Pronghorn APLS 'best of both worlds' mountain bike suspension
By Jeff Salton
14:48 March 8, 2010
The Pronghorn mountain bike frame with APLS - the suspension unit is mounted on the top tube of the frame to help riders extract more energy from the chain
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Serious mountain bikers are always looking for a competitive edge. Often, that can mean extracting every ounce of energy from their bodies and their equipment. Danish high-end mountain bike builder Pronghorn has designed a bike frame the company calls its Anti-Power-Loss-System (APLS) where the rear shock absorber is mounted on the top tube. This, says the company, better utilizes the rider’s energy by delivering power more efficiently to the back wheel when the rider needs it – climbing uphill or negotiating technical courses.
By mounting the suspension on the top tube Pronghorn Racing offers a more horizontal and forward distribution of the energy while increasing the stiffness and rigidity of the rear end. The end result is a faster and more efficient suspension design while eliminating the energy-sapping pedal bob.
In other words, the bike handles like a hardtail when pedaling uphill so all the rider’s energy is conveyed via the chain to the rear wheel - the energy expelled while pedaling is not used to pull the wheel up and down. But when traveling downhill the bike reverts to handling like a full suspension model.
The APLS is now a feature of the company’s carbon fiber range of frames.
The frame was entered in the recent ISPO Brandnewaward competition where it was a finalist in the hardware section.
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