The AMP Research suspension design for has been proven in the Desperado's circle for over ten years now. I have basically taken the same idea and eliminated the shock and instead of connecting the seat stays to the top tube I have connected them to a "Mono-Strut" off the back end of the seat tube. I have custom fabricated the entire bottom bracket attachment out of stainless to be both corrosion proof and to allow very tight tolerances for
The OS-Link (Open Source) kit comes in 2 sizes: A 15 inch and a 17 inch seat tube running 26 inchy rims and cantilever brakes. The advantage of the 17 is the ability to have Paul's Motto brakes that allow the use of anywhere from 26" mountain rims to 700c with cantilevers or fit riders who's traditional size of 56cm on up. If you are using a set of road brakes, prefer a tight rear triangle and and ride a 54cm or smaller seat tube size, the 15"; will more than fit the bill.
In my design of which I called the OS-Link (Open Source) the seat cluster becomes a critical issue for high stressors caused from a long seatpost due to short seat tubes. When building a small frame for a tall riders, the seatpost extends beyond what is normal for road frame. The seatpost then acts as a leverage bar on the seat cluster causing the area of the top tube to have issues with cracking at the join.
The issue of these stressors have been resolved with what we call at the Desperado's ranch the StayTite seatcluster redefined for the OS-Link Through design, the frame increases performance due to shorter stays causing a stiffer rear triangle. The bottom bracket with the pin bracket increases the stiffness in the tortional plane but allows some suspension and in turn also increases performance. The total weight gain for this convenience of disassembly is lessthan 8oz. Future projects will use an investment cast Wishbone.
Azul
The “Doc.” has a plane that he uses for work and pleasure. The family was getting to take the majority of the passenger area and there was some indication from folks that the bike needed to go into the luggage compartment.
The creation of a high performance bike was in the making!
The Doc needed some extra reinforcement in the areas of the head tube/Down Tube junction and at the bottom bracket.
I created internal reinforcement sleeves to double the wall thickness because the rider weight limit for the True Temper S3 tube set is 190lbs and the Doc. is right on the money for pushing the limits. The shims also increased the rigidity to help with the riding style of the owner whom likes to do a lot of out of the saddle hill climbing
This shim was "Tinned" and then silver brazed inside the tubing ends for reasons explained above. Butted tubes are just that because the greatest stressors are found at the ends of the tubes where they meet both high temperatures during the build and high stressors during the ride.
With the advent of brakes like the Paul's Moto Lites one can, with a properly designed frame, put anywhere from 26 inch mountain bike tires to 27 road. I came up with this idea when I designed my S-3 touring bike. If one is on an expedition tour and had a wheel failure, then the only choice of wheel replacement at the time may come from a storage shed or hardware store.
Here pictured is a variant of this idea used on the "Travelight".
