There is a part of me that always wanted to be a bike crank. Someone out there set in their ways, convinced that they had devised some little innovation that improved the bicycle, the design of which has been basically unchanged for the better part of a century.
There is something about the simplicity and approachability of bikes that lend them to this kind of thing. Humans figured out pretty quickly that the lever-shaped arms of a crankset should be straight, and they’ve always all been straight. Invariably, every few years someone comes along claiming that making them look like an “L” will be marginally more efficient. The design comes back so often that there’s almost a mini genre of bike blogging devoted to L- and Z-shaped cranks, but I’m getting away from the point.
The one area that has seen actual innovation in the bike world is mountain biking, which, as a newer offshoot of the sport, has been able to bring new ideas into bike design. Usually, it’s all just poached from dirt bike or motorcycle design, but that doesn’t mean much to an inventor. Mountain biking is the rich soil in the world of bicycling, willing to accept new trends and fashions.
No surprise, then, that the bike in this California Craigslist posting is a mountain bike. This one is just a little different from normal, as the listing describes:
This is a one of a kind opportunity: Inventor sells his award winning 26er mountain bike with one arm front suspension. Yes like Cannondale but a lot better. It is patented for a mechanical anti dive system has hydraulic brakes front and rear made by Sachs Germany. It has a hand-built aluminum frame 17.5". This is a serious opportunity for someone to start a business - the patent comes with it. The front wheel has a special hub with no bearings. The bearings are in the suspension unit. There is too much to talk about. It was named the best mountain bike suspension in the world by the German Bike Magazine. It never got into production due to personal reasons. But it’s never too late. Please, serious inquiries only.
I love everything about this description. Yes, this bike looks like it has the same one-sides front suspension as you can get on a Cannondale with a “Lefty” shock, but this one is different. Better. This one has anti-dive properties.
How important are anti-dive properties on a bike such as this? I do not know. I might never know, but for $2,500, I am sure one of you would like to find out. Certainly Shimano putting out some patents on the thing might raise your interest. Of course, strange fork designs come and go in the world of mountain biking, but every cresting wave is one you can ride before it crashes.
Please buy this bike so I do not have anti-dive systems floating in my mind for years to come. Save me from wondering if I missed my opportunity. Let me rest easy knowing that someone else took the ball and ran with it, when I see everyone zipping around on anti-dive e-bikes, perfectly slamming the brakes at stop lights, hardly looking up from the texts they’re sending.