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New Lawwill machine???

TWISTED

TWISTED

Turbo Monkey
Apr 2, 2004
1,102
0
Hillsboro
John "Sully" Sullivan brought the bike to me to try it out. I only got about 10 minutes in front of my house to try it out before he had to head out. The bike accelerated quickly and felt very fast. It Felt much lighter riding it than it actually was. I pedaled it through some curbs and it ate those up without feed back. Felt smooth riding down my stairs.

This is still an early prototype, it will be cleaner and lighter in production.
Here's the same frame with a new paint job.
 
CBJ

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
13,323
5,515
Copenhagen, Denmark
I read something about that Lawwil design was original design for a concentric pivot but don't remember why it should make the design better.
 
TWISTED

TWISTED

Turbo Monkey
Apr 2, 2004
1,102
0
Hillsboro
xy9ine said:
i dunno if it qualifies as an "official" lawwil design, but versus has a very simmilar design (with concentric pivot as well)

versus
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The Rotec is the only "official" Lawill design. Mert had a large part in designing this bike. The Schwinn and Yetis were an interpretation of the design.

I don't think that Versus has it's design thoroughly engineered. It seems to be randomly pieced together.
 
Smelly

Smelly

Turbo Monkey
Jun 17, 2004
1,254
1
out yonder, round bout a hootinany
someone inform my ignorant brain- what's the benefit of the concentric pivot with the shock mounted to both links of the rear end? looks like the shock gets compressed from both ends. or is the shock mounted to something between the chainstays and just looks like it's on the stay in the picture?
very sexy looking bike! better get a mudflap to cover that shock though
 
zedro

zedro

Turbo Monkey
Sep 14, 2001
4,144
1
at the end of the longest line
squarewheels said:
someone inform my ignorant brain- what's the benefit of the concentric pivot with the shock mounted to both links of the rear end? looks like the shock gets compressed from both ends. or is the shock mounted to something between the chainstays and just looks like it's on the stay in the picture?
very sexy looking bike! better get a mudflap to cover that shock though
Click to expand...
for the shock part it allows the shock to be mounted closer to the pivots making for a cleaner design with extra linkages either. If you look at the Yeti DH-9, you'll notice the shock setup is a bit awkward. Also i believe it improves the suspension rate.
 
TWISTED

TWISTED

Turbo Monkey
Apr 2, 2004
1,102
0
Hillsboro
squarewheels said:
someone inform my ignorant brain- what's the benefit of the concentric pivot with the shock mounted to both links of the rear end? looks like the shock gets compressed from both ends. or is the shock mounted to something between the chainstays and just looks like it's on the stay in the picture?
very sexy looking bike! better get a mudflap to cover that shock though
Click to expand...
I'm not an engineer, I just ride. I didn't expect much from the bike, I ride nice stuff all the time, but the new Rotec rides great.
The shock isn't mounted to the frame, it floats between the upper seat stays and chain stays.
 
DHS

DHS

Friendly Neighborhood Pool Boy
Apr 23, 2002
5,094
0
Sand, CA
xy9ine said:
i dunno if it qualifies as an "official" lawwil design, but versus has a very simmilar design (with concentric pivot as well)

versus
Click to expand...
wow is that fugly, looks heavy. and holy steep headangle. that bike should have like a monster on it or something
 
binary visions

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,205
1,393
NC
The Lawill Schwinn Straight 6 is still the most fun bike I've thrown a leg over... Wish Schwinn didn't get bought out!
 
buildyourown

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
Sully was nice enough to let me ride his proto a couple of weeks ago. I took 2 DH runs on it on a modest trail with some decent sized features. The bike wasn't setup for me so it took a little bit to get used to. Overall, I was really impressed. I was never a fan of the old Rotecs but this one is different. The suspension felt good. Soft, but very active. There was no pedal feedback. The most noticeable thing was how well it cornered. The was one specific turn that I entered way to hot. I thought I was going to blow it out and hit a tree. I leaned it over, SNAP, the bike hooked up and railed the turn. It surpised me.

I wouldn't say anything about weight and price. The bike I rode was a proto but the weight as built wasn't heavy. It had a 888 and sun 8track wheels so nothing silly light. I've heard rumors about prices across the board.

If Sully can fix a couple of issues with the proto, he will have a very hot bike
 
Zutroy

Zutroy

Turbo Monkey
Dec 9, 2004
2,443
0
Ventura,CA
go-ride.com said:
Reminds me of the original Tomac 204. I think it was 1999?
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I think 98 was the first year Tomac raced them. Pretty close in looks, the Tomac didn't have the Conc pivot, but they look alot alike.
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
22,112
7,378
borcester rhymes
binary visions said:
The Lawill Schwinn Straight 6 is still the most fun bike I've thrown a leg over... Wish Schwinn didn't get bought out!
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YES! I once asked FTW if he would build me a 4,5,6" adjustable, push shock lawill bike to mimic the Straight six. It was like 5800 or something for 3 frames....that's the only bike i really regret selling... :(
 
ska todd

ska todd

Turbo Monkey
Oct 10, 2001
1,776
0
Reminds me a lot of the Profile bike I used to have. Lawwill linkage, concentric BB, and lemon yellow!

-ska todd
 
TWISTED

TWISTED

Turbo Monkey
Apr 2, 2004
1,102
0
Hillsboro
krustydude said:
That new design looks great and should be way better than the previous Rotec. Anyone know the wheelbase?
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About a foot shorter than the original one. :D

There is only one prototype Rotec RL9 at this point.
The production version will look different. Maybe just a little cleaned up around the edges, or possibly all different tubing. It will definitely be much lighter than the proto.
 
dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,581
5,364
binary visions said:
The Lawill Schwinn Straight 6 is still the most fun bike I've thrown a leg over... Wish Schwinn didn't get bought out!
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ditto - wish i had that bike back.

i had a 98 w/ full dh spec... came in at around 38lbs w/ a 98boxxer & lightish tires... great bike, but the springrate was a little too linear - didn't take the big hits well enough and used (no longer supported) pullshock design. That bike would be killer with the current crop of progressive shocks on the market... heh.
 
binary visions

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,205
1,393
NC
dump said:
ditto - wish i had that bike back.

i had a 98 w/ full dh spec... came in at around 38lbs w/ a 98boxxer & lightish tires... great bike, but the springrate was a little too linear - didn't take the big hits well enough and used (no longer supported) pullshock design. That bike would be killer with the current crop of progressive shocks on the market... heh.
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Yeah, my buddy had a 2001, push-shock model. It was killer - that's the bike that got me started on DH/FR riding. First time I rode it, we shuttled it to the top of this long, twisty, rutted out fireroad and ripped down it as fast as we could... Woo.

Normally, you ride more bikes and learn how crappy the first ones you used were... In this case, riding more bikes just gives me more of an appreciation for how much fun it was!
 
Acadian

Acadian

Born Again Newbie
Sep 5, 2001
714
2
Blah Blah and Blah
hummmm...how did I miss this thread?

yeah...the Rotec indeed looks pretty darn nice. Wouldn't mind trying one of those - heck, maybe I will this summer, during one of my few planned Seattle trips :)
 
Captain Crunch

Captain Crunch

Monkey
May 9, 2003
372
0
Burien at Crappiss' House
I got a pretty sweet ride on the new Proto last month up on Mt. Seymour. Sully was in my shop one night with the bike and I used my Jedi mind tricks to bamboozle him into letting me take the bike. Here's a link to my strictly unscientific write-up about my experience on the new RL9.

http://www.gohuckyourself.com/portal/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=10&mode=thread&order=0&thold=-1

Thanks again Sully, it was a lot of fun! I can't wait to ride a production bike either!
For those that might not know, Sully also makes the best aftermarket brake levers ever, GRC's!
 
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