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2stagebikes now up

ÆX

Turbo Monkey
Sep 8, 2001
4,920
17
NM
http://www.2stagebikes.com/page/151


after reading about how theres works
they blow through one length of travel b/f the other shock kicks in.
so any pedal feedback and they do have some come late in the 9''
when you are generally coasting. at least they gave me some credit
to the design.

alex
 

ÆX

Turbo Monkey
Sep 8, 2001
4,920
17
NM


it uses the principal of one shock for stutters then that one

bottoms it goes to the other for big hits. but it was more

to get a lower leverage back when they didn't make 3'' stroke

shocks. the kestal doesn't have two pivots.

this 2 stage has two but is not making full use of them not allowing

the shock to work at the same time. but all you would have to do is

run = presure in them.

I have always like the 2x4. the only thing holding it back in terms of

sales was my material.


they will sell a lot of these and not just in NZ!
 

JAB

Chimp
Feb 18, 2004
61
0
Almost there...
That is one of the coolest bikes I've seen in a long time. I have some concerns though:

First, if the lower shock compress only after the upper one is bottomed out you probably will go through a lot of shock seals/bushings (bottoming out is never good).

Second, judging from the little suspension mapping video on the introduction page (and of course basic suspension knowledge) you seem to get two VERY different axel paths depending on wich shock being compressed. When the upper shock is being compressed you seem to get a vertical/forward axel path (low pivot-point single pivot design). The second shock gives a rearward path (high pivot-point single pivot design). This could make potentially make for some funky cornering caracteristics.
 

JAB

Chimp
Feb 18, 2004
61
0
Almost there...
BCD didn't you make a frame with two shocks that allowed the rear wheel to move in any arc within a confined space or am I thinking of another guy??
 

ÆX

Turbo Monkey
Sep 8, 2001
4,920
17
NM
JAB said:
BCD didn't you make a frame with two shocks that allowed the rear wheel to move in any arc within a confined space or am I thinking of another guy??
\

yes i did the very first two axle path bike. making a zone the wheel can move in. some say this guy ripped me off. he is using my idea.
so did cannondale though. whatever.



http://bcdracing.com/frames/2x4/alex.htm

 

JAB

Chimp
Feb 18, 2004
61
0
Almost there...
bcd said:
\yes i did the very first two axle path bike. making a zone the wheel can move in. some say this guy ripped me off. he is using my idea.
so did cannondale though. whatever.
Yeah thats the one!! When I saw that bike for the first time I thought it would revolutionize the concept of rear suspension.I assume you didn't apply for international patents??
 

JAB

Chimp
Feb 18, 2004
61
0
Almost there...
bcd tell me how you would set up the shocks for that bike: wich spring rate for wich shock, rebound adj for wich shock etc...How did it ride?

I still think its one of the best ideas out there and i would LOVE to own one.
 

WheelieMan

Monkey
Feb 6, 2003
937
0
kol-uh-RAD-oh
While I like the idea of using two shocks, I fail to see how the design creates a "stable platform." Seems like they simply noticed the popularity of the term and decided it woud suit their design...

And like BCD said, running higher pressure in the "high pivot" shock basically eliminates the the zone of travel, which is in my opinion the only reason to use two shocks. I am surprised by the focus on the so called "stable platform" and 2-Stages of travel when in reality the advantage of the two-shock design is the ability to create a zone of travel.
 
May 12, 2005
977
0
roanoke va
that's got one screwy axel path, any reviews on it yet?
i remember making a model bike almost exactly like that out of legos oh so many years back. i also came up with VW's turbo/super charger a year before i heard them do anything about it. i also invented the internet. (sry, just realized how lame this post got.)
anyway, sick bike.
 

trailhacker

Turbo Monkey
Jan 6, 2003
1,233
0
In the hills around Seattle
JAB said:
First, if the lower shock compress only after the upper one is bottomed out you probably will go through a lot of shock seals/bushings (bottoming out is never good).

This could make potentially make for some funky cornering caracteristics.
It said on the site somewhere that they used the air shocks for a year and a half with no failures. They even avoided maintenance to put it in a worst case scenario.
You got to figure these guys have no $ to pay a guy like Rankin to ride the bike but he still does. Has to say something?
 

S.K.C.

Turbo Monkey
Feb 28, 2005
4,096
25
Pa. / North Jersey
It looks like a killer design - and props to BCD for being part of the evolution of the beast with the 2X4. :)

Does anyone have measured weights for the build of the Elite 9? I'm guessing it would be a little bit lighter than your average 9" DH race bike.

It would be awesome to see an Elite on the UCI circuit. Now THAT would be some serious field testing.
 

Banga

Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
362
11
Wellington, New Zealand
S.K.C. said:
It looks like a killer design - and props to BCD for being part of the evolution of the beast with the 2X4. :)

Does anyone have measured weights for the build of the Elite 9? I'm guessing it would be a little bit lighter than your average 9" DH race bike.

It would be awesome to see an Elite on the UCI circuit. Now THAT would be some serious field testing.

The production frames are in transit to NZ at the moment, the steel proto feels pretty decent weight wise.

There should be at least 2 being raced in Europe next season, the NZ season kicks off in the first week of Jan, 2stage have 2 riders,
Nathan Rankin and Glenn Haden.
 

JAB

Chimp
Feb 18, 2004
61
0
Almost there...
trailhacker said:
You got to figure these guys have no $ to pay a guy like Rankin to ride the bike but he still does. Has to say something?
Come on, I would ride a Stinky if someone gave it to me for testing, and that is a real POS bike.
 

Superdeft

Monkey
Dec 4, 2003
863
0
East Coast
Why not have the upper pivot active first, to have the axle move backward initially and combine it with slow rebound and no compression damping for square-edge bumps and rock gardens. Then you could have the lower pivot eat the big hits with quicker rebound and low-speed compression damping?

That said, I think that's an awful lot of extra equipment to change a relatively small problem. For my needs, I doubt the benefit of even the best-designed system using two shocks would outweigh the simplicity and weight savings of a single pivot. (however that's what the XCers said about disc v. vee as they were in their early stages for bike, so I may eat my words in a few years time)
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,919
borcester rhymes
Interesting concept...imagine what you could do tuning wise...high pivot first, low pivot first, zone travel, 1-2, that could be really cool. I'd imagine it would ride the best with both shocks tuned properly, but it probably pedals poorly. I wonder what the estimated MSRP is, as well as weight.
 

SlackBoy

Monkey
Apr 1, 2002
190
0
Wellington, New Zealand
from talking to the 2 riders, it pedals way better than you'd think. I thikn 2nd at the occenia's is pretty good field testing, and the fact that Rankin rode it for half the season with a broken wrist and still poduimed.
they aren't riding for free either, I hear they get 2 chupa-chups a week, going up to 4 in the race season.