leading link front forks

mlsred

mlsred

Likes Dirt
so why hasn't anyone made a leading link front fork for a DH bike? more travel possibilities, leading link front forks don't compress under hard braking and another plus is they are excellent for fast bumps ie dirt

Strange idea I know but I had the forks off my road racing leaning on my MTB and thought to myself "i wonder what a light weight set of leading links would be like"

here's a simple pic for those of you who have no idea what i'm blabbering on about (dirt ones are very different these just showed the basic design better)

 
S

Stinky

Likes Dirt
They were done back in the mid 90s. Girven had one option and then there was the full DH version raced at Mammoth by Jurgen Beneke in all its fluro goodness.

have had a look around but can not find any pics.
 
Spanky_Ham

Spanky_Ham

Porcinus Slappius


yeah, we know. its not a true leading link.....

BMW motorcycles now use this kind of front suspension set up... apparently doesn't dive (much) under braking. Never ridden one...

s
 
Ride.Dirt.Wake.

Ride.Dirt.Wake.

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Well I imagine when the lower arm goes down, as the fork compresses, clearance would become an issue. Looks probably heavier than standard mtb forks.

It's an interesting design, at first I thought, wow, thats a hell of a lot of offset, but its probably not too much further than a normal set of forks.
How do they go on big hits? strong enough? Doesnt look like it would be too hard to snap the (insert word for hole where wheel goes :facepalm:) off, whilst keeping the weight down.

Another concept to work with I suppose.
 
thecat

thecat

NSWMTB, Central Tableland MBC
they were overly complicated, tended to lock out in corners and on flat drops.... other than that they were great....:D
 
mlsred

mlsred

Likes Dirt
I know this isn't mountain bike but these sure as hell take alot of a beating, they are also the best fork I have ever used for a dirt bike hands down no matter how new the bike is

 
SouthYarraSage

SouthYarraSage

Likes Dirt
The motorcycle world has tried just about every conceivable front suspension variation and a lot of them look great on paper. But, telescopic forks have been developed continuously for over 100 years. In the end, they have tended to just perform better - not because of any inherent engineering superiority but because of the sheer weight of experience.

That's not to say you can't make a good fork any other way - one of my favourites is this:


Under the covers, it's a double-wishbone girder fork. Rigid as buggery, and highly tuneable for pro / anti dive via changes in the wishbone geometry.
 
mlsred

mlsred

Likes Dirt
that's really what I meant to say, why wouldn't we spend more time and money developing a fork that could work better than the standard telescopic fork.

On another note I have seen the britten and it's just mind boggling
 
SouthYarraSage

SouthYarraSage

Likes Dirt
mlsred said:
that's really what I meant to say, why wouldn't we spend more time and money developing a fork that could work better than the standard telescopic fork.

On another note I have seen the britten and it's just mind boggling
Click to expand...

I guess 'cos it would be quite a lot of someone's time and money... on the other hand, it could be down to the ;) international telescopic fork conspiracy...

The Britten is, as you say, mind-boggling. I was fortunate enough to be racing motorbikes in NZ around 1993-95 when it was in its heyday, and I've sat on the sidelines soaking up that throbbing flat drone, watching the endless wheelies... and seeing Andrew Stroud crash it into the fence and break the forks below the bottom wishbone :eek:

RIP John Britten
 
Spanky_Ham

Spanky_Ham

Porcinus Slappius
SouthYarraSage said:
The Britten is, as you say, mind-boggling. I was fortunate enough to be racing motorbikes in NZ around 1993-95 when it was in its heyday, and I've sat on the sidelines soaking up that throbbing flat drone, watching the endless wheelies... and seeing Andrew Stroud crash it into the fence and break the forks below the bottom wishbone :eek:

RIP John Britten
Click to expand...
we found a Britten 'shrine' in a McDonalds in ...... oh, crap, was in NZ. Not Queenstown..... anyway, it was upstairs in the Macca's and someone told me about it.

Funny thing was, no one blinked when I put spanky away, got down on my knees and prayed at the 'shrine of britten'. Revered the guy after realising he'd home cast all those cylinder heads, then sliced them up to check his casting process... then cast them again.

is now jealous of SouthYarraSage, the pipe work on that bike was well wicked, would of sounded so super sweet.

RIP Britten.
 
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