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Black Market Roam

Vrock

Linkage Design Blog
Aug 13, 2005
276
59
Spain
Glad you're interested... Leverage ratio alone doesn't infer progressiveness. The rate of change of leverage ratio within the complete cycle of wheel travel "can" determine a feel or "feedback" to the rider without the assistance of the shock damper.

The suspension design alone is a slave to the shock tune and these days rear shocks are very capable of mimicking multiple types of feedback.. just like the 1:1 LRs of forks. Forks don't need linkages, specific leverage ratios or rates to create tailored feedback-characteristics. Black Market has a specific need and customers and the new Roam and even the Killswitch are tailored to the individual rider needs and environments that the design will statistically be pushed into. The leverage ratio, rate of that ratio and shock tune are more a result of the environments of riding and rider opinions then a personal need for looks and clever linkage configurations. so The Roam has a very specific rate and shock tune around a specific pivot location that will create a tailored experience for the rider based on Black Markets riders and myself in testing. The "too progressive" is a matter that takes you trying out the Roam with whatever rear shock you see fit.

Hope that helps.
I don't understand very well what the people want in a DJ bike, so I don't want to get into it, if you tell me that the Killswitch is fine I believe you, but I've talked to a lot of people about 6'' Bikes and a lot of them like a bike with a linear feeling. Maybe the target rider of the Roam is more of a Freerider.

Anyway, It would be nice if you could explain the damping of the Roam shock. My guess is that it's going to have very low LSC because it has a lot of anti-squat, and very low HSC too because the spring can take care of the big hits by itself...
 

jon-boy

Monkey
May 26, 2004
799
0
Vancouver BC
I'd rather have a 6" bike that progressively ramps up... something that's active at the start of stroke and will ramp up on the bigger hits and drops. Linear shocks/suspension blow through the travel too quickly for my liking on the bigger hits, so maybe the Roam is the bike for me?
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,792
5,615
Ottawa, Canada
I'd rather have a 6" bike that progressively ramps up... something that's active at the start of stroke and will ramp up on the bigger hits and drops. Linear shocks/suspension blow through the travel too quickly for my liking on the bigger hits, so maybe the Roam is the bike for me?
:stupid:
 

Kamanchi

Chimp
Oct 31, 2008
52
0
Califonia
I don't understand very well what the people want in a DJ bike, so I don't want to get into it, if you tell me that the Killswitch is fine I believe you, but I've talked to a lot of people about 6'' Bikes and a lot of them like a bike with a linear feeling. Maybe the target rider of the Roam is more of a Freerider.

Anyway, It would be nice if you could explain the damping of the Roam shock. My guess is that it's going to have very low LSC because it has a lot of anti-squat, and very low HSC too because the spring can take care of the big hits by itself...

Black Market has specific customers in mind that are aggressive in any riding style. Carter and I are very aggressive riders ourselves and we make product that makes sense to only riders that agree with our view of riding, lifestyle and technology. It's not for everyone and it's OK to us that this design might not be another's cup of tea. Suspension designs are like women...Blondes, brunettes, redheads, Asians, Africans... all perfectly capable of making a man happy. Some men prefer Blondes(myself) others redheads and no matter how much someone tries to convince me their idea of the perfect women is the best, I will still shred the bed in top form with my Blonde.

The multiple brands of rear shocks alone change the feel dramatically let alone the thousands of variables in shock tunes that can be injected into those shocks before they are mounted to any suspension design. The shock tunes are private to each company we work with so I can't say.

Pablo
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,700
6,108
in a single wide, cooking meth...
Suspension designs are like women...Blondes, brunettes, redheads, Asians, Africans... all perfectly capable of making a man happy. Some men prefer Blondes(myself) others redheads and no matter how much someone tries to convince me their idea of the perfect women is the best, I will still shred the bed in top form with my Blonde.
^^
Do you have a patent on this? If so, where do I send the check?

Seriously, great explanation. Looking forward to seeing the final.
 

eatmyshorts

Monkey
Jun 18, 2010
110
0
South OZ
You're on the money Pablo...

Just because it has a particular patent doesnt not mean its going to be super ultra awesome..

The problem is that people can't e ride a bike by guessing the shock tune and how it interacts with the frame.. alsa so many people like to think that if they can see a distored 2d image on a computer screen they have the whole thing summed up.. If it was that easy everyone would be making kick ass bikes..
 

Vrock

Linkage Design Blog
Aug 13, 2005
276
59
Spain
Yep, bikes are like womens, designers are like plastic surgeons, and you are giving that Roam some huge implants :D Some people love it that way.

Anyway, if you work with X-Fusion you can tell them to spill the beans. If they have a good product and want to get more recognition they can do it by giving more info than Fox or RS. That would be very interesting.
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,503
1,719
Warsaw :/
Yep, bikes are like womens, designers are like plastic surgeons, and you are giving that Roam some huge implants :D Some people love it that way.
That would explain why I cant force myself to like it. Seems like a cool girl but I would suffocate under them boobs...



Though geo wise I like it.
 

Tetreault

Monkey
Nov 23, 2005
877
0
SoMeWhErE NoWhErE
I'm starting to like this as much as i like a weird cursing dirty freak like Gianna Michaels. depending on price (the bike not the porn star) i may be interested
 

Kamanchi

Chimp
Oct 31, 2008
52
0
Califonia
Yep, bikes are like womens, designers are like plastic surgeons, and you are giving that Roam some huge implants :D Some people love it that way.

Anyway, if you work with X-Fusion you can tell them to spill the beans. If they have a good product and want to get more recognition they can do it by giving more info than Fox or RS. That would be very interesting.

I look at it more like being a martyr for the sake of improving riders lives through losing money and ride time from being on the god dam computer so much.

You have to look at the task of creating a design that doesn't lean on anyones system and still accomplishes the main goals of creating confidence through geometry, brand identity and lifespan. There are trillions of ways to compress a shock or place a pivot but in the end it's your connection/responsibility to remove your self interest in expressing design and let the ride/manufacturing environments determine the best route for the rider. It's a military industrial design method not art. A stealth constraint in aircraft design allows for zero personal expression on forms. When the environment controls the outcome the beauty is happenstance. I try very hard to use this method in all the industrial design projects I do. A demo 8 can win a worldcup now with none of the in-vogue anti-squat values that are marketed. People used to take enormous dumps on that bike but now look at the "plastic surgery"... The bike is worth owning and Specialized earned it.

Your brain determines the value of frame design more then it's actual function and that is fashion.... The current DH bike is a host of technical solutions that have created the most insecure athletes on the planet... I've heard people say "oh it's just a single pivot" and right there their brain has determined that they could never win a race, 360, scrub or brake right because their brain has concluded that without a vpp-dw-fsr-whatever.. it's impossible to ride a bike properly. I will give you some advice on bike design.... geo,tire pressure ,compound and tune determines ride quality more then suspension design because no matter what design on the planet there is it cannot magically overcome a flat tire or a blown, over adjusted rebound shock. Take a shock and crank the rebound all the way in and put it on a v-10 carbon...what to you thing ride quality will be like?
 
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jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,700
6,108
in a single wide, cooking meth...
^^

Just as an FYI, you may want to stop posting on this forum...You're ruining the classic Ridemonkey experience for a lot of people...

Again, great explanation(s), and you should know that you're the first poster to ever earn "rep" points from me. I know you're excited...:thumb: