“I wanted an all round bike, one that I could ride cross country and down hill. The Ethos bike, with specifications delivered just that. Now I am riding with so much more confidence and have started racing down-hill.”

Louise Cook

[ Ethos Suspension Advantage ]

How and Why?

Having ridden mountain bikes for a number of years, we (and our riding mates) were getting increasingly frustrated with dual suspension technology and its short falls. So, with our industrial design background, we decided to build our own 'dualie'. We wanted to address the three specific problems rear suspension bikes have. These being bio-pacing, bobbing and brake lockout. Most suspension designs beat one of the three problems; some beat two of them. Our challenge was to solve all three problems at once. And we have! We patented the design in the US and Australia and set about building our unique mountain bikes, first for ourselves, then close riding buddies, and now, for you.

How we solved the 'Big 3'?

1)

Bio-pace; most commonly known as the tendency for the pedals to 'tug' as the suspension compresses, and accelerate as the suspension extends. This is due to varying the chain length across the tangents of the top run of the chain between the cluster and chain ring during suspension articulation. The rear derailleur takes up the variations. And the chain rings rotate to feed the required chain forward and back. This 'chain feed' is what you feel as biopacing.

On an Ethos Bike, we position the pivots for the chain-stay close to the chain/gear tangent points. This enables the arc travelled by the chain-stay to closely mimic the arc travelled by the chain - the same path = the same length.

If you have a close look at the pics on this site you will notice the rear pivot is forward and above the rear axle and the wheel axle, is mounted directly to the seat-stay. You won’t see this arrangement on any other suspension design.

This capability is complemented by the action of the rocker arm and seat-stay. As the suspension compresses, the rear cycle is rocked forward by the rocker arm, helping maintain the consistent chain length.

2)

Bob; is the tendency for suspension to rhythmically compress and extend during pedalling - robbing the rider of valuable 'forward' energy. Cantilever designs align the chain-stay pivots with the chain to get rid of pedal induced suspension bob. This alone was not enough. We wanted more…and got it! We set the angle between the rocker arm and seat-stay at approximately 90†. This means that when the rider 's weight has ‘sagged’ the suspension, further prevents drive torque from activating the suspension.

Ethos Bicycles don’t depend on stiff spring rates, slow damping or no-sag - topped out shock absorbers to turn pedal effort into forward motion.

Don’t confuse pedal induced bob with bouncing induced bob. Bouncing up and down on the seat won’t make a bike go, but will make the suspension activate.

Our suspension geometry is designed to pedal best with sag tuned in. Sag is the compression of suspension caused just by the riders’ weight. Sag let’s the wheel drop into hollows or depressions, keeping tyre contact with the ground. When the tyre is on the ground it can drive, stop and turn the bike. Don’t be fooled by designs claiming to have beaten energy sapping ‘bob’ that don’t ‘sag’ when tuned for your weight. These designs can only deal with bumps or upwards-surface irregularities. Utilising a no-sag design has solved only half the problem.

3)

Active suspension during braking; Ethos rear suspension remains supple and active during braking which keeps the tyre tracking on the ground.

When the suspension link that the brake is mounted to changes angle relative to the ground, you have a suspension design that is going to stiffen up when the brakes are applied. This is due to the brake link rotating when the brakes are on - the tyre must rotate with the link. But the tyre is on the ground and can’t rotate because the brakes are on. So either the suspension can't move up and down, or the tyre has to slide across the ground. On the trail a bit of both occurs, the suspension resists moving and the tyre slips a bit. This causes the rear of the bike to skip and slide while you brake.

A number of manufacturers include an additional torque arm and floating brake mount to address this problem, adding complexity and weight. Our seat-stay, where the brake mounts to, remains constant to the ground within a few degrees, offering superb cornering stability and brake control.

THERE’S MORE TO HOW OUR SUSPENSION DESIGN WORKS THAN WE'RE TELLING HERE, BUT THAT’S ALL WE'RE GOING TO SAY. WE’LL LET THE OTHERS ATTEMPT TO USE THEIR MARKETING DEPARTMENT'S FAST TALK AROUND THEIR DESIGNS FAILINGS…