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Fork question for DW

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#1 ·
Fork question for DW

Hey Dave! You’ve pretty much dialed in optimal balanced rear suspension for bicycle and possibly motor vehicle rear suspension dynamic anti-squat with bump compliance. I think there’s some room for enhancing integrated ride height and shock mount rate adjustable tuning in the dw-Link rear suspension design. I imagine you’re not done advancing the dw-Link. Although the current dw-Link has set the rear suspension standard of quality for this decade if not longer.

Do you have any thoughts on possible improvement for bike front suspension?

Air springs don’t work as well to control dive and wallow as linear coil’s near linear rate of telescoping path. Air spring is much more progressive, and needs more compression damping with the tradeoff of associated loss of bump compliance to slow and reduce brake dive and wallow.

Seems like the linear path coiled telescoping fork would be hard to better or else MotoGP or Moto-X would have done it already.

Even F1 or Dakar or Baja buggies would have improved on the linear front suspension rate already. But like a very light weight or female bicycle rider, cars have a much lower center of gravity so dive and wallow isn’t so large an issue as it is with average to heavier weight harder bicycle riders experience.

A roller bearing flat faced telescoping fork could reduce platform like bushing stiction significantly. The Canondale Lefty has this roller bearing design with progressive with air spring, but it’s not been done with linear coil on a bicyle The exception is MotoCxyn roller bearing telescoping fork design using coil for a MotoGP level performance limited production sport bike).

A pivoting linkage with a non-linear path may provide more compliance and modified spring and damping rate and brake induced anti-dive.

Are you working on anything for alternative front suspension?

Happy New Year!

MotoCxyn roller bearing fork and BMW's telelever path examples:
 

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#2 ·
Hey Ray,

Definitely there are a few enhancements that I have incorprated into upcoming dw-link models. I am always looking at ways to leverage improving damper tecnologies through leverage rate manipulation and further tuned anti-squat curves. Its crazy because the things that I worked on 2-3 years ago are getting to market now, and the things that I am working on now will see the market in 2 years or more. Wild.

Front suspension is an interesting area. One of the great things about rear suspension is the fact that you have two forces acting on the suspension (driving and chain) to produce one resultant force (squat). Its nice because it offers a wide variety of options to try to achieve a desired resultant force. Of course, the addition of leverage rate requirements and pedal feedback wishes combined with braking force mitigation muddy things up considerably, and that is where linkage layout really begins to get constrained.

Front suspension is a little simpler, but has its own unique issues. Braking anti-squat is something that can make a big performance difference on off-road vehicles, but integration is seldom cost effective or simple. There have been plenty of attempts, but the fact is that telescopics are very cost effective to produce, and are the standard in the marketplace. (they diplaced linkage forks on early motorcycles) Like most passionate suspenion designers in the motorcycle industry, I see the benefits that the linkage forks can offer. I have some ideas, but like most times I just don't have the time to put them all into patents right now so I am just sitting on them.

Hope you had a great holiday Ray.

Dave
 
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