Thanks for the nice write-up on the Santa Cruz Nomad. I have a question that I hope you don’t find too amusing (I am an adult beginner, this is all new to me).. What exactly does it mean when you say “4 bar linkage” or “virtual pivot point”? I appreciate any time devoted to my question.
Robert

Robert, there is nothing amusing about this question. In fact, we are certain there are countless riders out there who consider themselves experts without a clue about such designs. Both terms you mentioned are variations of full suspension set up (particularly the rear shock and its relationship with the frame linkage). The 4 bar design is also known as the Horst Link (in honor of its designer, Horst Leitner of AMP Research). The 4 bar design contains a system which has a static bar, two link bars, and a control bar which adds up to, yup you guessed it- 4 bars. The control bar is basically the one in which we are attempting to control the path of (the seat stay), while the remaining bars would be the chainstays and the rocker arm, and finally the static bar would be the main frame itself. The whole concept behind a 4 bar link is to isolate the static bar (the frame) from bump forces.

Virtual Pivot Designs feature a double linkage that connects the front and rear triangle of the frame. This differs from the fully-active 4-bar link we described above. With the virtual pivot design, the attachment points of the two separate linkages from the front and rear triangle plus the length of each linkage will decide the overall path that the rear triangle is able to follow.

While understanding such terms is significant, it has more to do with engineering design than it does being a beginner or a veteran rider. For a thorough write up of full suspension technology, pay Titus a visit.

Hi,
I’m an artist and I’ve just completed a painting of mountainbikers; I Hope you like it.
Would you be kind to host it on your site so more people could see it?
All the best
Danny Lewis

Danny:
Consider it done.