Design of hydraulic bottom-out control for mountain bike suspension

Abstract

Engagement with downhill mountain bike engineers revealed a key opportunity to improve mountain bike suspension fork design by addressing 'bottom-out" from harsh impacts. Bottom-out causes damage to components, poor control and discomfort to the rider. This design thesis encompasses simulation, design, manufacture and testing of an adjustable bottom-out damper. The device increases damping forces in the final stage of compression. Simulation of the design demonstrates advantages over existing means to prevent bottomout since greater control over the response is possible with fewer performance trade-offs. The prototype damper was designed and built from existing suspension componentry and custom manufactured parts to integrate with an existing suspension fork. The prototype was validated by testing on a bicycle for a typical impact which yielded results in line with predictions. Specifically, the damper decreased compression amplitudes by up to 20% and settling time by 27%. Tyre contact with the ground was extended by 0.24 seconds for the given impact and variation in normal force was reduced by one third resulting in improved traction. This translates to a more controlled mountain bike, greater predictability for riders and potentially higher speeds in downhill mountain bike racing. The design was successful in controlling for bottom-out and improves mountain bike suspension performance. Further validation is warranted to consider future production of the design. Many thanks must go to Nigel Reeve, of Canyon Factory Racing Team, who provided the initial inspiration for this project, guidance and access to the mountain bike industry. I would like to thank Professor Paul Meehan for his supervision from vague initial idea to the completion of this thesis. My heartfelt appreciation goes to my parents for their support and encouragement during this thesis, engineering degree and my life. Finally, I can't thank my fiancée Rachael enough for her love and belief in me to complete this work, even when I was sure I had bitten off more than I could chew.