Thursday, January 24, 2008

Legend Update

A few of you switched on types have been asking to see the prototype Legend. I was expecting by now to have been able to proudly show it off... but alas, there have been complications (not a big surprise for such an innovative design).

Basically When I sent the design off to the factory a couple of months back for evaluation and tooling set up etc. and well the news came back to me a few weeks later that after all sorts of calculations on time and cost, that it could not be done.

But don't fret! I have been very busy solving the situation with insight from the factory and unofficial help from the Straitline guys (Thanks Greg and co!), I have solved the manufacturing issues without sacrificing strength... and also managed to make the most of the situation by shaving off a few more grams of material, and making the design a little more streamlined.

So yes there have been delays, and as a result the first batch will be delayed slightly, for that I am sorry, but I have been putting in weeks of 14hour design days to keep delays to a minimum.

We are currently manufacturing the prototypes, some to be ridden, and some for destructive lab testing. Based on the results I will get the production design out the door quickly and we will endeavor to get them in to your doors as soon as possible!


Oh yeah, some pics of the new basement design, plus a couple of the other tweaks I made.



Medium legend

Notice machining both inside and outside the basement to create a strong I-beam cross section and save weight

As viewed from the bottom, the new sleeker basement design on top, older design on bottom. also creates a bigger weld interface with the down tube! Integrated cable routing on the top link to reduce weight and allow for link anodizing


There have also been a couple of small geometry tweaks to improve the stand over and feel of the bike, and countless minor changes here and there just to make the design as good as possible.