Mountain Biking - New Design Theory...

I was just sittin' 'round here in Germany trying to figure out wth I'm doing here when an idea struck me for forks..

They have rigid, Air-Sprung, Springers, Oil Compression and all that... When will a magnetic fork come around (if it hasnt already, I'd google it but the internet is painfully slow, took me 5 minutes just to get here)
If you think about it you'd be able to fine tune it, with different amounts/strength magnets, no seals to blow out or replace, and nothing would wear out...


Thoughts?

Magnets capable of doing that in a mtb fork platform would be really, really heavy, and really, really expensive.

Also, with what I can remember from GCSE physics, bottom out and your buggered.

Also, with what I can remember from GCSE physics, bottom out and your buggered.

How so? And you'd probably still need an oil bath and seals of some sort.

you'd probably need electro-magnets, and a lead acid camelbak, or a nuclear reactor.

How so? And you'd probably still need an oil bath and seals of some sort.

If you whack a magnet it looses some of it's strength. I haven't done magnets since GSCE but I think thats right. Also the stuff they are made of generally isn't the most impact resistant material.

http://www.geocities.com/verdrahciretop/bikes1.jpg

I took some big magnets off of some subwoofers and made trampoline shoes..........

besides everything with design issues ect ect i don't think it would offer very good suspension feel, i base this on varous magnetic triggers on paintball guns i've used (both attract and repell style) and on general playing with magnets.

Magnets capable of doing that in a mtb fork platform would be really, really heavy, and really, really expensive.

But really, really, really cool.

what if you get to close to the wrong type of metal and your fork gets stuck?

You could use the magnetic fluid to dampen a shock. That would be nice. You push the fluid through an orfice, (maximum + largest that would allow free flow) then move the magnet closer to slow the flow. The magnet tries to harden the fluid and acts as a restriction. I has samples of this stuff 15 years ago, and just now automotive is using it in a few cars.

You could use the magnetic fluid to dampen a shock. That would be nice. You push the fluid through an orfice, (maximum + largest that would allow free flow) then move the magnet closer to slow the flow. The magnet tries to harden the fluid and acts as a restriction. I has samples of this stuff 15 years ago, and just now automotive is using it in a few cars.

kinda. it has to do with lining up molecules. the new audi TT has it and if you get 5 guys jouncing the rear of the car and trigger it to full lock via the 5051 scan tool it is pretty cool.

would be pretty cool, if it would work...

You get the right magnetic thing going and you wouldn't need 'suspension' in the traditional sense - - bike would just hover at a comfortable altitude like the "Space Coupe" in Dick Tracy:

http://www.aimcomm.com/users/dminor/gallery/doug_silver.jpg
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GYKBXFDAL._SS500_.jpg

Well, hey I tried to spark an Idea.

the Magentic Fluid is an idea, I remember reading about it from one of the foreign car brands around here.
(it wasnt audi, so I guess its not a totally new idea)

But I still think there's more to go on with magnets, using those rare earth metal magnets (like the ones mythbusters used in their show) have insane power, They had them bout the size of a hand, and the generated like 1000 lbs of force.

Rare earth would certainly be the way to go... my only concern would be the compression characteristics... without any seals or dampers or anything, it would just throw you off on the rebound. You could add a plunger and filled it with oil to dampen the movement some, I don't think the repulsive force would be terribly conducive to mountain riding, maybe XC, but it wouldn't be a huge distance that it could repel and keep up a rider, while it would compress very stiffly, meeting a lot of resistance with only a small amount of movement.

Finally, and probably most importantly, say goodbye to steel cables, housings, hardware, brakes, rotors, etc. on the front fork.


All that being said, it would probably work to some extent and is certainly worthy of someone making a frankenbike with a magnetic-levitation fork :thumb:

Yes, it could be done. However, I'm not sure it could be engineered to be made with less weight than air. The "rare earth" magnets you speek of are powerfull, but would take plenty R&D to get the specific weight ratios. How will you adjust the rebound and preloads? I think it's a great idea to persue "any" invention, see what you can find out and report back. :roflmao2: But for real see what happens.

consider this site NWS in the manner that it's gory, guy has an accident with magnets.

http://www.magnetnerd.com/Neodymium%20Magnets/Dirks%20Accident.htm

Just be careful, okay.

That's the coolest!

Preload and stuff, IDK, move the magnets closer/farther....... no cause that would make you loose travel.

maybe tilt the magnet, so the repelling side isnt directly facing the other


As for weight, make it out of... Carbon? lol...
isnt there some sort of anti magnetic lining they make?

I know on one of my fridge magnets, the bare side sticks extreamly well, the other side with the coating , nothing at all, and you cant stick anything else to it


IDK yea, I think it'd be a cool concept but not for the weigh weenies.

id love to watch that vid, but cant, the internet stick thingy I have is slow and wont load vids or large pics/songs... wat happens?

What if the magnets were tiny? Oriented like fibers in muscle? Many sets in parallel, and many in series?
One could have the whole system in an open bath. This would lubricate the system and provide damping. Maybe even mimicking the damping properties of active muscle.
Thoughts?

Preload and stuff, IDK, move the magnets closer/farther....... no cause that would make you loose travel.

I kinda think this is an odd thread, but why would you lose travel? Why would the magnets be your "travel stop"? Your coil spring doesn't bottom out on itself, nor does an air chamber compress until there's zero volume inside.

The reason nothing will stick to the other side of fridge magnets is generally because they are ****ty magnets.

If you get something magnetic, and hold it up next to the magnet, then the magnet won't work through it though.

Btw, this may all be bull****, I'm dredging rather deep here.

Also why does someone think the rebound would be bad, surely it wouldn't be much difference from a coil fork.

I guess I didn't think of it that way. So in theorey you wouldn't loose travel... hmm.

Metzinger... you have another idea on it... it all sounds *possible*
I guess we wouldn't get away from oil baths and seal though.


-it took me 7 minutes to load this page
-_-


Edit: But, if all we had to do was worry about replacing a seal or oil, and never worry about the spring or anything wearing out I guess thats a plus ?

coil springs are SIMPLE - they work and are very cheap and they almost NEVER break. a Magnetic system would be extremely HEAVY and complex and you could not have anything else metal near by or it might be affected (like the rest of the bike )
You should try to use your magnetic idea to make an anti gravity skateboard.

I can't believe this thread is still alive.

^Ha! Joke's on you!
I've already begun work on the extruded aluminum matrices for my BioDampers.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w98/ben_law/Honeycomb.gif

coil springs are SIMPLE - they work and are very cheap and they almost NEVER break. a Magnetic system would be extremely HEAVY and complex and you could not have anything else metal near by or it might be affected (like the rest of the bike )
You should try to use your magnetic idea to make an anti gravity skateboard.

Last time I checked, Aluminum is not magnetic...:thumb:
and having a steel cable running on the outside of the fork itself, in a housing would hardly be affected
Heavy, in the beginning yes, but as new alloys and materials come out I still think there room for proto types here.


I can't believe this thread is still alive.
Same was said about all my threads :(
:rolleyes: