I'm about to order a BETD linkage ( see here ) for my 2005 Stumpy FSR 120.

Has anyone got one of these or similar – good, bad, indifferent? The extra 30mm of travel (120mm to 150mm) seems useful, but will raising the BB by 1" affect the head angle badly? Also I suspect it will improve the lateral stiffness of the linkage, which can only be a good thing. Cheers.

Ajantom,I considered sticking one of these on my old Stumpy…until I tried a 575.
The BETD linkage is a quality bit of equipment. Hadge from this site works there and will tell you all you need to know. If he sees this thread.

Thought about buying one of those for my old Enduro,then saw the 100 quid price tag & thought yer havin' a larfffff !

Hi
I've got one on my 05 s-works, i've never used the 150 setting as i'm not running 150 up front. I mainly brought it to lift the BB and with 130mm forks the head angle feels good.
As for the cost, its basically a custom made part and made in the UK.
With the best quality anno finish and BETD stand by everything they make.
(if you can get to Newcastle-U-lyme i'd suggest cakes and cash)
Cheers
Paul

emac hits the nail on the head. very well engineered by the look of things but ridiculous prices!

I ran one of the linkages on my FSR S Works a few years ago and it was far far superior than the original linkage. Gave a much better ride with a raised ride height and no problems with any head angle issues.

As for cost if you consider the R&D work, materials & CNC machining time it's actually very good value for money, especially when compared to seatposts and stems. They are machined from solid and have a very good finish but I would say that as I work there. But I bought my original linkage before I did and I'd still recommend one any day. I don't make the linkages either as I machine the hubs and anything else that's round or needs hole in it like the Burgtec pedals 😀

Hi Dave, hope your ok and maybe see you in the shop tomorrow

Well I've just ordered it – got a new job starting tuesday, so thought i'd treat myself.

Cheers for the info guys, even though £100 seems a lot, as Hadge says the time involved and quality seems to justify it, and if it improves the ride as well as it should, then it's a damn sight cheaper than a new frame. Also if you figure in the shock bush, spacers and bearings, they'd cost you £20-£30 on their own.

I will give a review of fitting ease and ride quality at some point.

Cheers, T.

if people knew the costs of bearings and billets of aluminium they would keel over! it costs a lot of money to make a one off and not much more to make a hundred. mountain bike gear is like hi-fi. there are lots of fabulous items at realistic prices that do what they say on the box, and then there are a lot of smoke and mirrors. i wish i still had access to a lathe and a mill! it makes paying for items so much harder having once been able to produce practically anything given the time. wishful thinking, now where is the cheque book!

Lol and how much is a decent CNC machine? £30-40-50-60,000!!! Yes it makes lots of parts etc but they don't make themselves – someone has to program the thing, set it up, buy all the tooling etc etc. Yes you make one manually and see how long it takes you and pay yourself a reasonable wage. It's easy make one part – but you make loads all to a tolerance of 0.005mm in some areas. I've been a toolmaker for over 30 years so dream on.

They're very nicely made and well worth the money. I had a betd linkage on my old sworks fsr that completely transformed the bike and I'm considering one for the enduro that replaced it.

As Blue Peter used to say, here's one I made earlier

If you knew how these were machined, how much the machines cost and how complex the process is, even if the raw materials are cheap you wouldn't complain. The engraving is actually machined on by a milling process on the CNC lathe and the program is very very complex. There's not a cat in hells chance of you doing that on a manual lathe ever! The hub is machined on three different CNC lathes and still requires miulling for the disc brake tabs and also the spoke holes. The whole process takes quite some time and as I said, the tolerances are very close especially in areas like where the bearings are fitted. As with lots of items in the world today you get what you pay for and lots and lots of cycle parts are very good value for money and everyone has to make a living too. Rant over lol 🙂

whoopee poop! i too have been in engineering for umpteen years. you are acting like you have the keys for life itself. thats why the engineering industry in this country is shot through. the oooh its gonna cost ya attitude. when the middle east just get on with it. get over yourself. i used to make pumps and valves for the nuclear industry if you want to try and dazzle me with tolerances. its all done on a pc these days and bloody easy. the hardest part is clearing the swarf out

Nice Work Mr.!
If anybody is passing by Newcastle -Under-Lyme,I recomend that you pop into BETD and ask for a guided tour. Think it's great that there are engineers still making fantastic stuff in this country….and on my door step too.

bought a 100-130 link for my 05 fsr xc and its been fantastic.

only downside at all is that the shock leverage ratio is not so nice on the 130 setting (fox float triad propedal) Its still ok for me, but wouldnt want a fat chuffer riding it!

Clearing the swarf is easy it goes out on a conveyer! Never implied or said we have the keys for life but I bet there aren't many riders who even know or care how things are made and don't understand the costs and skills involved. To suggest it's easy and all done on a pc is pathetic too as anyone who programs and runs CNC machines has to have a back-ground in enginering to know what tools do what on the machines etc.
As far as the engineering industry it's gone the same way as most manufacturing in this country, we want everything as cheap as possible with the best quality. The very same reason most bike companies have their frames made in the far-east, Yeti being one example.

upping the travel on a frame by switching the linkage plate for a higher leverage one isn't a great idea. not only will it mess up the geometry, it will make the shock have to work harder.
A better bet would be to get a decent coil shock or if you already have a coil shock, have it custom tuned to your weight, riding style.. 120mm is easily enough travel for anything other than the roughest DH tracks. (go for quality over quantity evertime ;))

I did a similar upgrade to my old Kona Dawg, raising the travel from 4" to 5" and unfortunately the BB from 13" TO 14". The high BB made the bike feel crap, perched on, rather than sat in. I changed it back after a few weeks of trying to get used to it. Luckily I bought the rocker upgrade 2nd hand for £40, so sold it on.

for the spesh, the BB was a bit on the low side, so the raise was beneficial.
it also steepens up the head angle, but that was great as i had fitted a 130 fork that i got as a bargain, so back to the original geometry but now with five inches of travel.
currently being run with four inches at the back, so back to a 2:1 ratio on the shock, and five inches on the front with a BB a gnats todger higher than spesh planned and a slacker HA

Its been great fun playing with it, shame its retiring for a hardtail in the near future.

You can give all the reasons you like for it being the price it is but I thought(& still think) it is overpriced & yes I've also worked in engineering all my working life(over 25 years),so you're wasting your time preaching to me.Bit like me saying to everyone go out & buy the product of the company I work for because I work there,they're the best & really cheap too…. 8)

Anyway I've got a Giant now & it's heaps better…… 😀

gt horst link bearing kit a nut and bolt two plastic washers and stock bearings £25! you cant tell me that is not well over the top?

soobias – almost everything you've said above is rubbish!

at 13" the BB (for a 100mm travel bike) wasn't really on the low side at all.
your geometry calculations (or guesses, I'm guessing) are all out too.
and a 1.5" stroke shock giving 4" of rear wheel travel is nowhere near 2:1 (I'll let you work that one out if you like, all the clues are there ;))
but if you like it, that's all that matters 😉

BTW – I think BETD prices are fair, not Burgtec's tho

the 12.79" BB was too low for my liking – but i shant be getting the tape out to tell you what it is now
the 2" stroke on the shock gives the 2:1 ratio, do you want to borrow the calculator.

oh and while im on the subject the spec on the spesh website differs somewhat from reality. brakes, rear mech and tyres.

so how are you managing to get 4" travel from the linkage with a 2" stoke shock when they come stock with 1.5" stroke shocks 😕

Because they come with a 50mmx190mm shock? So 2".

so how are you managing to get 4" travel from the linkage with a 2" stoke shock when they come stock with 1.5" stroke shocks

Some of the older FSRs had 100mm travel – so a 1.5" stroke shock. But others like my S-Works had 120mm travel, so a had a longer stroke shock.

you a bit dim GW?

Ive measured the shock with the rebound cranked up and all the air out, so i know its a 2" shock.

the clue, far to subtle for you evidently, is that several of the other 'facts' that you are reading on the internerd are incorrect as well.

dont worry your pretty little head about it anymore luv.

adlyhobart
Not having a pop at you, but if you don't like it, (BETD's prices in this instance) why don't you do something about it?
Design some good products, test them, offer them up to riders to test then get them made in reasonable numbers and sell the at a low price that you think is correct.
Others have done it, instead of bleating on the interweb, why don't you?

Indeed it's a but like bleating about the police & ambulance services speeding on a MTB forum….. 8)

Double post ?

"Indeed it's a but like"

Its a but like, dear me, 3/10.

pedant!

No, but if i corrected you then i would be.
So you going to give it a go then? Will Adlyhobart Eng. Ltd be opening its doors soon?

soobias – must be 😉 the only 05 FSR I know (a friend's) has a 1.5" stroke shock and 100mm travel, if yours has a 2" stroke shock then I'm assuming it's the FSR 120 (with 120mm travel stock?)
(whether you have a 2" or 1.5" stroke shock, and whether you're using the standard or BETD linkage) none of the settings on your bike give a 2:1 ratio.

kisses Xx