http://world.honda.com/MTB/




comes vtec eqquiped

LMAO vtec equipped...id take the pedals over that any day...

GMC and Cadillac make some too, there's a "Denali" bike

Sickness...........Id buy that in a heart beat. Nice

Is there a Spoon version?
have they made Bodykits for it yet?

hmm.. needs altezzas

Originally Posted by TheMike

Is there a Spoon version?
have they made Bodykits for it yet?

no no no. mugen will have one first. lol

not bad for a bike.

wow i'd buy that in a second

mid engine rear wheel drive!!

^^slkjfsadflkj

Wtf is up with the gearing.. Trust honda to take a method that is proven to work, and then come up with a totally more complicated way of doing it, just because they can.

maybe it's a continously variable transmission.

all the gearing is under the seat
no chain bouncing
crazy balanced bicycle

from what ive heard from my bike friends about this bike

MB and BMW have been making bikes for years...

Honda designed this bike years ago. They had/have? a factory racing team, and the world champ downhill racer at the time switched from GT to a Honda.

The gear design really isn't anything crazy. Internally geared hubs have been around for a long long time, and companies like Rohloff have redesigned them to use more gears. This one is probably a 14 speed. Less wear, smooth shifting, and hardly any maintenance.

On a full suspension bike like that, one of the biggest problems is getting the leg power to the ground. Older, high travel designs caused "pedal bob" which means the rear end bounces up and down instead of planting the power into the back wheel. This drains your energy, and makes for a rather unstable ride. With new designs such as this one and many others, they have the pivot point for the rear end and the chain line set high up in the frame. In order to have the same chain line with a single chain, the pedals would have to be like a foot higher up, which wouldn't work at all. You balance would suck and your knees would be smashing the handle bars. So they add another chain and move the whole assembly down lower. You also get much more ground clearance this way. Really, the only downsides are cost and weight.

edit: now that i look again, it's not a geared hub... the gearing is at the crank. they went through a few different versions of this bike, but none made it to production I don't think.

^^ its not a geared hub.. its a 7 speed 'transmission' mounted at the bottom of the frame..

As for the chain, the bottom bracket is usually the first thing to catch on anything, which is still in the same basic place as pretty much all bikes.

The newer multi link rear suspensions are MUCH better at not bio-pacing than older single pivot designs, and work very well over bumps too. From what I've read, bio-pacing is much more prevalent on designs where the pivot and bottom bracket (chain rings more specifically) were further apart.. On the designs where the pivot is really close to the bottom bracket(or even integrated) its definitely less noticable.

The downsides I see to this bike are initial cost, and complete reliability on special parts.. You'd have no chance of finding anything for this driveline at a local bike store.

Originally Posted by neonSRT

^^ its not a geared hub.. its a 7 speed 'transmission' mounted at the bottom of the frame..

As for the chain, the bottom bracket is usually the first thing to catch on anything, which is still in the same basic place as pretty much all bikes.

Not once have I ever hit my bottom bracket on something - unless trying to grind on a bmx bike. The crank/chainrings will hit way before the frame does.

With no chainrings, you're gaining at least another 4" or so of clearance. That could make or break you on any "real" trail.

Multi-link suspension has it's pros and cons. A single pivot will usually create slack in the chain under compression. But a multi link requires much more weight, and more pivot points (bushings/bearings) to wear. Fortunately, I have the best of both worlds!

Originally Posted by neonSRT

You'd have no chance of finding anything for this driveline at a local bike store.

You've obviously never been to Eastside cycle.

^^ My point about the bottom bracket/chain rings(I worded it poorly above) is that the pedals will always have to be that low in the frame, or it'll be awkward to ride, so regardless of where you move the chain to, theres still something hanging down low..

Look at how much hangs below the crank in that picture though, it looks quite a bit bigger than the diameter of my biggest chain ring, so theres still something to snag..

If this were a hardtail, they could claim its better because they can run a specific chain tension, and have less chance of the derailleur not providing enough tension, but because its suspended, and the pivot isn't on the same pivot as the chain ring, there has to be something in the system taking up the slack as the suspension moves.

Don't get me wrong, its a neat concept, but theres a reason it never saw production...

Wow a Honda worth buying!!!!! It is about time they did something good!!

^ it'll rust in no time

Originally Posted by neonSRT

If this were a hardtail, they could claim its better because they can run a specific chain tension, and have less chance of the derailleur not providing enough tension, but because its suspended, and the pivot isn't on the same pivot as the chain ring, there has to be something in the system taking up the slack as the suspension moves.

Depends on where the pivot is. Not all single pivot designs have forward wheel-arcs. On my bike, the wheel actually travels towards the rear of the bike under compression. I have to find my proper chain length with the shock out... otherwise the chain may snap when I bottom out. Although the derailleur will probably break first.

If we ever meet up for a ride, you'll have to take it for a spin. It's a rather goofy design, but you'd be surprised at how well it works! Still bobs quite a bit, but I like my suspension on the softer side.

^^ Yours still requires that something takes up the slack when the suspension moves.. It just happens to have more slack when the suspension is unloaded..

Again I worded it poorly, sue me, I was tired