Early rear suspension designs

[24pouces]

Nothing before the mid 80s. I'd start with the simple swing arm models from 1985:
MCR Descender 1985
Then the better single pivot stuff: Boulder, [url=http://mombat.org/MOMBAT/Bikes/1992_Cannondale_DeltaV1000.html] Cannondale Delta-V

Before the Delta V, you forgot the Cannondale EST.
It's funny to see that the Suspender, the Offroad Proflex, and the pre-Boulder (Gazelle or something like that) were only rear suspension bike, with no front suspension.

and the seminal MountainCycles San Andreas.
XC made a more subtle split between:
-The Lawwill 4-bar linkage (1992 Fisher RS-1) still going strong on Yetisuntil recently.[/url]

The Lawwill system was not really a XC suspension (Even if Gary Fisher did the Durango world champion ship on a RS1 prototyp).
In the beginning, in minds, suspension was more for downhill than for XC

I would cut the chronology in 3 parts :
Until 1989 with prehistorical systems (with the Suspender and some prototyp)
Between 1990 to 1991, Only some companies (OffRoad, Boulder, Cannondale…) thought that rear suspension was the futur and marketed their first rear suspension bikes. For the front, you could find some fork like the RS1 or the Bradburry 's Manitou.
From 1992 : All the bike company had to show a full suspension bike in their catalog and everybody developped good and bad ideas .

For me, 1992 was the year were mtb came from a craft production to an industrial and marketing area.

 

[Anthony]

Horst Leitner may be a great guy, but he must count himself pretty fortunate to have been allowed to take out a patent on such an obvious 'idea' as the Horst Link. And if Specialized can still charge a fee (I assume they can?) to anybody who wants to use it, twenty years down the line, that's bordering on ridiculous. Personally I've never experienced any of the supposed disadvantages of a 'faux-bar' design, and I suspect the Horst Link is mainly hype, although I expect Specialized fans would disagree.

I would say the main advances in suspension design have come from the quality of the shocks and the frame and bushing materials. After trying out the AMP rear end on the The Edge that FluffyChicken linked to above, Rocky Mountain decided not to bother with the Horst Link and established a design that they hardly changed from 1996 through to 2010, just moving the main pivot upwards slightly. Didn't stop them winning races all the while, faux or four, who cares?

 

[MikeD]

if Specialized can still charge a fee (I assume they can?) to anybody who wants to use it, twenty years down the line, that's bordering on ridiculous.

Specialized sell FSR licences to almost no-one, certainly no-one who's a serious global competitor and no-one new for many years. Ellsworth, Norco, Titus and, er, that's it I think. Although IIRC the FSR patent expires very imminently, which will have little effect on all the manufacturers who are using something else quite happily but will result in a sudden influx into the US market of various European manufacturers who've been using "Horst links" with impunity for years because Specialized only control the US patent. Largely because, as you imply, it's kind of derivative and obvious and probably unpatentable in Europe

 

[boxxer]

"RTS. A truely dead concept that was 'the future' at the time."

Given the RTS design was tweaked by Sunn and VProcess and ridden to multiple DH world cup and World Champs victories by 16x world champ Nico Volliouz then I think it worked out pretty well in the end....

 

[mikee]

Rts is a still valid platform
They ride really well in all conditions


No ones mentioned trek's 9000 things a valid attempt that works reasonably well (in context)
Cannondale didn't get it together till the super vee's
The EST and delta vee were okay but the rts blew them all away
AMP!s you ask , yup but not as mainstream ,boulder gazzelle and others were the same
MC San Andreas was and still is the first proper f/s bike
Would like to know more about early f/s pioneers

 

[highlandsflyer]

I wonder how much of an impact patenting has had on the development of suspension designs. Once a large manufacturer patents a general concept, it limits the diversity of the evolution of that particular direction.

At the same time, it means others turn over more stones looking for their answers.

The Horst Link system actually always seemed excellent to me, but they seem to be fine tuning things now to work better with the braking and such.

Have to get out and try the new stuff.