Quantcast

new Lapierre DH bikes

fluider

Monkey
Jun 25, 2008
440
9
Bratislava, Slovakia
Not sure how much pedaling you would be doing in that last 1/3 of the travel(looks more like the last 1/4 of the travel by looking at where the swingarm is), but interesting to see the suspension cycle through it's travel good find.
It's not about pedalling in the latest parts of travel, but about huge pedal-kickback when you whenever reach the full-travel on landing or hitting something.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
eh, nico seems to have always been a fan of pedal-kickback, going from his v-procesz and Sunn bikes, which both had high pivots above the rather large chainring.

Also, I have previously understood that on large hits motoX riders will rev the throttle to spin the tire and prevent/reduce bottom out/impact. I'm not a moto rider so I may be wrong/mislead. There was once a bike, the astrix halo, which attempted the same mechanism. I wouldn't be surprised if there's an ounce of that thinking in this axle path...at deep travel/bottom out, massive weight will also be on the pedals, providing limited feel to the rider, but a small "blip" of the throttle to reduce impact on landing.

Just a thought...real world effects are probably nil.
 

Pslide

Turbo Monkey
Surely, this would give huge amounts of pedal feedback. Hmmm.
Definitely. But they aren't the only one. Commencal's new bike has a pretty high pivot, and Yeti's new 303 has a vertical axle path (so I'm told by their mechanic at Windham). Seems like a few companies are less concerned with chainstay growth these days...

Maybe Orange will go back to the 222 next... :rolleyes:
 

eatmyshorts

Monkey
Jun 18, 2010
110
0
South OZ
So basically we have a dual rate change with anti-squat (using a single IC), rather than a close to linear with a standard single pivot?....

Im guessing kinda of like the original VPP - it had a pronounced sweet spot for pedaling at sag, but where it is different is that the anti squat increases through the travel rather than tapering off.. Also the chain forces pulls the wheel into the sag from topped out - eg would make for better small bump compliance as the anti-squat is minimized up to sag?
 

sirbikealot

Monkey
Sep 19, 2001
462
0
Dundas,ON,CAN
Not Sure for the rest of the world but we have our pricing:

DH 720 $5499cdn
DH 920 $7799cdn

Frame only with RC4 TBD but likely $2800cdn give or take

ps- you're about to hear about another great signing to Lapierre, that DH team is going to be stacked!
 

scottishmark

Turbo Monkey
May 20, 2002
2,121
22
Somewhere dark, cold & wet....
has anyone taken into account the fact that the swingarm may well move further in the video than a shock would allow? if that's the case the last bit of bb movement wouldn't be so relevant.


The commencal is using pressed in cups next year too - not so sure i'm keen on the idea myself
 

sirbikealot

Monkey
Sep 19, 2001
462
0
Dundas,ON,CAN
Solution to a problem that doesn't exist!
press fit bb's allow for manufacturer to design a wider stronger bb, therefore a stiffer interface and therefore less wear/tear/stress on the bb bearing vs an external system

its proven there is plenty of empirical data to back it up, many of the top road bikes in the world (Trek Madone, Eddy Merckx, Lapierre, BMC etc) all use it now because of the above mentioned reasons, both bb86 and bb90
 

no skid marks

Monkey
Jan 15, 2006
2,511
29
ACT Australia
+ for press in BB
- for that much chain growth.
But I've been totally wrong in the rest of this thread.
I'm guessing this bike may(still doubtful)bennefit the super humans at the top of the game, but not the rest of us. I'm struggling to see any bennefits. COG moving forward, hmmm, why not just ahve a higher more bump compliant pivot? What head angle's on the bike? Is moving BB to help weigh the front? I'm lost.
 

fluider

Monkey
Jun 25, 2008
440
9
Bratislava, Slovakia
- for press-fit BB
- for they killed advantages of floatingBB by making it move forward

I think pressfit BB is another case when roadies and MTB bikes shall for the sake of reliability develope other way. And LP is example of its own. The first model year of their Spicy/Zesty models have problems with pressfitBB, as the BB shell cracks . I find the idea of bearings completly housed in BB shell more natural than external bearings sitting on few milimeter of thread. Obviously, some addition must be done to have the pressfit design reliable in MTB. MTB is not about fluent constant pedalling.
 

Nagaredama

Turbo Monkey
Nov 15, 2004
1,596
2
Manhattan Beach, CA USA
press fit bb's allow for manufacturer to design a wider stronger bb, therefore a stiffer interface and therefore less wear/tear/stress on the bb bearing vs an external system

its proven there is plenty of empirical data to back it up, many of the top road bikes in the world (Trek Madone, Eddy Merckx, Lapierre, BMC etc) all use it now because of the above mentioned reasons, both bb86 and bb90
Pedaling a road bike is nothing like pedaling a DH bike.
 

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,862
4,159
Copenhagen, Denmark
Couldn't the press fit be a cheaper and or lighter alternative too. Yes, there is hype in the bike industry but I have a feeling there is some good reasoning behind this.
 

sirbikealot

Monkey
Sep 19, 2001
462
0
Dundas,ON,CAN
How does it work?

The idea is simple: a floating bb attached to the front triangle and linked to the rear swing arm, everything functioning in synchronization BUT independently

- the pivot point is positioned to eliminate pedal bob while on a flat surface (calculated using a mathematical model and confirmed in field using telemetrics)
- the interaction between the floating bb and the rear swing arm creates an equilibrium point (sag position)
- when there is a rock (for example), the movement of the floating bb brings the rear swing are back to its sag position ( approximately 5mm at max, imperceptible)
- when the rider pedals, this puls the chain tight: which provokes the movement of the bb AND because the bb is connected to the the rear swing arm, the swing arm is forced back to its equilibrium (sag position), thereby eliminating pedal induced bob
 

joelsman

Turbo Monkey
Feb 1, 2002
1,369
0
B'ham
it's not about the BB stiffness as much as the pivot can be wider allowing a stiffer rear end/ linkage setup.
 

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,862
4,159
Copenhagen, Denmark
I hope they last longer than the ones I saw this year under a certain team. 1 race weekend = 1 frame per rider. They usually had small cracks by day 2.
Maybe its just like the DT swiss rims that were made to bend to avoid puncture. The soft alu is extra suspension technology :D