Opportunities, experiments and play.
There’s a couple of very influential and widely used theories which are used to measure the anti-squat that occurs under acceleration, and the anti-rise that happens under braking.
Bikes have been designed using these theories for decades. Modern bikes work kinda nice. But what if these theories aren’t 100% accurate? Rather than informing the design, could they be hindering the design process? In a sport where a 2% improvement in anything is a massive deal, are bigger opportunities being missed?
Photo: Adam Gasson/Bespoked
Gary started experimenting in late 2019, with designs that were as far away from normal as he could imagine, just to see if there was scope for things to be done differently and to see what could be learnt.
He built the first Marra prototype in 2022.
This first video shows how the axle path of Marra (at 2:29) is radically different to existing designs, but also note how much more the swingarm rotates as the suspension moves. These are the factors which make our KOLARP suspension concept so good.
Nobody else has experimented or built a bike even remotely like this, because the old theories say “no”.
But the old theory raises more questions than it solves.
If something seems too good to be true, then it probably is.
Or… If the calculation seems too neat and simple, then can we trust it to answer the complicated questions we’re trying to answer?
It’s not difficult to run a few checks.
This second video raises questions about the usefulness of the braking anti-rise calculation.
This third video raises questions about the way the chain-tension anti-squat is calculated, and suggests that if the height of the cassette is not allowed for, then the lines must be drawn in the wrong place.
In this video Gary makes a suggestion as to how the lines should be drawn, but this is just one small part of how total anti-squat would be calculated. If you’re interested to do a PhD on any of this, please get in touch.
So while the rest of the mountain biking world is trying to get a 2% improvement out of a theory that might at best only be 80% accurate, we’ve just cracked on with our own thing.
We’ve re-written the theories, we can quantify the gains. But at the end of the day the numbers don’t matter, it’s the whole ride. Does every part of the bike come together to deliver the goods?
The reviewers say ‘yes’.
The existing theory has been useful and has served its purpose well. Things have now moved on.
Auckland Cycle Works, the Marra bike, and the KOLARP suspension concept, represent the very beginning of a paradigm shift in the way mountain bike suspension will be measured and developed.
If you are interested to buy a Marra or Reiver for your collection, or to abuse on the world’s most demanding tracks, please get in touch.
photo by Alexej Fedorov/Bespoked