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Hot damn Curtis

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,560
AK
I know it's passé, but that design usually doesn't impart much lateral stiffness due to the bullit/orange/morewood/mountain cycle elevated rear-triangle design. That's why Foes would often add a non-rate-changing scissor linkage on similar designs, to fix the shock sideloads and rear end. Met a guy at the races last week that was a good friend of a friend and said he is working with someone down in phoenix to come out with a line of affordable FS bikes made entirely out of steel, with pinch-bolts holding in the bearings and bearings that can be easily replaced, key factors being durability and ease of service. Not sure if he was blowing smoke or serious, but he was talking the talk. I'll know it when I see it if it happens.
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,637
5,446
I know it's passé, but that design usually doesn't impart much lateral stiffness due to the bullit/orange/morewood/mountain cycle elevated rear-triangle design. That's why Foes would often add a non-rate-changing scissor linkage on similar designs, to fix the shock sideloads and rear end. Met a guy at the races last week that was a good friend of a friend and said he is working with someone down in phoenix to come out with a line of affordable FS bikes made entirely out of steel, with pinch-bolts holding in the bearings and bearings that can be easily replaced, key factors being durability and ease of service. Not sure if he was blowing smoke or serious, but he was talking the talk. I'll know it when I see it if it happens.
Yeah I have been wondering about a few bikes now that we have wider 157mm hubs and longer back ends.
It's all well and good for companies to say that width adds stiffness but if you don't beef up the pivot area axial loading from the wheel will(IMO) make the frame flex more.
The introduction of boost front axles would have been a great time to get rid of the stupid 15mm axle, yay, axially stonger wheel, wider fork, flatter arch and pissy 15mm axle, sounds way stiffer, 15mm should have stayed on XC bikes. Bring back straight 1.5" steerers too, as bikes got slacker HTs have grown to keep stack acceptable and steerers flex a lot under fatties like me.
I'm off topic and I don't care, Rabble rabble rabble!
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,560
AK
Yeah I have been wondering about a few bikes now that we have wider 157mm hubs and longer back ends.
It's all well and good for companies to say that width adds stiffness but if you don't beef up the pivot area axial loading from the wheel will(IMO) make the frame flex more.
The introduction of boost front axles would have been a great time to get rid of the stupid 15mm axle, yay, axially stonger wheel, wider fork, flatter arch and pissy 15mm axle, sounds way stiffer, 15mm should have stayed on XC bikes. Bring back straight 1.5" steerers too, as bikes got slacker HTs have grown to keep stack acceptable and steerers flex a lot under fatties like me.
I'm off topic and I don't care, Rabble rabble rabble!
Other than changing standards, I don't care that much about the 15mm. I think the stanchions, crown and lowers all contribute and too much emphasis is made on the axle. Decent lateral stiffness is also nothing without good fore-aft stiffness, unless you like endo-ing like bikerfox. Noodle wheelsets are out there and contributing as well. I have to wonder if a 20mm "bolt through" would be as stiff as a 15mm "bolt-on" (like real old 20mm marzocchis with the 2 or 4 bolts on each side)? But back to your topic of 157, the new Pivot 429 weighs a ton, the builds come out around 30lbs...for a 120mm travel frame. It seems they did beef it up, but it's so heavy it defies the category it's intended for IMO.