FREERIDE: Thomas, you design bikes for Intense and are a flipchip opponent.
Thomas HarterNo, I am not fundamentally against adjustments on the bike. It depends on who gets the adjustments. Flipchips on the headset, chainstay or rear triangle make perfect sense for racing teams, but not so much for the hobby rider out there. This is additional complexity that not everyone needs.
Why not? They also want to adapt their bike to the terrain or their preferences.
For racers, it's all about milliseconds. You can get the best out of the bike with tricks like this. For hobby riders, it's not about seconds. You have to realise that the manufacturers go to great lengths to build an optimal bike for the needs of the hobby biker. With too many setting options, I overtax the customer. In short, you can do more wrong than right. I see so many people out there for whom it would first make sense to adjust the handlebar/stem combination. Or to adjust the suspension correctly.
I rather have the impression that the race-loving designers build the bikes for their racers. There are plenty of examples.
I see it differently. That may be the case with many manufacturers. We at Intense do things differently.
So you're not building the Downhiller for Aaron Gwin and Dakotah Norton, but for the hobby downhiller?
Almost. We have a racing model for the downhill team. This bike has three geometry adjustments. On the headset, on the rear triangle and on the chainstay. The standard bike does not have these features, but only one adjustment, namely on the shock mount, to make the suspension travel more linear or more progressive. This also makes sense for the hobby downhiller. They can set up their bike for the downhill track or for the park. For me, this is the only sensible geometry adjustment for standard bikes.
Many hobby downhillers want exactly the same product that racers ride. Many also claim that a suspension fork with low and high-speed rebound is only for racers.
That's true. It's similar in other sports. People want Bode Miller's World Cup skis, even if it only brings them disadvantages. Or with racing bikes. People want to ride the model that competes in the Tour de France, even if it gives them back pain.
Is the manufacturer's marketing department to blame?
I can't judge that. I'm not a marketing person, I just know that the demands placed on a product are different. The fastest downhillers in the world need a different bike to us hobby racers. It's often like that in the bike industry: If one person does something, everyone thinks they have to follow suit. And of course, the more features a bike has, the more you can write about it. The customer thinks: I'm getting more for my money. That makes sense to me. But not in practice.
In addition, many are happy about the wide range of applications.
Exactly, it's the search for the egg-laying wool-milk sow.
Nevertheless, having is better than needing. If you don't want to adjust anything, you don't have to.
That's true, but what many people don't realise: Durability suffers. The more moving parts, the more noise potential a bike has. Added to this are manufacturing tolerances during production. This is a particular problem with carbon frames, where meticulous attention must be paid during production. In short: the service aspect increases.
An exciting aspect - which I hadn't realised.
An exciting aspect - which I hadn't realised. Sure, you test editors usually ride brand new bikes and only for a few months. So do the professional racers. But the end customer wants to have fun with their bike for a long time - as creak-free as possible.
What is your appeal?
I believe that the right cockpit is often underestimated. And also the choice of tyres. Here you can adapt your bike sufficiently to the terrain. If it's a flip chip, then it's on the rear triangle to adjust the kinematics. This is definitely a useful adjustment option.
Not all designers see things the same way as Thomas Harter. More voices
I want the bike to adapt to me and not the other way round. The flipchip fulfils its purpose here. Because different terrain requires different geometries. I'm not aware of any more wear and tear caused by flipchips. Neither does noise development, at least if you solve it technically well. - Peter Denk, kinematics expert, Specialised
With a few exceptions, flipchips make no sense to me. My motto: It's better to build it right from the start than to experiment with flipchips. Because in addition to the extra weight, noise development can never be completely ruled out. We'd rather go straight for interchangeable rocker arms, which then also decisively change the character of the bike. Jochen Forstmann, Last Bikes designer
Geometry adjustments make bikes more universal. There are many trails with different terrain: narrow, rough or fast and rough, etc. Here, the customer can react and adjust the bike to their area of use. So that the customer knows what he should set up for which requirement, specialist brands such as Focus have dealers on hand to provide advice and assistance. The argument of higher wear is justified, but it can be solved constructively, e.g. with plastic headset shells. - Fabian Scholz, design engineer
Laurin Lehner
Editor
