Bike Design | In june 2012 I decided to design my own mtb-frame that would be able to handle everything. From long and technical trails in the mountains to a fast typical Flemish route. There where some characteristics the bike needed to have: 29" wheels, fullsuspension and a dropper seatpost. The first decision I had to make was the amount of travel the bike would have. 120mm is the best for aggressive use in Belgium but isn't enough to tackle the technical and fast trails in the mountains. 150mm is perfect in the mountains but combined with the bigger wheels it is too much to use in Belgium. The final amount of travel is 140 in the front and 130 in the back.
Frame Design | I went for a VPP design because it has no effect on the braking efficiency and it pedals well uphill. One of the disadvantages of a VPP design is the lack of stiffness and shorter life of the bearings due to the flex in all the linkages. This problem is solved by using carbon for the whole frame so the weight is kept low but the frame is still stiff. For the colors and paint scheme I opted for a sleak and simple design with a different color accent for every model.
Components | The bike was designed with top-components of that time. Sram XX 2x10 drivetrain, Race face sixc cockpit and crank, Fox Float 34 fork and float X shock, a Rockshox Reverb dropper post and Enve rims laced around some chris king hubs.
Insights 2016 | If I would redesign this bike today I'd make a few changes to the frame and setup.
1. The frame would be made longer and slacker to become more stable at higher speeds.
2. The top tube will lengthen and the stem would be much shorter.
3. The head angle would slacken but the seattube angle would remain the same.
4. The width of the rear triangle would be changed so 650b+ wheels could fit and the axles would lengthen to the Boost standard.
5. The mount of the front derailleur will go away because a 1x12 drivetrain would be mounted.
6. Other changes in setup are: wider rims (30mm internal width), brakes with 4 pistons in the front for more stopping power and 2 in the back to save some weigth.
