We got the tech rundown from Rockshox’s product manager a few days ago, and now we have some glamour shots of the finished product as it’ll come on Lapierre’s 2013 mountain bikes.
Called I.E, the system uses two front mounted accelerometers, one on the fork lowers and the other inside the computer on the top of the stem, along with magnetic sensors in the crank’s spindle to determine pedaling speed and impact forces to automatically (and virtually instantly) adjust rear shock settings for maximum performance.
One thing that’s immediately noticeable is how much smaller the actuator box is Fox’s iRD electronic remote control shock, though they both do the same thing.
The computer mounts directly above the stem via a top-cap attachment bolted into the steerer tube. This keeps the forces its built-in accelerometer is sensing constant, as opposed to having it mounted in different locations if it were going on the bar or stem.
The lower accelerometer doubles as the speed sensor.
The battery is about the same size as the Di2 unit. Lapierre’s different bikes use different shock layouts depending on travel.
A simple up/down/mode control button lets you cycle through the modes manually and adjust the system.
Rebound adjustment dial is visible under the servo box.
