RaerDesign

Bicycle Suspension History.
Directly connected suspension was first tried and tested on a motocrosser. The prior mathematical calculations said there would be around a 25% to 30% reduction in chassis pitch from such a design, but test riders commented on what felt like a 70% to 90% reduction in chassis pitching motion. Given the obvious potential on offer it was decided to see if these results could be replicated on a bicycle. So a quick prototype was assembled (Photo 1.) solely to test operating principles.
From here the overly complex linkage front suspension design (Photo 2.) had to be refined to make this a viable proposition.

A three member front suspension was adapted for the purpose (Photos 3. & 4.). With telescopic forks having four members (2 stanchions and 2 sliders) plus four bearing surfaces (2 sliders and 2 steering head bearings) with overly vulnerable surfaces to protect, the new design of linkage front suspension was seen as a breakthrough design. Only, cyclists, unlike motorcyclists, have no history of linkage front suspension systems therefore the unconventional nature of what is a vastly superior design once again had to be redesigned to make it more acceptable to the general public but retain its simplicity, weight saving and substantial advantages. The lower ball joint was moved from inside the front hub to be repositioned above the front tire (Photo 5.). This new design retained its three members/six bearings structure, plus, now it was double sided at the front wheel and shared a style similar to telescopic forks with a structural member travelling in a more direct downwards fashion from the handlebars to the front wheel plus it held both sides of the front wheel spindle.

What had started as an exercise to reduce frame pitch and improve suspension action had, for bicycles, given the most advantageous side effect; test riders noticed a lack of bouncing, even with very soft rear suspension, when peddling. There was no longer any energy loss when peddling!

Bicycle and suspension companies have spent a lot of time and money to solve this problem (to date largely unsuccessfully), where here it was successfully achieved so more by accident than by design.

Given that linkage front suspensions give superior braking performance and dual suspension also reduces braking distances here is a bicycle design that is the safest, most efficient, most comfortable and lightest to date.

These two designs working together could possibly be the biggest breakthrough in bicycle design since Kirkpatrick MacMillan invented the first pedal bicycle! Further, for sports such as Cross Country racing these designs offer around forty advantages!