Factory rider Reed Doerr was out testing the Series A DH frame with 888 and crown kit at the 2008 Whistler Crankworx Festival. We are in the process of refining the frame and Reed’s feedback from his Whistler trip will be very influential. He has raced the bike at Sea Otter 2008 and other Oregon DH races, but Whistler has definitely pushed the frame even further. If you saw him there, we hope you said eh!

Testing and feedback summary:

Thus far, we are extremely pleased with the axle path and it’s ability to absorb large sized bumps. The rearward arc makes larger logs and rocks actually feel smaller, especially at high speeds. This is a very noticeable characteristic of the Series A compared to many other DH frames. The frame currently has 8.25” of travel, but we will round it up to 8.5”.

We are also very pleased with the pedaling efficiency of the frame, but actually have some refinements to the pivot height and pulley placement in store to further improve the pedaling efficiency. We feel that the frame already exceeds the expected standards but further efficiencies can be gained.

Testing and feedback summary (continued):

The geometry and handling of the frame are very good, but the primary geometry tweak will effectively stretch the cockpit just a bit to bring the rider’s weight more over the front wheel. Technically, the effective top tube length will not change, so much as the seat tube angle will be steeper, increasing the horizontal distance from the bottom bracket to the head tube. The bottom bracket height of 14.25” and 64° head tube angle feel perfectly dialed.

The floating brake will not be featured on future bikes. Through thorough testing in multiple terrains and scenarios, we determined that there is no noticeable difference between the frame with or without the floater. This is primarily due to the high pivot design, which we assumed to require the floater during the original design process. This is not the case, and we are very pleased because it added over 1lb to the frame weight, not to mention complexity and maintenance.

Our expected frame weight for the next version prototype is 10.5 lbs with all hardware and 8.75”x2.75” shock with steel spring. We will be refining the wall thickness of the tubes while increasing stiffness and strength. This is down from 12.2lbs with the current floating brake and thick walled tubing in certain frame members. With the increasing trend for lightweight DH bikes, we aim to compete with any high end aluminum frame with our durable 4130 steel racing chassis.

The next version will also go to sealed cartridge ball bearings. The original prototype had and experimental pivot design with the bronze bushings and polished 4130 chromoly axle. While this design was light, it is difficult to maintain the precise tolerances required between the bushings and axle, and is more difficult to assemble and maintain. Because the overall frame weight will be reduced, we had room to go to a simpler, easier to maintain cartridge ball bearing pivot design. The stiffness of the new pivot will meet or exceed the current design as well, because we will use a total of 4 bearings and proper tightening of the pivot is very easy.

The swingarm will see the most significant changes. The current swingarm tubing actually runs outside the chainline, but this proved to be too wide for some riders, where ankle contact was noticed. The new swingarm will be lighter, stiffer, and narrower, although we will be going from 135mm dropout spacing to the more standard 150mm spacing for DH bikes. We will keep the 12mm through axle design but also add a replaceable derailleur hangar.

Overall, we love the bike. It has tons of potential, and many people are pushing us to deliver the bike just as it is. We are perfectionists however, and will not release the frame until it exceeds our demanding expectations on every level. It will be lighter, stiffer, more efficient at absorbing impacts and at pedaling, and the design of the bike will look better, differentiating it from other existing designs and showcasing a unique Function Bikes style. We have not announced the price of the frame but will aim to be cost competitive. As with all Function Bikes products, you will get high quality at a very fair cost. We will post any developments on the site, so check in from time to time.