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Any Millyard news?

Lelandjt

adorbs
Apr 4, 2008
2,538
876
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
This bike looked really promising a year ago. The shock is suposed to be sick and I personally love the single sided swingarm, gearbox, and internal chain. It would be a pity for it to never see production or even licensing to other companies. I've been searching and can't even find Millyard Racing's homepage.
 

dilzy

Monkey
Sep 7, 2008
567
1
The Millard was a very high leverage ratio bike EDIT, I was thinking of another bike carved from billet. It was still horribly high leverage.
Why the hell would you want news of this satanic creation?

I admit it did have some cool shock and gearbox technology although their claim that It provides always optimal compression and rebound damping without any electronics I find hard to believe (don't you think the F1 teams would have jumped on that like it was the last sheet of carbon fiber on the planet).

The single sides swingarm is a terrible idea and only serves for looks and quick wheel changes on motorbikes. Not really appropriate on a pushy as I can throw the thing upside down and pull the QR. I know they have different drive system, but it's not necessary.
 
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Steve M

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2007
1,991
45
Whistler
I admit it did have some cool shock and gearbox technology although their claim that It provides always optimal compression and rebound damping without any electronics I find hard to believe (don't you think the F1 teams would have jumped on that like it was the last sheet of carbon fiber on the planet).
Their claims aren't actually THAT outlandish - compression-sensitive rebound damping is what seems to be the deal from what I can ascertain. How big and how fast the compression hit is seems to have some bearing on the rebound damping - super slow inputs like bouncing on the bike don't cause the rebound damping to kick in very hard so the bike feels like the shock is blown. I have a few ideas on how you could do that - it's not super simple but stranger stuff has been done.

For what it's worth, I believe Push are or were using what they termed a "frequency sensitive" rebound damper in their Pike kit, which I think also used a fairly basic mechanism that adjusted rebound damping according to how hard the compression hit is. However... I believe the Push idea was intended to work in exactly the opposite manner to the Millyard shock, in that a bigger compression hit resulted in faster initial rebound and very slow low-speed rebound, whereas the Millyard was the other way around. Anyone who knows better, feel free to correct me cos literature on the workings of either damper is in short supply.

Still though - though the construction of the bike was pretty sick, I think Dirt's harping on about it is yet to prove justified. They claim it's the best thing since polio shots but some of the features of the bike (eg the BB pivot) have been long known as being fairly bad ideas.
 

Lelandjt

adorbs
Apr 4, 2008
2,538
876
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
The leverage ratio looks like 3ish:1 judging by the shock stroke and an assumed 8-9" travel. The shock doesn't use oil and conventional shims. It is a combination of nitrogen and some mystery, custardy, fluid. The single sided swingarm has some benefits (easier tire changes and packing for travel) and basically a double sided swingarm is unnecessary due to the drive configuration. Their first prototype had a conventional swingarm and weighed more. Besides, who has a QR on their DH bike dilzy? Here's some pics to refresh memories:

 
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WBC

Monkey
Aug 8, 2003
578
1
PNW
So much of the weight is unsprung. You'd think someone that smart would have found a way around that.
 

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
As for a website, I don't think they ever were intending to produce them were they? The shock maybe, but not the bike.
i thought the shock had some special military only internals or some other mumbo jumbo crap going on, and wouldnt be available to the public.
didnt the last dirt mag say it had no external adjustments?
 
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dilzy

Monkey
Sep 7, 2008
567
1
The leverage ratio looks like 3ish:1 judging by the shock stroke and an assumed 8-9" travel. The shock doesn't use oil and conventional shims. It is a combination of nitrogen and some mystery, custardy, fluid. The single sided swingarm has some benefits (easier tire changes and packing for travel) and basically a double sided swingarm is unnecessary due to the drive configuration. Their first prototype had a conventional swingarm and weighed more. Besides, who has a QR on their DH bike dilzy? Here's some pics to refresh memories:
EDIT. Never mind that, I was smoking some bad granola (clearly Millyard are to) when I looked at that picture.

A double sided swingarm is alway's more torsionally rigid for the same weight. It's a simple matter of the inertia of the swingarm about the longitudinal axis. Single sides swingarms are stupid on a pushi where stiffness to weight is so important.

I would really like to know what they did to modify the Nexus hub, as that really interests me for my own project.
 
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dilzy

Monkey
Sep 7, 2008
567
1
I just noticed they are using what appears to be a front 20mm hub as the rear, driving from the rotor flange. Now that's cool.
 

Steve M

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2007
1,991
45
Whistler
If you take a scale off that picture, the distance from MP to shock eyelet is 9mm. The distance from MP to RA is about 41mm. That put's it at about 4.5:1. They must have some serious nitro and hydraulic pressures developed in that shock, not to mention the extra stress put on the swingarm and mounts meaning it has to be heavier.
You're pretty negative for somebody who doesn't actually know **** about the bike - the main pivot is about the BB. That puts the leverage ratio at about 2.4:1 by my on-screen measurements. On top of that, the numerical value of a vehicle's leverage ratio is pretty unimportant unless you have certain other constraints (such as the damper being designed for a certain leverage ratio) - if the damper is designed in conjunction with the bike's leverage ratio, it can work fine. It's not like motion ratios of 5:1 are unheard of anywhere else in the world, the shock just has to be designed for it. Likewise with a 2:1 ratio, if the shock is designed for it, it can work fine. The pressures in a bicycle shock really aren't that high compared to what other common hydraulic systems undergo on a daily basis (eg brakes).
 

dilzy

Monkey
Sep 7, 2008
567
1
You're pretty negative for somebody who doesn't actually know **** about the bike - the main pivot is about the BB. That puts the leverage ratio at about 2.4:1 by my on-screen measurements. On top of that, the numerical value of a vehicle's leverage ratio is pretty unimportant unless you have certain other constraints (such as the damper being designed for a certain leverage ratio) - if the damper is designed in conjunction with the bike's leverage ratio, it can work fine. It's not like motion ratios of 5:1 are unheard of anywhere else in the world, the shock just has to be designed for it. Likewise with a 2:1 ratio, if the shock is designed for it, it can work fine. The pressures in a bicycle shock really aren't that high compared to what other common hydraulic systems undergo on a daily basis (eg brakes).
Ha righto I was under the impression that it pivoted about the the gear box (it just seemed pretty logical). I didn't look at that last picture close enough. Seems a little silly to have it pivoting about the bb on a gearbox bike don't you think?
 

Steve M

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2007
1,991
45
Whistler
Ha righto I was under the impression that it pivoted about the the gear box (it just seemed pretty logical). I didn't look at that last picture close enough. Seems a little silly to have it pivoting about the bb on a gearbox bike don't you think?
Yeah, you could safely say it'd pedal like crap, and not be fantastic at absorbing bumps as far as axle path goes. I'd like to ride it and see what it's like... I doubt it's really much (if anything) of an improvement over stock race gear now to be honest, but I bet it feels different.
 

tfree120

Chimp
Jun 11, 2007
94
0
Towson
EDIT. Never mind that, I was smoking some bad granola (clearly Millyard are to) when I looked at that picture.

A double sided swingarm is alway's more torsionally rigid for the same weight. It's a simple matter of the inertia of the swingarm about the longitudinal axis. Single sides swingarms are stupid on a pushi where stiffness to weight is so important.

I would really like to know what they did to modify the Nexus hub, as that really interests me for my own project.
Didn't the Yeti ASR 7 last year have a single chainstay but two seatstays? This year that bike has a "normal" set up.
Seems like Yeti would know what works.
 

MrPlow

Monkey
Sep 9, 2004
628
0
Toowoomba Queensland
EDIT. Never mind that, I was smoking some bad granola (clearly Millyard are to) when I looked at that picture.

A double sided swingarm is alway's more torsionally rigid for the same weight. It's a simple matter of the inertia of the swingarm about the longitudinal axis. Single sides swingarms are stupid on a pushi where stiffness to weight is so important.

I would really like to know what they did to modify the Nexus hub, as that really interests me for my own project.
I just noticed they are using what appears to be a front 20mm hub as the rear, driving from the rotor flange. Now that's cool.
(beer influenced post )

Pretty damn sure they are running up to the standard input cog on the nexue then they just bolted to the spoke flanges on the LH side for output (no room to output on the RH side).
Hence the LH swingarm..
Which is the side the brake is on..
Which negates the need for a RH swingarm...

So screw Dirt, the only reason it has a single swingarm is cause of the above,, a simple design solution. I am not knocking their design at all. Just Dirt's hype.

BTW I don't think a Nexus is a great solution for a production DH RACE bike hey, it shifts too slow, is too heavy and badly spaced gears in my opinion...
Sam with concentric pivot, great in bermed corners I bet, but can't be too good at much else? Not to say it sucks, just not such a revolution.
 
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dilzy

Monkey
Sep 7, 2008
567
1
Didn't the Yeti ASR 7 last year have a single chainstay but two seatstays? This year that bike has a "normal" set up.
Seems like Yeti would know what works.
They did it because it looks freakin awsome and because it eliminates a chainstay to get in the way of your flailing chain.
 

P.T.W

Monkey
May 6, 2007
599
0
christchurch nz
I cant see to much at all thats so special about this bike:clue:....infact it was Dirts review(s) on this bike wich got me thinking that Steve Jones beleaves anything hes told(esp from a fellow Brit)
 

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,605
4,925
Australia
Seems like Yeti would know what works.
Yeah like rails on a DH bike :bonk:


I just can't help thinking I'd destroy that rear axle in a few runs. I know it's probably beefed up like crazy, but having a single sided swingarm must put both the axle and the dropout area under some crazy amount of stress compared to a normal setup.
 

- seb

Turbo Monkey
Apr 10, 2002
2,924
1
UK
Bernard Kerr, junior from GB rode the one at a few World Cups last season. It did not last long. The kid got a few runs on it said is was um....ok (not)
Not sure how well you know the guy, if at all, but I brought this thread to his attention and he's not overly pleased at this misinformation - as far as I know he thinks nothing of the sort, he loves the bike.
 

MrPlow

Monkey
Sep 9, 2004
628
0
Toowoomba Queensland
Yeah like rails on a DH bike :bonk:


I just can't help thinking I'd destroy that rear axle in a few runs. I know it's probably beefed up like crazy, but having a single sided swingarm must put both the axle and the dropout area under some crazy amount of stress compared to a normal setup.
Yeh, but I would say since the axle is held on both sides of the swingarm, and is also large diameter it would be pretty damn strong. Not really comparable to just cutting off your turner's LH swingarm :)
You seen a BMW Moto? (like in "long way down" series" They take a caning.
 

dilzy

Monkey
Sep 7, 2008
567
1
Yeh, but I would say since the axle is held on both sides of the swingarm, and is also large diameter it would be pretty damn strong. Not really comparable to just cutting off your turner's LH swingarm :)
You seen a BMW Moto? (like in "long way down" series" They take a caning.
They also weigh 230 very German kg.

Ducati went to a single sider on the new 1098 and it is about 5-10kg heavier than the 999.
 
Feb 10, 2003
594
0
A, A
hey thats berrnards house...traveled to the euro world cups with that kid this past year...his mum and family are awesome and put me up for almost 2 months. never got to ride the bike but watched very closely at how berny rode it and the thing had bald tires with 40psi in the back and would get such better traction it looked like cheating. dont know much about the pedaling or gear box but the cornering the mowing thru stuff on the bike looked ridiculous.
funny thing about that shock is that in the parking lot or just goofing on it it acts completely like a blown shock. no rebound and just spring but it sure as hell didnt ride that way on a track.
 

ZenkiGarage

Monkey
Jan 9, 2007
341
0
Portland, Or
BMW's offroad attempts are garbage! Ive ridden the HP2 and the X series bikes, all a joke. the only thing that seemed nice was the tank they call the GS but its only good for gravel roads. BMW is so worried about tradition they keep using a bad design just like harley davidson and their bull**** motorcycles.
 

rocketmatt17

Monkey
Sep 10, 2007
270
0
The new 450X is a very capable offroad bike. It still has some different design changes but very good ones. The new f800gs is a great dual sport bike as well. The HP2 is really a dual sport bike even though BMW tried to market it as a dirt bike. All bmw "dirt bikes" are really dual sport bikes. But the new 450X is a true dirt bike.
 

ZenkiGarage

Monkey
Jan 9, 2007
341
0
Portland, Or
Zenki, I am going to guess that your a KTM guy.
:clapping: Good call! Actually Im a fan of anything, if its of quality design. Ive owned KTM(still own it), Husaberg, TM, VOR, and of course a bunch of jap bikes. All of which are great bikes. My old man bought a brand new GS1150 in '01. 2 weeks later traded it to me for a euro model KLX650, I rode the GS 1 day, sold it the next day. BMW motorcycles are pretty to look at, thats about it. they do nothing better than any other bike and seem to cost twice as much:disgust1:
 
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Daz

Chimp
Mar 5, 2008
36
0
OK back to the Millyard bike. I've read articles on Pinkbike, Dirt, and MBA websites. From what I see here are the benefits, negative and unknowns.

1. no derailleur to rip off. I hate tweaked hangers, broken rear derailleurs, etc.

2. very little maintenance on the drivetrain as it is fully enclosed. I just want to ride not work on my bike so this sounds good.

3. Nexus factor. Gearing is similar to a 11-32T cassette. Would you care if you raced DH to not have the fine tuning of an 11-26T DH cassette? Bigger jumps between gears. Nexus is an enclosed hub meant for commuting so it can take being in the rain, since it is full enclosed in the frame it will be even more sealed from the elements Side note....what if this had a Hammerschmidt to combine with the 11-32 of the Nexus. Now you would have a 22/36T (front gearing) with a standard 11-32 (rear). Maybe its better outside of DH?

4. Single sided swing arm. Benefits - looks tech, super narrow rear end at 100 mm wide, tire/tube change without wheel removal, could be a light rear wheel, stiffness could be better than double sided. Negative - people are freaked by one sided swing arm (my thoughts are air planes and cars are the same way, Cannondale Lefty is the lightest and stiffest fork in each amount of travel they are made in), Nexus is heavier than a traditional drive train. Weight is unknown on this rig.

5. How does it ride outside of Dirt test riding it...that is the unknown.
 

TomBo

Monkey
Jan 13, 2004
300
0
Calgary,Alberta
Daz for gearing you can adjust the final ratios, so the gearing you reference is applicable to the range. You could set the final ratio to what ever you like with the out put cog on the Nexus and cog on the hub.
 

Daz

Chimp
Mar 5, 2008
36
0
Daz for gearing you can adjust the final ratios, so the gearing you reference is applicable to the range. You could set the final ratio to what ever you like with the out put cog on the Nexus and cog on the hub.
True you can gear a nexus higher or lower w/the output cog, or changing the chain ring but you will still have big jumps between gears compared to a 11-26 cassette. For racing I'm just curious if people think that would matter, is it too great of a compromise compared to a traditional set up. Maybe the other benefits out weigh it.

Freeriders would probably like the 11-32 equivalent as some ups get thrown in or riding tech stuff at slow speeds.