I think this has been mentioned before in this 29gnar thread but its a pretty clever concept and very neatly done.

article on pinkbike about it here….

Pretty interesting concept like…

Zerode G-1 Frame Details: -Travel: 9.25 inches -Gearbox:8-speed modified Shimano Alfine hub -Frame: Aluminum, 1.5-inch head tube, high-pivot swingarm with a primary and secondary chain drive -Near-Concentric chain line eliminates suspension bob and produces active suspension -Frame supplied with Fox DHX RC4 shock, shifter, gearbox, chain tensioner, rear sprocket and spacer kit, rear axle -Price: $3495 USD

What you really need is some Soviet era enginieering

I applaud anyone trying to push the world of DH bikes away from derailleurs.

But mostly I’m posting here to point out how much I love those Russian bikes above. They’re so aesthetically complex it took me ages to actually notice the inboard brake. Good god, you’ll want to watch your inner leg on that thing after a heavy stop. Right next to the oil covered chain too. Excellent design, I want one.

I’d love a 5″ trail version of the Zerode… So much so that I’ve been chatting to them about how to build my own

I reckon its the best looking bike i have seen over the past couple of years.

A 5″ version would be a dream!

would the suspension action not be weird with the pivot so high – the rear wheel would move backwards as much as upward – but the alfine acting a s a jackshaft will remove chain effects from it

2012 Bike:

So the frame is 1.5LBS lighter and has the 3 color options. She is now coming standard with a CCDB with RC4 optional and a polycarb bash guard instead of carbon not in pics….it should build to mid 38’s pretty easily.

more photos: http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/f19/2012-zerode-g-1-anodized-images-249949/

would the suspension action not be weird with the pivot so high – the rear wheel would move backwards as much as upward – but the alfine acting a s a jackshaft will remove chain effects from it

That’s the whole point – pretty desirable characteristics in a DH bike. This is the best way around some pretty significant compromises in both departments.

would the suspension action not be weird with the pivot so high – the rear wheel would move backwards as much as upward – but the alfine acting a s a jackshaft will remove chain effects from it

My Brooklyn Machine Works Racelink had a high pivot/jackshaft design and was brilliant on square edge style large hits, no pedal bob or chain induced weirdness.

I applaud anyone trying to push the world of DH bikes away from derailleurs.

why?

I was in touch with Zerode a while ago to ask about an 11-spd “trail” version.
It’s certainly been considered…

That is fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucking ugly

Me
I applaud anyone trying to push the world of DH bikes away from derailleurs.

Alex222
why?

Because of this infernal intermittent palm magnet disease from which I suffer.

If they did a trail version I’d be all over it. Though as they are welded un the US they’ll probably be way out of my price range

alfine hubs are pretty gak though really. They need to develop a specific gear box for a push bike application. Just plopping a geared hub into a frame is a pretty half arsed attempt to solve the ‘rear mech issue’. What ever that really is.

would the suspension action not be weird with the pivot so high – the rear wheel would move backwards as much as upward – but the alfine acting a s a jackshaft will remove chain effects from it

I think that’s the point of it – up & rearwards axle paths are considered by some people to be the best suspension ‘action’.

K9, maverick, Empire all spring to mind.

article on pinkbike about it here….

From that first pic, it appears to come with a free codpiece. 😯

The Zerode isn’t New news but it is a nice looking bike, possible the best looking “Gearbox” bike about…

but I’m still not sure about the cost benefits, it’s not the lightest solution still (because it’s got a chuffing great alfine hub in the middle) I know people get all sorts of errections for unsprung mass arguments but a DH bike using a chopped down 5/6spd cassette gives you ‘race gearing’ in an optimal weight, easily serviced and reconfigured package…

As a high pivoted DH bike it pushes my buttons though, I’m a far of anything that tries to get the wheel on a single member pinging off a nice back ‘n’ up ark, it’s quite pretty too…

My own feeling is (and I’m probably alone in this) if Gearbox bikes are ever really going to make a proper break though into the main market it won’t be on £5K DH machines, I’d rather see a robust Gearbox solution working on a sub 30Lb HT that managed to give a similar overall range to current common 2×9/2×10 drivetrains. and at a price people can actually afford, I also still think the RN01 type mech in a box approach has some scope despite still involving the ‘demon derailleur’…

It’s not the derailleur itself that’s at fault. It’s a great system benefiting from decades of development, but it’s a fragile great system that hangs a few inches above the ground, completely exposed to the elements on a machine designed to traverse rough terrain in all conditions. It’s also a system that necessitates a variable chain line, length and angle which thrusts upon us some very interesting challenges when suspension is added to the equation.

Who knows what the future holds. Who knows what Mr Shimano has on his drawing board? And of course bikes don’t exist in a bubble. If purely electric cars become more mainstream, the complicated and convoluted drive trains currently found under our cars are going to be a lot less common, and transmission specialists like ZF are going to start looking for new markets to focus on.

Human nature leads us to assume that the status quo is the best way things can be, but human nature also took us out of the caves and onto the moon in a relatively short period of time, so I can’t say I’ll be that surprised if humanity somehow manages to master the bicycle gearbox. In the meantime, we have guys like those behind Zerode giving it a go, working with what’s available, asking questions, raising debate and hopefully opening a few minds along the way.

That’s how we progress – not by our nay saying, spot picking negativity being instantly transmitted round the world at the touch of a button via wifi and high speed broadband in a way that would have seemed ridiculous only 15 years ago.

Alex, why is it pretty gak? Is it the thousands of miles between minimal services, the gear range approximately the same as a 9 speed setup or the weigh similar to a deore setup… Or internet talk from people that haven’t used them?

I’ve been running one for 18 months or more and it’s the simplest, cheapest setup I’ve ever had.

These are brilliant solutions using currency available products.

possible the best looking “Gearbox” bike about…

Best looking you say? Naaaaaa…

I also think that the Pinion gearboxes are the way forward.
I have been looking at Endorfin Bikes (who seem to be the only company currently offering hardtail MTBs fitted with Pinion). Their cheapest conventionally geared bike (SRAM X9 equipped) is £2000, their cheapest Rohloff bike if £2500 and their cheapest Pinion bike is £3150. No doubt the Pinion is expensive, but then again if it never goes wrong and lasts forever it could work out to be a bargain in the long run.

Hhopefully the pinion will come down in price once production ramps up.

The nicolai is nice but it looks like a normal bike with a gearbox added where as the zerode has been designed with a gearbox from day one.

The zerode doesn’t have a ‘gearbox’, it has a chain drive hub mounted in the frame 😉

would the suspension action not be weird with the pivot so high – the rear wheel would move backwards as much as upward – but the alfine acting a s a jackshaft will remove chain effects from it

The logic behind the design is that the rear wheel moves aproximately parralel tot he front wheel, so when you land a big jump for example the wheelbase remains constant but your weight/feet can move forewards as well as down, rather than a conventional vertical path, apply that to a rock and the suspension gets to work in 2 dimensions, if move up and over the rock as the bike moves foreward, and the ‘shock’ is taken over a period of time as the riders weight is moving forewards all the time, rather than a normal setup where the supension has to compress instantly as the rider gets thrown forewards and the bike stops/slows down.

chain drive hub mounted in the frame

but it’s acting a a gearbox, not a hub. Alfine’s are probably pretty good at this especially when you take away the messy responsibility of supporting the dynamic loads in a rear wheel. Got to guess the rear wheel will be very light and strong as a consequence.

Another thing about that nicolai / pinion setup. Due to the pivot placement you’d still need a chain tensioner to take up slack which is kind of pointless when you’ve gone to all that trouble to remove stuff from the rear end