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PDC at interbike

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
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borcester rhymes
Did anybody stop by the PDC racing interbike booth?

I'm in love with their new frame (the dh juan), but i'd like to know availability, price, etc.

Just wondering if anybody spoke with the guys there, or if there was any info on the bikes themselves.
 

vitox

Turbo Monkey
Sep 23, 2001
2,936
1
Santiago du Chili
the new version of the dh frame is just at the prototype stage, the one at interbike is an almost finished one-off proto, dont expect it to be out this year but likely just after

if i remember right the plan calls for a run of 20 to be done during your winter.

the bike in itself is the same idea as the previous version but lighter and with a lot of improvement, you can for instance see that the linkage while still being the same functionally, is inverted from the previous one with the shock driving links being one piece and in the center, the rear end dropouts are also new and the roller assembly has been totally redone, geometry is also tweaked with a bit higher bb and a 65,5º HA with a 570mm fork, bb height i cant quite remember but i think the plan is for it to be around 14,5".
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
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did they say anything about cost? likely to be the same? Seems as though it could be less, without the monostyle tubes
 

thaflyinfatman

Turbo Monkey
Jul 20, 2002
1,577
0
Victoria
allsk8sno said:
that seems way to slack...but then i never was much a DH racer...

Everyone says that till they ride a bike with a really slack head angle (eg M1, SGS, Sunday), but once you do you find it's awesome. You get back on a bike with a steeper head angle (R9, Turner etc) and it feels sketchy as hell in comparison.
 

xy9ine

Turbo Monkey
Mar 22, 2004
2,940
353
vancouver eastside
thaflyinfatman said:
I think Kyle said 14.75", which is getting up there a bit IMO... half an inch lower would be perfect. Oh well.
then go for the fr if you can live with a bit less (8.25") travel; bb sits a hair under 14" with an 8" fork. a very capable dh'er.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
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borcester rhymes
ah but the suspension design on the dh juan makes me moist. If they pared the frame weight down to 10-11 lbs, i wouldn't hesitate to say it could be the most capable dh bike around, and if I had a real job, i'd buy one.
 

thaflyinfatman

Turbo Monkey
Jul 20, 2002
1,577
0
Victoria
xy9ine said:
then go for the fr if you can live with a bit less (8.25") travel; bb sits a hair under 14" with an 8" fork. a very capable dh'er.
Yeah I'm very seriously considering that. Those frames are cheap as chips too. My only concern is that the head angle might not be slack enough.

Does anyone have pics of the new DH1?
 

xy9ine

Turbo Monkey
Mar 22, 2004
2,940
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vancouver eastside
true. it does look hawt. suspension is very similar (high pivot w/. low linkage actuated shock) to the sunn radical's that nico & chausson rode. much better aesthetics than the first gen dh-1 (and we all know how important that is).
 

thaflyinfatman

Turbo Monkey
Jul 20, 2002
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Victoria
Better aesthetics than the first gen ones wouldn't be hard, those things were some of the ugliest bastards on earth (I'm sure they rode nicely though).
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
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zedro

Turbo Monkey
Sep 14, 2001
4,144
1
at the end of the longest line
thaflyinfatman said:
I think Kyle said 14.75", which is getting up there a bit IMO... half an inch lower would be perfect. Oh well.
keep in mind with 9"+ travel plus progressive linkage, it'll sit lower at sag. It's hard to compare BB heights without taking the design into context.
 

dexter

Turbo Monkey
Sep 23, 2001
3,053
99
Boise, Idaho
id have to dissagreee with the slack part above as a personal preferance. i rode a yeti (well 4 actually) over the course of 4 years and could never get used to the bikes geometry. then i got my r9 and it has been nothing but good times and my riding has improved t en fold. its all personal preferance
 

xy9ine

Turbo Monkey
Mar 22, 2004
2,940
353
vancouver eastside
thaflyinfatman said:
Yeah I'm very seriously considering that. Those frames are cheap as chips too. My only concern is that the head angle might not be slack enough.
my fr measures about 65d w/ a 23" axle to crown & a flush reducer headset.
 

biker3

Turbo Monkey
dexter said:
id have to dissagreee with the slack part above as a personal preferance. i rode a yeti (well 4 actually) over the course of 4 years and could never get used to the bikes geometry. then i got my r9 and it has been nothing but good times and my riding has improved t en fold. its all personal preferance
Granted you're sponsered by Sinister now and previously by Yeti, correct?
 

dhdescender

Chimp
Oct 3, 2001
30
0
QB - BC
Hey guys,

We just got back from the show - was a good trip as usual. We drove again (~24 hours or so), today is my recovery day before gettin' back at it tomorrow.

The new DH rig dubbed 'Solaris' made its debut at interbike '05, where it was received extremely well. The Solaris utilizes the same basic suspension outline of the past DH-One, which was excellent.
We updated the suspension rate, curve, and progression from feedback from riders and analysis. Also as you can see we made structural changes, which improved the overall aesthetics.
The geometry of the Solaris is as follows:
Head Angle: 65.5 Degrees (With Standard Lower Headset Stack, 66 with flush)
Top Tube Length (Center to Center), 21.5small, 22.25med, 23" lrg
Chainstays: 16.9"
BB Height 14.75"
The Rear end spacing is 145mmx12mm. We use a standard 135mm hub, and the 10mm wide cartridge bearing. Installation of the rear axle is easy and painless, a vast improvement over previous designs. Rear dropouts may stay complete bolt on, or become welded, currently undecided.

We took the headangle back a half degree from the Original DH-one, and raised the BB Height ~0.6". We did testing with the BB height, and found that since the COG of this bike was so extremely low, that it did not affect cornering capability in the slightest. With this type of geometry and suspension you feel as if you are 'in' the bike, rather than 'on'. Clip you pedals a fair bit less to, which was the reason in looking into the slightly higher BB.

We have added an integrated chainguide system on our Integrated Idler System (IIS), and are working closely with E13 Components for a chainguide specifically designed for the Solaris, which will be sold with the frame.

All of our pivots remain the tried tested and proven Sealed Needle Bearings with 4140 ground axles. The frame weight with the shock and floating disc brake (not pictured) is 11.5lbs. We will be improving the structure of the Solaris and estimate final production weight to be 11lbs (Steel Coil, 450lbs spring). Delivery of the first production units will be available around Feb.

On the note of the Eight2Five (FR), we have sold an exceptional amount with excellent results and reviews. We have purchased a Fadal CNC mill and will be doing all CNC work in-house, look for the little details to spring up for '06 throughout the product lineup.
We also have a brand new website with updated info to launch shortly.

-Kyle Kusznieryk
PDC
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
Kyle-

I'm excited about this bike.

Any estimate on cost? Is it going to remain fairly similar, or are you thinking it might go down due to the new CNC mill and non-"extruded" tubing?

Solid bikes, I might add.
 

dhpunk~

Chimp
Jan 23, 2005
77
0
Canada
dhdescender said:
Hey guys,

We just got back from the show - was a good trip as usual. We drove again (~24 hours or so), today is my recovery day before gettin' back at it tomorrow.

The new DH rig dubbed 'Solaris' made its debut at interbike '05, where it was received extremely well. The Solaris utilizes the same basic suspension outline of the past DH-One, which was excellent.
We updated the suspension rate, curve, and progression from feedback from riders and analysis. Also as you can see we made structural changes, which improved the overall aesthetics.
The geometry of the Solaris is as follows:
Head Angle: 65.5 Degrees (With Standard Lower Headset Stack, 66 with flush)
Top Tube Length (Center to Center), 21.5small, 22.25med, 23" lrg
Chainstays: 16.9"
BB Height 14.75"
The Rear end spacing is 145mmx12mm. We use a standard 135mm hub, and the 10mm wide cartridge bearing. Installation of the rear axle is easy and painless, a vast improvement over previous designs. Rear dropouts may stay complete bolt on, or become welded, currently undecided.

We took the headangle back a half degree from the Original DH-one, and raised the BB Height ~0.6". We did testing with the BB height, and found that since the COG of this bike was so extremely low, that it did not affect cornering capability in the slightest. With this type of geometry and suspension you feel as if you are 'in' the bike, rather than 'on'. Clip you pedals a fair bit less to, which was the reason in looking into the slightly higher BB.

We have added an integrated chainguide system on our Integrated Idler System (IIS), and are working closely with E13 Components for a chainguide specifically designed for the Solaris, which will be sold with the frame.

All of our pivots remain the tried tested and proven Sealed Needle Bearings with 4140 ground axles. The frame weight with the shock and floating disc brake (not pictured) is 11.5lbs. We will be improving the structure of the Solaris and estimate final production weight to be 11lbs (Steel Coil, 450lbs spring). Delivery of the first production units will be available around Feb.

On the note of the Eight2Five (FR), we have sold an exceptional amount with excellent results and reviews. We have purchased a Fadal CNC mill and will be doing all CNC work in-house, look for the little details to spring up for '06 throughout the product lineup.
We also have a brand new website with updated info to launch shortly.

-Kyle Kusznieryk
PDC

that 'solaris' sounds great!

regarding the 'FR' model, is there changes at all in the geometry for /06 ? im considering, not sure on 7 or 8" fork length.....
 

DHS

Friendly Neighborhood Pool Boy
Apr 23, 2002
5,094
0
Sand, CA
nice 145, i still have the 135-145 conversion for my hadley if you need one.. heh.

bike sounds awesome. only got to test ride the old one through the parking lot. and off some small drops but still. very nice for a parking lot test
 

dhdescender

Chimp
Oct 3, 2001
30
0
QB - BC
A couple of angle shots taken through the PDC Camera at the show, shows a little more dimension of the frame.






There will be more integration of the ISCG tabs and upper/lower pivot & towers. We have somthing up our sleeve that I think everyone will find nothing short of amazing.
-Kyle
 

WheelieMan

Monkey
Feb 6, 2003
937
0
kol-uh-RAD-oh
Beautiful frame, I love everything about it except the bottom bracket height which seems a bit high to me. Can you tell me the approximate height of the pivot above the axle as well as the length of the swingarm so I can compare the frame to my current bike? Also, not sure if this was asked yet, but can you give us an idea of pricing? Will the Swinger come on the production models? Thanks!

One more thing, what size is the shock?
 

thaflyinfatman

Turbo Monkey
Jul 20, 2002
1,577
0
Victoria
WheelieMan said:
Beautiful frame, I love everything about it except the bottom bracket height which seems a bit high to me.
I'm a bit dubious about that too, but considering that it's a 9" travel bike which is very progressive and will sag maybe 1/3-1/2" more than a lot of frames, it should be alright.
 
Feb 3, 2005
59
0
Whistler
The Momentum Cylce/R.A.C.E. Team out of Ontairo had a chance to test the above fr version bike last weekend. The bike absolutly blew us away. Our main sponsor Curtis inventor of the Chin Lock who hadn't ridden for the whole year was on our tail the whole time he was on the P.D.C. but lost with our other bikes. We put the PDC head to head with a 05 Turner, 03 Bb7, 05 Devinci and we found the PDC to come out ontop. The suspension totally cancelled out any type of bob but still was plush through out. Also, through the corners the rear of the bike would stay solid, allowing a huge burst of speed on the exits of the corners. We are testing it again this weekend. Thanks Kyle so much for letting us try it. Most of the team was hoping to test the DH version however after riddng the FR everyones opinion changed as the bike's DH geometry and suspension blew us away.

Hope to speak with you soon Kyle and thanks again.

For everyone else thinking about PDC, if the DH is half of what the FR is it is amazing. An amazing company with a great attention to detail, the welds, machining, ect. are must sees.

Carlos
 

MikeD

Leader and Demogogue of the Ridemonkey Satinists
Oct 26, 2001
11,669
1,713
chez moi
Thing looks freakin' sweet, and I bet I couldn't tell the difference in .5" BB height on a bike with its weight placed that low...and I really don't like clipping pedals, either.

My Gemini has a 14.5" BB (made as low as possible with the fork arrangement) and only 7" of travel and it corners well, although not in that super-super-low-sweepy-carvy way that some race bikes do. With more travel and a lower COG, that frame must really rail.

MD
 

ohio

The Fresno Kid
Nov 26, 2001
6,649
23
SF, CA
Looks great. Definitely a nice evolution from the original... people should snap them up.

One q: are the teeth on the idler always going to be that big or is that just on the proto? This things are scary looking.
 

WheelieMan

Monkey
Feb 6, 2003
937
0
kol-uh-RAD-oh
MikeD said:
Thing looks freakin' sweet, and I bet I couldn't tell the difference in .5" BB height on a bike with its weight placed that low...and I really don't like clipping pedals, either.
Yea, I guess most of my concern comes from the fact that my bb7 has a 14 inch bottom bracket height, same travel, and a center of gravity that is as low if not lower than the PDC. Handles unlike anything. And being a flat pedal rider on fast/open courses, clipping pedals is not an issue for me. So 3/4 inch seems like a big difference that would take a while to get used to.

But the progressive shock rate is definitely a nice feature on the PDC, something my current bike doesn't have...
 

MikeD

Leader and Demogogue of the Ridemonkey Satinists
Oct 26, 2001
11,669
1,713
chez moi
WheelieMan said:
Yea, I guess most of my concern comes from the fact that my bb7 has a 14 inch bottom bracket height, same travel, and a center of gravity that is as low if not lower than the PDC. Handles unlike anything. And being a flat pedal rider on fast/open courses, clipping pedals is not an issue for me. So 3/4 inch seems like a big difference that would take a while to get used to.

But the progressive shock rate is definitely a nice feature on the PDC, something my current bike doesn't have...
Well, you know, there's always the Sunday (and lots of other bikes!) if you're stuck on having a super-low BB height...but I'm guessing you like the idler-style drivetrain with a single-pivot like on your BB7, too.

I'd run that frame in a heartbeat, myself, if I was in the market for a DH bike...but I'm not even going to be able to ride the one that I already have...

MD