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Here It Is!!!!!!!!! A Karpiel Sneak Preview............

Brian HCM#1

MMMMMMMMM BEER!!!!!!!!!!
Sep 7, 2001
32,119
378
Bay Area, California
Here are a few pics of the new Karpiel Armageddon. Please keep in mind that this is only the prototype and some changes are being made to the actual production bikes due out within the next few months. As far as specifications go, they aren't available as of yet, please stay tuned..............................




 

dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
2,922
10
Your face.
Looks cool, but have they done anything to cure the massive chaintug problems? I can't remember the old linkage, but this one looks slightly different.
 

KavuRider

Turbo Monkey
Jan 30, 2006
2,565
4
CT
Looking good.
Looks a lot more refined than the previous version.

Thanks for posting!
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,850
9,556
AK
A boxxer?

Shouldn't Armys have like Shivers or Monsters or Stratos S8s, Risky Champ8s, Avalanche Mtn or DH8s, etc..?
 

vitox

Turbo Monkey
Sep 23, 2001
2,936
1
Santiago du Chili
Could we get some info on the differences from the old Army to the new?
sure


there are several differences.

first of all, the shock is now driven by the lower linkage, the upper linkage has an internal bridge to make it a 3pc solid link much like DW did to the IH SGS '04 and somewhat similar to the horseshoe setup the PDC 825 had.
the lower link is bridged also (cant see how they solved it on this latest proto though). this layout change means a lot of things, first, as you can see, the standover has increased a lot, also the mass distribution is a lot better, and also, it will fit a standard 9,5" shock.

the swingarm now foregoes the upright tube and has this plate you see joining the upper and lower tubes, and has thru axle and replaceable derailleur hanger, no idea if this final version is 83/150 or not but i think so.

as for weight, should be around 9lbs to the extent of my knowledge, thats what the old one weighed.
 

Brian HCM#1

MMMMMMMMM BEER!!!!!!!!!!
Sep 7, 2001
32,119
378
Bay Area, California
sure


there are several differences.

first of all, the shock is now driven by the lower linkage, the upper linkage has an internal bridge to make it a 3pc solid link much like DW did to the IH SGS '04 and somewhat similar to the horseshoe setup the PDC 825 had.
the lower link is bridged also (cant see how they solved it on this latest proto though). this layout change means a lot of things, first, as you can see, the standover has increased a lot, also the mass distribution is a lot better, and also, it will fit a standard 9,5" shock.

the swingarm now foregoes the upright tube and has this plate you see joining the upper and lower tubes, and has thru axle and replaceable derailleur hanger, no idea if this final version is 83/150 or not but i think so.

as for weight, should be around 9lbs to the extent of my knowledge, thats what the old one weighed.
I'm not sure of the BB width, I want to say it will be an 83mm with ISCG tabs, and yes the new swingarm is a 150mm thru.
 

Steve M

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2007
1,991
45
Whistler
Do you have a pic of that Trek?
Nope, no idea what bikes it was actually produced on (if any), but I do know that both Banshee (with their new Legend dh bike) and PDC (with the 825) had to work around the patent. IIRC the points it covered were:
- shock driven off the lower link (PDC avoided this by having the shock driven off the swingarm)
- lower front pivot in front of/above the BB (Banshee avoided this by moving the pivot back so it wasn't in front of the BB)
- general layout similar to the Karpiel/PDC/Banshee apparently

Don't know any more specifics than that but it might be worth looking up.
 

vitox

Turbo Monkey
Sep 23, 2001
2,936
1
Santiago du Chili
Nope, no idea what bikes it was actually produced on (if any), but I do know that both Banshee (with their new Legend dh bike) and PDC (with the 825) had to work around the patent. IIRC the points it covered were:
- shock driven off the lower link (PDC avoided this by having the shock driven off the swingarm)
- lower front pivot in front of/above the BB (Banshee avoided this by moving the pivot back so it wasn't in front of the BB)
- general layout similar to the Karpiel/PDC/Banshee apparently

Don't know any more specifics than that but it might be worth looking up.

wouldnt "prior art" be invokable (new word?) in karpiels case?
 

jvnixon

Turbo Monkey
May 14, 2006
2,325
0
SickLines.com
Nope, no idea what bikes it was actually produced on (if any), but I do know that both Banshee (with their new Legend dh bike) and PDC (with the 825) had to work around the patent. IIRC the points it covered were:
- shock driven off the lower link (PDC avoided this by having the shock driven off the swingarm)
- lower front pivot in front of/above the BB (Banshee avoided this by moving the pivot back so it wasn't in front of the BB)
- general layout similar to the Karpiel/PDC/Banshee apparently

Don't know any more specifics than that but it might be worth looking up.
Patent #6,203,042
 

karpi

Monkey
Apr 17, 2006
904
0
Santiasco, Chile
sure


there are several differences.

first of all, the shock is now driven by the lower linkage, the upper linkage has an internal bridge to make it a 3pc solid link much like DW did to the IH SGS '04 and somewhat similar to the horseshoe setup the PDC 825 had.
the lower link is bridged also (cant see how they solved it on this latest proto though). this layout change means a lot of things, first, as you can see, the standover has increased a lot, also the mass distribution is a lot better, and also, it will fit a standard 9,5" shock.

the swingarm now foregoes the upright tube and has this plate you see joining the upper and lower tubes, and has thru axle and replaceable derailleur hanger, no idea if this final version is 83/150 or not but i think so.

as for weight, should be around 9lbs to the extent of my knowledge, thats what the old one weighed.
It seems the rear end will be alot stiffer this time around. It's nice to see how the step'p it up, plus updated their bikes. Even though it resembles a Cortina/PDC/Banshee/Zumbi etc, it still has a a typical Karpiel look, although they've integrated some nice details that make it stand out more. Any news on the disco?
 

Percy

Monkey
May 2, 2005
426
0
Christchurch NZ
Damn! They beat me to it.

I was planning to do a very similar thing to my Disco, as in drive a bigger shock off the bottom link and make the top link uber stiff.
Oh well, beaten to the punch again!:monkeydance:

Oh yeah, it looks very noice, me likey lots!:beerjam:
 

Brian HCM#1

MMMMMMMMM BEER!!!!!!!!!!
Sep 7, 2001
32,119
378
Bay Area, California
In regard to the patent issue. Jan had a similar design back in 1993, here is an article in MTB action from Sept 1995. That patent was filed in 1999. Karpiel should be okay.

 

jvnixon

Turbo Monkey
May 14, 2006
2,325
0
SickLines.com

ire

Turbo Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
6,196
4
Looks nice! The shock mount reminds me of the old Cortina DH-8.
 

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,513
7,056
Colorado
Does it come with Jans' patented support and a willingness to empty your bank account without delivery of frame?
 

rookie racer

Chimp
Jun 21, 2007
3
0
ve got a 2003 disco v still racing the puppy ,its sweet, but i need a new rear end for it ,does anyone know if they will be making spares for the older frames , i want one with a replacable mech hanger and bolt through axle if possible.