A lot of the ideas thrown about already exist in something I can already get. Hopper, thanks for giving the OP a very thoughful reply.
If I were to spec my 'ideal' "extreme downhill" (whatever that means) bike, it would have:
- High bottome bracket (for clearance)
- Low center of gravity (all of the suspension/linkage/whatever weight concentrated low in the frame)
- 12" of travel front and rear but still very pedalable (hey, I'm talking ideal here)
- Changeable axle path by moving pivot bolts (rearward for courses with a lot of square-edged hits; more vertical path when that's not needed)
- 64 degree or slacker head angle
- Longish swingarm (like the original Rotecs) that concetrates cockpit center to where the front end can be weighted on bermless corners (like a motocrosss bike)
- Gearbox drivetrain; but I don't want the box to be a stressed-member part of the frame (like the V-Boxx protos I've seen)
- No seat tube/seatpost; but a long, narrow seat that I can slide way up on to weight the front
- Oh, and still as close to 40# as it can get (yeah, right!)
Brooklyn actually made a TMX prototype once that was very similar to this, except it was like a 50#+ bike. I'm looking, I guess, for an RM125 that pedals
