Any carbon frame not constructed somewhere in Asia is a rarity. A carbon frame that's designed, tested and built in the UK, with a high pivot-point and idler pulley that also looks like a spaceship is like a finding hen's teeth in a needlestack. This Arbr Saker has been poking up its head here and there for a couple of years, but the wait is finally over and you can place an order today. Its high price tag puts it directly in Robot Bike Co's, Unno Bikes' and Antidote's firing line. A contemporary gun slinging competition of Koenigsegg-esque exclusiveness. We'll hopefully have one between our legs to put through its paces soon. Until then, here's the low down from Arbr. - Paul Aston
UK company Arbr Limited, today officially launches and presents its first product, the Arbr Saker. Designed and developed over the last three years with a focus to define and integrate critical features, to maximize descending performance while maintaining pedal efficiency for sprints and ascents. A high-performance benchmark to exceed customer expectations and push forward the boundaries of what is achievable with a 160mm bike.
Manufactured from carbon fiber and aerospace core materials the Saker is handcrafted in the UK, with individual frames laminated by the same operator from start to finish. The entire process has been developed in-house, engineered for performance by a team with over 25 years of combined experience in Formula 1.
The result is a unique bicycle which will be made to order in limited volumes.
Arbr was founded in 2013 by Robert Barr, who is an engineer and designer with a background that covers over ten years of suspension design in Formula 1, as well as projects for MotoGP and World Superbikes. A combination of broad professional experience and a passion for cycling has given Rob the inspiration and knowledge to create such a unique bicycle, transforming his initial concept into reality.
To realize the vision a collaborative team was assembled, fusing expertise from friends and industry leading contacts. Each of them drawn to the project through a lifelong passion for cycling, along with the opportunity to develop and launch a next generation product from scratch. The journey has been a chance to think differently and collaborate with a diverse group, that collectively hold similar ideals and vision.
We have taken our time going to market. That is what it takes when you are as obsessive about details as we are. Our vision is clearly defined – producing the ultimate bike in its class. No compromises.
The design started with no constraints and a desire to achieve the following attributes:
• A rearward rear axle path to absorb impacts from rough terrain and increase ability to carry speed
• 100% anti squat characteristic for pedal efficiency
• Removal of chain tension feedback and interference
• Progressive rear shock rate, to maximize grip and maintain composure through big hits
• Stable geometry and balanced weight distribution
• Optimized lateral and torsional chassis stiffness
The Saker suspension design is defined by the term ‘HIPR’ which refers to the combination of design elements working in unison: high single pivot, idler, progressive rate rocker mechanism. It’s a development that dramatically improves performance and is instantly recognizable on the trail.
Each frame, logo, and highlight are painted by hand, maintaining the personally handcrafted approach to the way our bikes are made. Applying paint in this way is a painstaking process that delivers a stunning finish. The talents of those in the paint booths also adds flexibility for custom schemes befitting a bike of this level of craftsmanship.
Combined with the Saker’s suspension characteristics and construction, our aim was to produce a responsive bike with huge stability. The final geometry is race inspired and modern with a long front center, sensibly low bottom bracket and a slack head angle. It has been set to cope with high-speed technical descents on steep terrain while providing an efficient seated position for climbing.
Chainstay and front center lengths have been set to achieve a series of weight distribution targets. Across a variety of terrain and gradients, this creates a bike in which the rider feels centered and balanced, with no extreme shifts of body position needed to achieve traction and grip through the tires.
Each design feature has been combined and developed to work in harmony. The Saker delivers on descents and can be ridden all day. It delivers performance you can feel.
For more information about Arbr, the bikes and the team behind them please explore our website at
www.arbr.bikePrice: £4,390 inc. VAT
(approx $5490 USD), frame with Fox Float X and custom color scheme with hand painted decals. Custom builds are also available.
Availability: First deliveries in March 2017. Each frame is made to order; please contact us through the website.
After purchase, we will support with our component upgrade, service, and maintenance program. These versatile packages can provide rolling component updates with pricing benefits for original owners. If you want the latest components or if components are getting worn we can swap them out with new items. If you want a change of color we can do that too.
MENTIONS: @Arbr
:/
Second most ugliest frame!
So here its is...WHY????
I initially thought that was a superficial, idiotic way to choose a bike but I suppose you have to realise top end bikes will likely be the third most expensive purchased (for some second) item after house and car - people want something that rides well and looks nice - like a sports car I suppose.
This is one of the reasons companies have industrial designers as well as engineers, personally though I really like this frame though that is almost completely irrelevant as I build my full bikes for less than the frames cost.
I imagine this was a much of a technical exercise as a business venture - shows off the skills of the engineers to potential clients etc.
Yes, so it is for every things and for every kind of item, even a bottle of coke has its "charms". Human being is a sophisticated animal and his emotional component plays an important role when operating his choices
compared to this: www.ridingfeelsgood.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/MLandry_Demo_II-120902-00050.jpg
The future is simple and sharp straight lines
mybroadband.co.za/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=42520&d=1363089206
I still think the cost of this thing makes any opinions voiced on PB largely irrelevant - Who has the money / motivation to purchase such an expensive, unproven bicycle - I would give one a go, I honestly would as the looks dont concern me, I just cant come close to affording one.
Prime apes need to eat meat.
They are tasty and meant to be killed and eaten. It is the natural order of things.
It is just a cult and an ideology. Way for first world poseurs to feel holier than you.
If one does not like meat, fine. But don't teach everybody around how it is any better. It is not.
Humans became humans because they learned to fish, and later to domesticate animals.
But honestly, stop before that poor engineer kills himself!
After all, props for completing the project and all the blood sweat and tears that went into it.
However... I'm sorry to say, that I would go for the Unno.
www.aprilia.com/assets/aprilia-sites/master/models/moto/road/RSV4-RF/infografics/2016/frame1/original/frame1.jpg
b) You are all brainwashed by the fashion of "what bikes need to look like" i.e. "it has to be, or mimic, a front/rear triangle design".
Baaah baaaah
Baaah baaaah
Oh rly?? YOU are brainwashed by the fashion of "uuugh, this bike is 100x better than a well produced, mass production bike designed by a whole team of engineers." i.e "It has to cost the price of a car, ONLY for a frame, that INDEED, looks like raw sh*t".
You see, we can see valid arguments everywhere!
I think it's good when companies come up with something fresh. Companies like this, the Hope HB.211 and the Zerode Taniwha .. they're all doing something different and that is a good thing.
Ughh :S
Press fit BB ? Really?
At first I thought it was an ebike.
Kudos for ingenuity.
Edit: Uh, what happened to the comment I replied to?
Automated fiber placement and tape layup are really only used in aerospace on large flat acreage (wing skins) or big round structures (fuselage barrels) where you can keep tension on the fibers while winding. There are still no robots capable of properly aligning and pressing unidirectional prepreg into complex molds. But I'm sure that day will come
Do you get better quality control if its one guy in England putting 100 different CF pieces into a mold vs 10 people in Taiwan each putting in 10? Maybe? The only way to know is if enough "one guy" bikes get sold to do statistical comparisons to "ten people" bikes....oh and everyone has to publish their warranty data.
yes, its a labour intensive, semi-skilled task when done on production line scale (i.e. Giant's "C-Tech" plant in Taichung, TW). 500 CF frames per day come out of that plant.
because it has to be broken down into very controlled layup tasks to ensure optimum QC, makes it repeatable and quick to teach. Its very impressive, the QC is generally excellent, and the product is high performance / affordable, check this out:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=deQ1f9P9f1s
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSUKM3bvcyk
Machines have also taken over in automotive where the material layups are less optimized, and therefore alignment of the plies less critical. BMW uses non-woven resin transfer molded parts in their i3 and i8, of which they make 30-50,000 cars/year. Wouldn't be possible to make them by hand. But again the material they are using is much lower performance, with higher resin content and less directionality to the properties due to quasi-isotropic layups and braiding. It's still extremely impressive though, and the performance of these cars is outstanding. The i3 ways about the same as a single Tesla battery pack thanks in large part to the small carbon fiber body.
I don't foresee automation in the bike industry for a very long time, for many reasons. The first, bike companies simply don't have the capital and production rates are not high enough to justify the investment. Us bikers also want a new design every year or two, which is not enough time to amortize tooling costs. Cars have a ~6-8 year production lifecycle and airplanes 30+ years! A 2 year old carbon frame is no longer cool on the trails Finally, the industry simply doesn't have the technical expertise. BMW, Boeing, those guys have teams bigger than any bike manufacturer devoted to composite design and manufacturing. Any technology will trickle down from them, but never be developed specifically for, the sporting goods industry.
Rearward axle path is also obviously coming back into vogue; I for one am happy about that, and the more the merrier.
It is bloody expensive, but they're not planning on selling thousands of them, so there's a decent chance they'll get enough people with open minds (and maybe closed eyes!) to get on board and try it; if it rides well it'll be a winner. Built up it won't be more than about $10K, and you can pay that for a mass-produced bike from Spesh, SC, Yeti, among others. You don't get advancement by doing the same old thing over and over again!
• Removal of chain tension feedback and interference
what?? anti-squat is "The suspension being limited by the drive force of the chain to eliminate pedal bob". how can you have 100% anti squat, and no chain tension feedback......They're just blindly plugging buzzwords in here and hoping no one understands them.
Common, try to be a little better! It's only in your heads! Wish you all a happy week. Get out and ride! Cheers from La Palma!
The trails are unreal....
£4300 is too much for a frame that does not deliver on all levels
Come on man, I'm 23 and even I remember the Honda, nobody's too young for that, I was not a big fan of it, but this frame right here is on a level of it's own : it's REEEALLY ugly... I makes me feel uneasy, it's not proportionated (does this word make any sense?), it does seem kind of unbalanced because of it....
If there ever was objective beauty, this thing has to be the opposite of it. Don't tell me you are ready to spend 10k on this ;-)
proportional
It's more like "well-proportionned" I guess
But thanks!
Yeah I'm sure it rides amazingly but it's an ugly bike in my opinion
I better crack on my Enduro coffee is getting cold in my Enduro specific mug.
Makes me ashamed to be English.
Think John Whyte needs to give em some tips.
That Robot Bike Co bike you have been riding is in a similar market but is much better looking and offers highly customisable geometry, cheaper too isnt it?
This reminds me of the K9 bike, Luis really knew his stuff when it came to kinematics but the bike didnt ever look quite 'right'.
'Bloated' is probably a correct term for an industry in which a new company feels confident enough to bring a product to maket that is vastly more expensive than the competition and with a form that is just not accepted by the customer and function that does not set it apart from the current top peformers (read Dirts review, they say its good, but not world beating)
It isn't going to crush the competition because it's a more complex design or because its made in England. It occupies a niche way up high, $2000 dollars more than comparable products. Do you really think it's going to deliver that much more performance?
I hope I'm proved wrong.
I'm sorry you took this personally.
Yep, in case you missed it - Honda made a donwhill bike
I'm gonna feel dirty in the morning!
Europe had the best engineers in the world when Taiwan was still a shithole with GDP per capita comparable to central African countries, there's absolutely no reason why European companies shouldn't be able to make any component they want. The economic growth of Taiwan is a matter of last 50-60 years so let's not pretend that they invented carbon fibre.
F1 can afford Europes best engineers etc, when you try and get an English person to put your carbon frame together rather than somebody in Taiwan you end up with a £4300.00 frame.
Carboy layup is labour intensive so a poor example of a product easy to bring back to Europe / USA for production - CNC machining is a better example, you pay for floor space, the material and machine, modern machines with multi-pallets or robots do the work, not the European on 10x the wage.
Personally I'll rather spend £4300.00 that will stay in my country than send £2000.00 to a country on the other side of the world.
#MakeEuropeGreatAgain
I am afraid many of us have smaller budgets availabe for a bicycle frame and that doesnt extend to £2000 either in my case, good to hear you are doing a bit better though ;-)
you reading coments from 3 month ago… lots of free time you have? fricking loosers
you have nothing relevant to share.
I'm the less religius person, and I was laughing at the end.