SEA OTTER CLASSIC 2010 – Just when you think you’ve seen it all, Yeti’s gone and come up with something completely different.
Their prototype downhill bike uses a unique I-beam like sliding rail to hold the bottom pivot, allowing the entire suspension mechanism to move upward upon compression. The tech folks weren’t on hand to describe it fully, so I’ll be swinging back by, the the pictures tell much of the story…and story time is right after the break…
The upper linkage is fairly straightforward, using a small linkage to keep things in line while the top of the rear triangle drives the shock forward to compress it.
Move down the very square seat tube, though, and things get more interesting. There’s a slider rail bolted onto the front of the seat tube (indicating it can be replaced due to wear, which seems likely to happen given the design).
The bottom pivot is mounted to a slider that glides up and down the rail. On the left is with no compression, and on the right is about 1/3 shock compression.
