' with a Coaster Brake, and, I have no real problem with those, with having a fair few old BMX Bikes with them from my youth, hanging in my workshop), then having to pull back the wheel manually. I guess that's not that hard with just dealing with chain wear, but gearing changes? - well, I'd say having another chain ready for that would be on the cards. Me, I'd make a slotted drop out - others would buy one. BMXers are familiar with Adjusters, that are also very effectively stop the wheel from pulling forward, so, it's still very simple. Each to his own , though, 'sway back' suspension geometry on a single pivot is something I really, Really dislike. But, the short travel of the BMXer, with a 'hard' shock, would negate that to a large extent.

I've known Sean for more than 3 decades now - though, very far from closely. His first efforts, way, way back when, with quite unique / lovely Rim brake systems, were very impressive - though, I'd already gone the Disc brake route ( and, endured the garbage most early ones were) I've watched his Devlin Cycles efforts from afar, and have always been impressed by his frames, of any type. They are Free of the near endless BS of the MTB market, and in nearly every aspect, I admire and agree with his efforts - and, I'm Bloody Hard to impress, being so committed to simplicity of design. I only caught up with him at the Spoken event this year, and enjoyed talking to him, and, found his bikes to be lovely things. I've joked with him that I gave Gas Torches and Brazing / Silver Soldering up in the 70s, changing to TIG in my (very) early teens, but, all that counts is good, well perfect, execution of your work, and the strength and durability that comes from that. And, Sean's workmanship Is Superb - he Is a Master Craftsman! Heck, he's even got me thinking of getting my swingarms forward pivot section 'Printed'....... but nah, I'm old, and, weirdly, I really enjoy all the fabrication that I do, pretty much by hand. Heck, even my Tubular Sports Sedan Chassis work is largely , shall I say, 'Analogue'. I'm Old, and Ornery. My 12 to 15 frames a year, and my MC and Car chassis work is ( more than ) enough for me, nowadays. Once again, I cannot speak highly enough of Sean and his Devlin Cycles efforts - You can't go wrong with his bikes. Great stuff, Sean!

As I just posted on Vital, I've made and used such things for decades now. No need for 'printing', just use some Nylon plate / Breadboards you can find at any Supermarkets, and use the hole saw you want for the diameter you require. Or, if you've got more than a basic garages tooling, some Delrin bar stock, parted off to the thickness required. Then, contour the resultant Disc, to the shape you desire, from full circle, to 'whatever'. Of course, for the average person, it depends on if you have / what sort of bar plug you have. I make my own, so it's easy for me - I make frames / chassis. I doubt there's even the remotest chance of a patent being able to be acquired for such a thing, and, these will come out for far less cost, through being made in 'the usual places'. So, Joe / his partners in this, will probably have a limited time for sales at the price they have. Good luck to Him / Them, in the meantime.

I'm disappointed in the travel offered - I had hoped that with this fork, Fox would offer a 190mm travel version to match the Zeb. I'm an old Downhiller, and Life Long Dirt bike rider - I want the travel , or near enough ( and I ran a 9" Mr Dirts way back in 96, and, modified WB's to 225mm) of a DH bike as, despite my age, I ride very aggressively. This is said to be the same axle to crown length as the 170mm 38, so, going by that, and the A/C of the 38, you'd have a 203.?mm 190. Within a poofteenth of the minimum AC advised for 40s. Though, the extra travel would almost certainly bring to the weight, or just past it, of 40s. As it is, I run 40s on my E Frames, but, I'd like to have less of a chance of hitting my knees on the upper crowns - I'm missing my LH kneecap, and have knee joint replacements. Something I also have wanted, is getting rid of the LH side Lower Adjuster protuberance, for something far lower profile / recessed. I've destroyed not just the removable cap, but also the actual adjusters, a few times over the last, near on / over 20 years of Fox running Fox 40s. Well, I've had some 44s (look them up, Kids), since the early 80s

Indeed, but they are a Massive company - even a big success in MTB, will be but a drop in the Ocean for them.

As a quite Old person, and a Motorcyclist - predominantly of Ducatis when it comes to the tarmac, (and I have quite a few Goldline Brembo sets used on them that I've accumulated over a few decades), the Red is a bit of a disappointment. The 'Goldline' finish has long since been surpassed by the Anodized Dark Grey , Silver and Nickel finishes among MCs, but I still love the it. As I wrote, I'm old, and a bit set in my ways. But, hey, they have something like 6 colours available with their Car Racing Calipers, so there may be a few options. Can't wait to see some reviews - I'm in need of new Brake sets - but I think it's going to be Hopes for this Bear, right now.

You can see Gilchrists' start at 1.50.40 in the video posted earlier on this site While it didn't get him the win, being .8+ back, it also didn't put him the 3.? in front of 3rd. But, it certainly wasn't a 'clean' start, with him not opening the the start rod with his front wheel. I think his foot might have done so, but I'd not argue against what some have said that it was his rear wheel. A long time ago, I'd watch jokers try to wheelie the start to have the rear wheel open, but that was a waste of effort, as far as I was concerned. That there is no rule regarding this, as nickmorales posted, is quite strange. Ahh, Cairns - a DH track that would never pass that old French definition - though, I'm not sure if it was a true thing - of a DH being something that could ( competitively ) be negotiated without a chain on ...... to a certain extent, I'm glad my Ortho messing up my Knee replacements stopped me from doing this years Masters there. At least they chopped off around a 100 / 150 meters from the finish, since I was last there in '96.