Maker Pro
Maker Pro

Mountain bike rear suspension motor controller

Liamo333

Jun 30, 2015
2
Joined
Jun 30, 2015
Messages
2
Hello all! I've been trying to get my head around this for a while but am struggling, that said I'm sure there's a simple enough solution.

So I have a mountain bike with automatic rear suspension controls; soft, medium and firm. It's controlled by an accelerometer on the front suspension and a meter in the cranks. If you're pedalling up a smooth road the computer in it will know and lock off the suspension, if you're going down a rough trail it will soften the suspension. There's a video below that explains it better.

Problem with it is that's it's very unreliable, I have the first version and it's constant faults and takes time to get replacement parts. I'm trying to find a solution that I can manually change the suspension to its three different positions. It's controlled by a motor that changes a valve in the suspension from 0 to 90 and 180 degrees.

I'm thinking I might be able to get a switch that I can control the the motor manually to its three different positions. Is this a possibility?


Any help greatly appreciated and will keep you updated on any progress!
 

Gryd3

Jun 25, 2014
4,098
Joined
Jun 25, 2014
Messages
4,098
Hello all! I've been trying to get my head around this for a while but am struggling, that said I'm sure there's a simple enough solution.

So I have a mountain bike with automatic rear suspension controls; soft, medium and firm. It's controlled by an accelerometer on the front suspension and a meter in the cranks. If you're pedalling up a smooth road the computer in it will know and lock off the suspension, if you're going down a rough trail it will soften the suspension. There's a video below that explains it better.

Problem with it is that's it's very unreliable, I have the first version and it's constant faults and takes time to get replacement parts. I'm trying to find a solution that I can manually change the suspension to its three different positions. It's controlled by a motor that changes a valve in the suspension from 0 to 90 and 180 degrees.

I'm thinking I might be able to get a switch that I can control the the motor manually to its three different positions. Is this a possibility?


Any help greatly appreciated and will keep you updated on any progress!
Possible: Of course!

Tricky... most likely...

That motor will typically operate one of 4 ways. (That I can immediately think of)
-On a timer. (Run X direction for 2 seconds to go to 90 degrees. 2 more seconds for 180)
-Limit switches. (Run X direction until this sensor is triggered for 90 degrees, or this one for 180)
-Stepper motor. (Run Y steps in X direction to go to 90 degrees, and Z more steps for 180)
-Servo motor. (Turn Y times in X direction to go to 90 degrees, and Z more rotations for 180)

Once you determine how the motor is electrically driven you can progress.
Some methods are trickier to control than other, and some of the above methods are 'horrible' choices, but sometimes things are made to sub-standards.
So.. how many wires to to the motor/suspension unit?
 

Liamo333

Jun 30, 2015
2
Joined
Jun 30, 2015
Messages
2
Yeah I know, also getting something I can mount on a bike could be tricky!

As far as I know it's a servo motor, well that's what the dude in the video said.

I'll find out how many wires there are tomorrow.
 

Gryd3

Jun 25, 2014
4,098
Joined
Jun 25, 2014
Messages
4,098
Yeah I know, also getting something I can mount on a bike could be tricky!

As far as I know it's a servo motor, well that's what the dude in the video said.

I'll find out how many wires there are tomorrow.
Sounds good.
Servo typically have 3 wires. Power, Ground, signal. If they are told to rotate 3 times, they will.
Stepper have at least 4 wires... Applying various voltages on the wires will cause it to rotate a fraction.
Other motors will simply have a pair.

Other wires could just as easily be sensors though as well... It would be pretty simply to use a cheap DC motor and tell it to keep running forward until a little button inside the assembly gets pushed.

Best case, you can make something small with discrete components and maybe a 555 timer.
Worst case, you will need to make something with a microcontroller to keep things small to mount on the bike.

Keep us posted and we can help you get it setup the way you want.
 

hevans1944

Hop - AC8NS
Jun 21, 2012
4,878
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Messages
4,878
Well, that's the price you pay to be on the "bleeding edge" of technology. In response to rider experience, Lapierre has launched a new model that features... wait for it.. MANUAL CONTROL! Maybe you can purchase a retro-fit kit to add this "feature" to your bike.
 
Top