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Carbon Fiber Chain Stays
The carbon fiber chain stays deliver 2.7 inches of rear wheel travel. The chain stays' unique shape and
the careful orientation of their fibers during fabrication force the stays to bend at a precise point mid-
way along their length. (As opposed to other designs with flexing chain stays, where the stays bend
throughout their length.) By isolating the point at which the stays bend - in reality, the pivot point
around which the swingarm rotates - our engineers are able to dictate the performance characteristics
of the rear suspension.
Before the chain stays ever bend upward, though, they are bent downward. Pre-loading the Scalpel's
rear shock also pre-loads the chain stays, bending them downward at the pivot so the suspension
is extended an additional 1" at the rear dropouts. The natural inclination of the stays to spring back
to their resting (unloaded) state functions as an integral negative spring that dramatically enhances
small bump response.
Pre-loading the stays also moves the rear wheel's axle to a level just below the Scalpel's mid-stay pivot.
The result is that, through the first part of its travel, the rear wheel is able to move back out of the
way of impacts as it also moves upward. In the latter part of the travel the pivot is below the rear axle,
eliminating chain growth, pedal feedback and bobbing.
As the swingarm goes through its travel, the suspension also morphs from using the chain stays'
decreasing negative spring (for plush initial response) to using the rear shock's ramping, positive air
spring for progressive response toward the end of its travel (to prevent harsh bottoming out).
Figure 2
Chainstay Pivot Area
