Lawwill Designs/Rotec RL9

[Bellsy]

Well, I've always loved Lawwill Designs bikes.
I bought my first (a 2000 Schwinn Straight 8) in early 2002 from a friend which I raced on the national circuit for a few years and that bike brought me some Top10 placings in the premier DH class at the time.

Unfortunatelly she was stolen a couple of years ago, and in a desperate attempt to relive the old days I've been buying Lawwill Schwinns like the were going out of fashion.

I managed to track down a NOS Black/Gold Straight 8 frame, and a used 4Banger and Straight 6 bikes.

One thing I've been desperate for lately is a modern DH bike which also utilised the Lawwill Designs rear end.
The Rotec RL9 fitted this perfectly, however they were way out of my price range, so I'd settled to try and find a push shock Schwinn Straight 8 or Yeti DH9 frame that I could build up.
Unfortunatelly, the only ones I could find were overseas and the sellers wanted mega$$$'s for their frames.

A few weeks ago I found a Rotec RL9 frame or complete for sale on a forum in Australia, but he was way out of my price range. This spured a bit of a search online, and I found one on eBay a couple of days later for a much more realistic price (about $1800usd) which I was happy with and the deal was done.

I got it home and pulled the flogged out Juicy 7's and Shimano drivetrain off it and threw on my near new Avid Codes and Sram X9 drivetrain and set off for my first propper shuttle day last monday with some mates and a van.

It took me about 8 runs to get the front and rear suspension working well together. This was mainly playing with the damping on each end, and it massively improved the bikes handling both through the rough stuff, and exiting the turns.

I have a Ti spring to suit my weight on the way as the current steel spring is 1 grade too stiff, so once I have that, I'll be able to control the fork with the damping a little more.

I'm looking forward to doing some local and state DH races on it soon.

Am also still looking for a name for it.

Anyways, here she is!





Spec List:
Frame: 2008 Rotec RL9 - Small
Shock: 2009 Rockshox Vivid 5.1 w/ Steel 400lbs spring (I weigh 150lbs)
Fork: 2008 Fox 40 RC2 w/ soon to be Purple Ti Spring
Brakeset: AVID Code
Cranks/Bars: FSA Gravity
Wheelset: Generic front to Rhino Lite, Hadley rear to Mavic 321
Post/Stem: Thompson, Syncros

May upgrade wheelset, bar& stem, and tires in the future. Otherwise she's a sweet rig and should serve me for years to come!

[CTB]

Love that bike, Bellsy. And not just because it's totally a modern Straight 6 color scheme.

[sully]

Hi Bellsy,

Sully here from Rotec (stateside). Congrats on your new purchase and welcome to the Rotec family.

Let me know your thoughts as I am always keen to hear from another Lawwill fan.

Remember, Kegs is your man at Cyclelogic. He's been handling the Rotec brand downunder and if you have issues he'll sort you out.

Again, thanks for riding rotec and welcome!

Regards,
John Sullivan

[Bellsy]

Hey Sully,
I'm the dude sent you an email a few weeks ago asking about spring stiffness, so thanks for getting back to me on that! :-)

My 1 and only complaint to date is that its a pain in the a$$ to get to the top adjustments on the shock. I basically need to take it out every time I want to make a click or 2 of damping adjustment.
I even tried mounting the shock the other way around but the body was too close to rubbing the tire to risk it.

So that would be 1 thing I would definately improve in the future ;-)

Otherwise, it rides sweet! Ti Fox 40 spring in my weight turned up yesterday, so I'll try to get some more runs in on the weekend and continue tuning it.

[sully]

Hey Nate,

Figured that was you when I saw the frame.

With the Vivid the adj's are a bit of a pain to get to, but then again all the shocks are a bit close.

With this version of the Lawwill their was no way around it really as the pivots had to be spot on to capture the Lawwill concept as Mert requested.

With that being said the next gen Lawwill will address this by using a shaped DT tube to create more of a pocket to between the shock and DT (resi facing forward).

As for your setup if you run the resi down to make adj's the shock will never be any closer to the tire then when its sitting on the stand. The moment you compress the suspension the tire moves away from the shock.

Like I said for the tuning aspect of the setup this is of no worry for ya. Once you get your setup sorted just flip it back over.

Thanks,
Sully

[rbx]

Hey Nate,

Figured that was you when I saw the frame.

With the Vivid the adj's are a bit of a pain to get to, but then again all the shocks are a bit close.

With this version of the Lawwill their was no way around it really as the pivots had to be spot on to capture the Lawwill concept as Mert requested.

With that being said the next gen Lawwill will address this by using a shaped DT tube to create more of a pocket to between the shock and DT (resi facing forward).

As for your setup if you run the resi down to make adj's the shock will never be any closer to the tire then when its sitting on the stand. The moment you compress the suspension the tire moves away from the shock.

Like I said for the tuning aspect of the setup this is of no worry for ya. Once you get your setup sorted just flip it back over.

Thanks,
Sully

Just wondering sully what are the advantages of Lawwill design over the fsr or Dw-link designs.

Looking at the RL9 you uploaded on the linkage program its seems that the system seems to have 0% anti-squat at sag point..so its designs philosophy seems to be closer to FSR then DW-links..

Anyway could you give us a brief lowdown on the design or maybe put a link up.

Thanks in advance

[CTB]

With that being said the next gen Lawwill

Oh ay...ay oh. You aren't slipping that one in so easily. Next gen Lawwill? The mind reels. I still would love to see a 5" Lawwill trail bike with the concentric BB and floating shock like the RL9, hopefully light enough to compete with the weight of a Fuel EX8, unless was carbon. Then I'd like to see it compete with the 9.9. But seeing the next DHer you come up with will be very cool, too.

Oh wait...I don't have the money for that...disregard...

[Bellsy]

Yeah... now thats another bike I'll have to get if I can ever dream of having the full Lawwill collection.

I've been keeping one eye open for a Gary Fisher RS-1 (the first Lawwill) recently too. One of those with an M900 XTR group and a set of Lawwill Leader forks would make the ultimate retro XC bike!
Also missing from the collection are push shock Straight 8 and Yeti DH4&9. Otherwise I have everything now I think!

[Bellsy]

Oh, and a push shock Straight 6.

[CTB]

How about a Yeti DH6 and DH8? You want a complete collection, right?

[Bellsy]

Lol, for the purpose of not giving my back account any more of a scare, I'll say that the 6 and 8 are the same thing from both brands. lol.
No doubt that'll change if I see one cheap enough though! he he

[markymarkymarkymark]

Very Nice Buy

I also had a Schwinn straight 8 that was stolen (also in aus). Had it set up as a trail bike with a double front ring (about 2 months before it was stolen ) It was really sweet setup like that. I got a stinky to replace it but it was bob city unless in the granny ring.

Just bought a tomac 204 magnum lawwill frame and even with a too soft spring it pedals so well (just like the schwinn).

A smaller travel (maybe 6 or 7") with room for a front derrailler would really hit the spot tho.

[Bellsy]

Yeah that sux. Wonder who's going around pinching all the straight 8's then?!?!

Sounds like a 2001 straight 6 would be right up your alley. Same as the 4-Banger, but with an extra 2 inches, and slightly more relaxed geo.

If you ever wanna sell that Tomac, lettuce know!

[CTB]

Pics of the Tomac?

[markymarkymarkymark]

pics of it just built up (last sunday acutually).
Still need to get a shifter cable so I can use more than 1 gear.
The frame has been repaired once before (the top link where the shock mounts has been filled in, and the right dropout is custom) and when I got it, there were a few cracks starting but I've gotten them welded up so it should be all good. (thankfully its 7005 so it doesnt need post weld heat treatment)

[CTB]

Very cool. Looks burly as a tank.

[flymybike]

The frame has been repaired once before (the top link where the shock mounts has been filled in, and the right dropout is custom) and when I got it, there were a few cracks starting but I've gotten them welded up so it should be all good. (thankfully its 7005 so it doesnt need post weld heat treatment)

I would wear all your pads! 7005 most def needs heat treatment. Maybe let it sit for a year and it can naturally age. Very cool bike though. Good one to add to the museum.

[dogonfr]

Had a pimpin Lawwil Yeti DH9 Draw shock for my son some 12 years ago, traded to Andy at Galfer brakes who installed a awesome proto type dual disc set up on the front.

The Lawwil design is one of the best active designs around. Also had a Marin Team Issue with a Lawwil copy man was that bike sweet.

Lame question for here but how does the Astrix Motolink compare to the Lawwil Link??

[Bellsy]

Thread dig.

Anyone know what's happened with Rotec?
Their website's been down for a while and Sully hasn't been on here for over 6 months.
They were supposed to be releasing the RLi this year but I've heard nothing on that in ages either.

[dogonfr]

Thread dig.

Anyone know what's happened with Rotec?
Their website's been down for a while and Sully hasn't been on here for over 6 months.
They were supposed to be releasing the RLi this year but I've heard nothing on that in ages either.

Check with Joe Lawwill he is the only one I know of thats close other than his DaD, Joe Lawwill

[Bellsy]

Thanks for that.
I have both Joe and Mert on facebook. Will have a chat with them and see if they have any updates.

[CTB]

I was wondering this recently as well. Since my Straight 8 has turned into a debacle, I was in "search for Lawwill DH bike" mode and found what you did. If you hear from Joe or Mert, please let us know.

[Bellsy]

Posted up by Sully today on Rotorburn.com

Hey peeps, Rotec is still alive but no worries not gone. tbass ill get you the geo info.

I'll have a new site up shortly.

Sorry for not updating more. Just nothing to share. Rotec is have growing pains like most small companys these days. As more happens more will be told.

Im thankful to have so many loyal followers that believe in my company and what I've created over the years. Those who are fans of Lawwill will appreciate whats in the pipe so to speak.

And those who are, should be! lol

But when it comes down to it its all about the amighty $$ and its no different here in bike world.
Where's my angel's when i need them ;D

Peace,
Sully

Sauce: New Rotecs in the near future - Page 5

[CTB]

Ah, nice to hear from Sully. Thanks for posting that. Amazing timing, as I was looking at Rotecs online again today.

[1spd1way]

To really complete your collection, you need my Yeti dh 4 frame I have hanging in the garage!