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whyte bikes....

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
Except for the funked-up fork, I wonder how the Quad-Link rides. It seems like a great entry in the suspension wars.
 

scottishmark

Turbo Monkey
May 20, 2002
2,121
22
Somewhere dark, cold & wet....
only the original one which had the same front end setup but with a normal single pivot rear. it was back in '99 and i absolutely loved it, around the same time as i-drives came out and that thing seemed to p*ss all over them! Ok so it did look ever so slightly weird looking down at the front end but you'd get used to it

The reason they have the same setup as Marin is that Mr Whyte designs (or designed) all the Marin full suspension frames from the B-17 era onwards. So the Marins and Whytes have always had the same suspension layout as far as i know
 

bc2002

Chimp
Nov 23, 2004
65
0
Vancouver, BC
Talk about Marin, I was just looking on their site.

Has anyone tried the new XLT? It blows that there is only 6.9 inches of travel, but I like the idea...full seat tube, I'm sold on the quad link thing, etc. What ever did happen to Marin and the FR/DH scene? Weren't they one of the originals, with their single pivot?
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
That fork makes so much sense to me. You could make it super light. The designer could tune the rate with the linkage. It would steer great. You could tune the axle path.
Anybody seen a BMW motorcycle lately?
Too bad you couldn't make one that would fit any frame.
 

ChrisRobin

Turbo Monkey
Jan 30, 2002
3,346
190
Vancouver
Since single pivots are still popular, it would be easy for Marin to jump back in the game with the same DH Team frame they've had forever but have a thru-axle (which they did have at the end), have a platform shock (since the end of the suspension is 'regressive' rate from what I know) and have a bigger pivot for the swingarm.
 

MOTODH

Turbo Monkey
Mar 28, 2005
1,167
0
CT
buildyourown said:
That fork makes so much sense to me. You could make it super light. The designer could tune the rate with the linkage. It would steer great. You could tune the axle path.
Anybody seen a BMW motorcycle lately?
Too bad you couldn't make one that would fit any frame.
whats the deal with the bmw motorcycle, Im curious:confused:
 

lukeduke

Chimp
Apr 4, 2003
77
0
is called the "attack trail", I have had mine for over a year now, love it. 4-6" travel, pedals awesome, descends awesome, and a bargain for like $650 for a frame only. one of the mags just did a test of $2000 trail bikes and it got 2nd behind the new Giant, just barely, and finished well ahead of the bikes from Kona, GT, Fisher, etc.
 

lukeduke

Chimp
Apr 4, 2003
77
0
is the same rear suspension design as the whyte, but I do not have the linkage fork. Still want a pic?
 

dhmtbj

Monkey
Jan 30, 2002
467
1
Boston
this fork has been around for quite a while...I remember reading a review in some mag 4 or so years ago. The fork maintains a constant head angle caused by a J-shaped axle path which is similar to the linkage forks used on bmw motorcycles. Does seem like a good idea, and could make for a very light and stiff front end.
 

crapacity

Chimp
Jul 20, 2005
56
0
The value of the design on BMW's is the nearly total elimination of brake dive. It blew me away the first time I rode one. I'm not too sure that would out-weigh some of the cons of putting one on a bicycle though.