The mountain bike has arrived!

"whatisthatsound" (whatisthatsound)
04/17/2020 at 13:36 • Filed to: None

I’m finally home after a 9.5 month deployment, and my coming home gift to myself is a Forbidden Druid. I previously posted a few pics from their website when I purchased the bike. Here it is in real life with a dog pic and M3W in the background, which is my next project because it sat for nearly 10 months. A weird bike to go with a weird car. Side note, my sloth works logos and clothing have started to roll in so that is pretty neat.

The high pivot debuted on downhill bikes, now that drivetrains have moved to 1x, designers can capitalize on the witchcraft that happens when an idler is added.

DISCUSSION (38)

CB > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 13:54

Your garage is awesome.

Ready for an adventure! > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 13:59

welcome back.

Enjoy the gnar

woof!

Tripper > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 14:00

Gorgeous color on that Three Wheeler. Congrats on the new bike!

The Snowman > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 14:00

Nifty design.

PowderHound > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 14:01

You’re bike and Morgan nearly match!

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 14:01

Welcome back, I love the bike. Go get some loam .

whatisthatsound > CB
04/17/2020 at 14:01

It is pretty good at holding a lot of broken things. We have a gym setup on the other wall so it forces me to keep things clean-ish.

whatisthatsound > PowderHound
04/17/2020 at 14:02

The other color choice is black, and I’m not serious enough to pull that off.

whatisthatsound > Tripper
04/17/2020 at 14:08

I’m hoping a fuel pump swap and it’ll be ready to go. I left in a hurry so I wasn’t really able to do anything to prep it for long term storage other than fuel stabilizer and asking my S/O to push it once a month onto a different patch of tires.

Ssfancyfresh > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 14:08

That’s a serious bit of kit. Noice!

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 14:13

Where’s the motor go?

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 14:16

Oh man that suspension setup is insane

whatisthatsound > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
04/17/2020 at 14:23

I went with P ush all around so it is the new eleven six coil on the rear and the acs3 coil in the fork.

whatisthatsound > WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI
04/17/2020 at 14:25

2 removable motors actually and they sit on those pink platforms.

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 14:27

Seems inefficient.

That trike on the other hand......

A Boy and His Longtail > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 14:41

Awesome bike!

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 14:47

You must be pretty tall because I thought those were 27.5" wheels on that frame. Nice ride!

jminer > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 14:55

Welcome back! Thanks for your service!

That bike is gorgeous and so is that Morgan behind it. Man I just want to live in your garage.

Beefchips > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 15:00

I’m curious — what’s the idler witchcraft ? I’ve never seen a bike with one before.

whatisthatsound > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back
04/17/2020 at 15:21

I'm 6'1 coming from 27.5. There are a few things I'm adjusting to but I'm really liking the monster truck wheels.

whatisthatsound > jminer
04/17/2020 at 15:22

Because o f the Morgan I nearly do live in it.

whatisthatsound > Beefchips
04/17/2020 at 15:26

The high pivo t’s main drawbacks are slight drag on the drivetrain and more complex parts to break. The pros are the wheelbase actually grows under compression so it is really stable and it can handle square hits in a controlled way. When front derailleurs were used you couldn’t have a high pivot because of chain alignment , now though more companies are throwing their hats in the ring.

OPPOsaurus WRX > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 15:30

you’ll like this then:

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/wow-1842912195

Wallaby > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 15:31

To expand on this (for Beefchips, I’m sure you already know this if you bought this bike) , if you run a high pivot without a high idler to accompany it, the rearward axle path creates a large amount of pedal kickback which a) you feel through your feet and b) slows down the travel of the wheel p reventing it from traveling through its path. With the addition of the high idler pulley, the pedal kickback is greatly reduced or even eliminated which allows freer suspension travel.

whatisthatsound > OPPOsaurus WRX
04/17/2020 at 15:31

The c arnage in the beginning is mental when you consider the thrashing the bikes go through.

whatisthatsound > Wallaby
04/17/2020 at 15:32

You put it way better than I would too!

OPPOsaurus WRX > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 15:40

Ya, I was wondering how anyone got thru that without both tires going flat

RallyWrench > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 15:41

Nice! These shots are porn, man.

Kinja'd!!!

Wallaby > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 15:44

I may have spent way too much time this year researching everything I could about rear suspension design in order to improve how my Capra rides.

whatisthatsound > WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI
04/17/2020 at 15:53

is broken...

whatisthatsound > RallyWrench
04/17/2020 at 15:55

Thanks! I play around on the Fuji XT-2. The light in my garage is not too camera friendly, but I enjoy making my wife question my sanity as I roll around on the ground.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Wallaby
04/17/2020 at 16:30

Back in the ‘90s, there were a lot of new designs created to eliminate rear suspension movement under pedal loads. They had varying degrees of success. Many attempted to align the chain so it was parallel to the line between the pivot point and the rear axle. They did this by locating the actual pivot point as close to the bottom bracket as possible. This worked well for one or two gears, but if the chain wasn’t parallel to that line, the suspension would compress. Another approach was to place the pivot point high, somewhere between the teeth of the middle and big chainrings. While this made it easier to align the chain parallel to chainstay, it still resulted in pedal-induced feedback in the lower gears.

In some cases, a multi-link suspension was used to create a virtual pivot point that was close to the bottom bracket. In the most extreme cases, they created a coaxial system where the bottom bracket was housed inside the rear suspension pivot. One was heavy, but both were complicated and expensive, especially when it came to custom bearings.

Some designers chose to eliminate rider-induced rear suspension movement by placing the pivot above t he chainline so pedaling forces would extend the rear suspension instead of compressing it. This is the worst configuration when you are trying to pedal and your rear suspension is trying to compress over a bump. Not fun.

All of these make bikes more complicated and expensive. While there are more riders who can take advantage of big suspension, I’d say that most riders would do better with a simplified, inexpensive suspension or no suspension at all. The worst things a manufacturer can do is add weight, complexity, and cost. All of those things push most potential cyclists, whether it’s on dirt, gravel, or the road, out of the sport. If the bike’s too heavy, they won’t ride. If the bike’s too expensive, they won’t ride. If the bike’s too complicated, they won’t ride.

This is why the bicycle-shaped objects still exist at the superstores and why so many people buy them and stick them in the garage after just a few rides.

Cash Rewards > TheRealBicycleBuck
04/17/2020 at 16:39

There are really very few places a hardtail can’t go. Lighter, simpler, cheaper, awesome.

Yes, big mountain stuff you need a rear suspension, I know. But most stuff you'll do just fine.

BeaterGT > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 16:47

Flats for the win, when’s the first ride?

Beefchips > Wallaby
04/17/2020 at 16:50

Cool, TIL!

TheRealBicycleBuck > Cash Rewards
04/17/2020 at 17:35

I have a cyclocross frame for my “road” bike so I can use fat tires. 700x35. Some of the roads around here are barely smoother than gravel, so the big tires really help with comfort. It’s hilarious to watch the guys with skinnies ride those roads without rattling their teeth out of their heads.

But I still love my Super-V for off-road. While I can ride hardtail, I don’t want to ride hardtail. My bike is old, so it doesn’t have the suspension for doing downhill and big drops. It’s just enough to smooth out the rough stuff and let me stay seated where other guys have to stand.

My cousins and I used to ride together a lot. One day, we hit a trail that was full of washboards. Both of my cousins were on hardtails and had to stand. I just stayed in the saddle and powered through. They were amazed that I could stay seated, so both of them took turns riding my bike through the same section. Both of them ended up buying full suspension bikes. :)

One of my cousins said it best, “It’s like riding a barcalounger !”

Cash Rewards > TheRealBicycleBuck
04/17/2020 at 21:33

The problem I have is that to get a decent bike you have to spend soooo much money these days. This bike here probably cost what a decent NC miat a would run (or two passable NBs).So in my bargain basement world, a crummy full suspension is just a waste of money. I bet if I tried something this nice my mind would be blown.

But, I also don't mind riding out of the saddle. Maybe I'm just used to it.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > whatisthatsound
04/17/2020 at 23:44

Sounds interesting. I have no idea what those words mean.