One Week Left!
over 9 years ago – Thu, Sep 24, 2015 at 10:05:40 PM

Hi Backers - 

This campaign has been an amazing ride (pun intended) and it's hard to believe that it is almost over. We have said it before and we will continue to to say it: thank you all so much for your support, because of you ShockStop will become a reality!

As we approach the end of the campaign we thought we would share a few photos showing how ShockStop started and where we are now.

And here are some shots of how the elastomers (shock-absorbing member) are made.

Even though we only have one week left there is still plenty of time for people to back the project  - so, help us keep spreading the word!

Thanks so much,
The Redshift Team

Interbike 2015
over 9 years ago – Tue, Sep 22, 2015 at 12:37:32 AM

Hi Backers!

It's been an exciting week since our last update!  As in years past, we made the annual pilgramage to Interbike in Las Vegas to show off our products and meet with retailers, press, and customers.  It's always an amazing show - the booths (and people) are too numerous to count.  This year, we were super-excited to give people a hands-on with the ShockStop Suspension Stem.

To show people how the ShockStop works, we re-purposed part of our test rig and turned it into a demo stand.  We simulated a variety of different bump sizes and people could compare between a standard rigid stem and the ShockStop.

The response from both retailers and customers alike was incredibly positive, but they'll have to wait until all Kickstarter backers have received their stems first!

CROSS VEGAS

One of the great events that happens during Interbike is Cross-Vegas, the biggest cyclocross race in the US.  This year it was an official UCI World Cup race for the first time (actually, the first ever in the US!), and as a result the field was world-class.

We got a lot of interest from cyclocross riders during the show - we can't wait to see how everyone ends up using their ShockStop.

Stay tuned as we roll into the final week of the Kickstarter campaign!  We'll have additional updates coming soon as we get near the campaign finish line.

Thanks,

The Redshift Team

Headed to Interbike + More Prototypes + 3D CAD Models
over 9 years ago – Mon, Sep 14, 2015 at 03:09:45 AM

Hey Backers!

It's been a big week! We surged past our $40K stretch goal, and a lot of you have already upgraded your pledge levels to include the computer mount or utility mount. There's still a lot of work to do to reach our $75K carbon stretch goal, but we think we can make it with your help!

We're heading to Interbike next week (Sept. 16-18) in Las Vegas to show off both the ShockStop and the Switch Aero System. If any of you are planning on attending the show, definitely stop by our booth (#23256) and say hello! You can get a hands-on demo with one of the ShockStop prototypes and meet the team.

During the show, we'll be posting regularly to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, so be sure to follow us to keep up with news from the show!

For Interbike, we machined a bunch of new prototypes (including some one-off red-anodized and silver-anodized models).  Check out some of the pictures.

Here's a close-up shot of a bunch of the prototype elastomers - each color represents a different durometer (stiffness) from blue, which is super-rigid, all the way to yellow, which is quite soft.

Each ShockStop takes two elastomers, which means you can mix and match different stiffnesses to perfectly tune the ride feel.  We'll be testing these elastomers over the winter and refining the design to home in on the exact set that will be provided with each stem.

For those of you who can't make it to Interbike, check out this 3D model of the ShockStop.  You can rotate it around to view it from any angle (just click and drag to rotate, use your scroll wheel to zoom).

Thanks again for your support!  Hope to see you in Vegas!

The Redshift Team

$40K Stretch Goal Reached: Integrated Mounts Now Available
over 9 years ago – Fri, Sep 11, 2015 at 04:46:52 AM

Hi Backers,

We did it - we hit the $40K Stretch Goal! You guys wasted little time getting us to the first stretch goal and now the two Integrated mounts are available. These mounts bolt onto the ShockStop's faceplate and provide an ideal, centered location to attach a bike computer or other accessory.

• The Bike Computer Mount is an integrated mount that is compatible with your Garmin, Powertap/CycleOps Joule, CatEye, Mio, or Magellan computer.
• The Utility Mount puts a small section of tube in front of the stem that can be used to mount anything you would normally put on your handlebar (bike computer, phone, light, etc.).

You can add either mount (you will indicate which one you want in the final backer survey) by adding $35 to your existing pledge (e.g. if you backed at the $89 level and had $5 in shipping then change your pledge amount to $129). Alternatively, if you backed at the $99 level just change your pledge level to "SHOCKSTOP + MOUNT". To learn more about the mounts and compatibility check out the specifications table on the main page.

In other big news - Kickstarter just let us know we are now a Staff Pick! This is pretty awesome, but there is still a long way to go to reach the $75K carbon stretch goal. So, get out there and make some noise about ShockStop and lets make it happen.

Finally, a lot of you indicated that you would be interested in an integrated bike light (we plan to look at this in the future but for now we are totally focused on the current rewards). In the meantime, if you need a great light you should checkout what our friends from Fortified have to offer. These guys started just like us on Kickstarter and have developed a unique line of invincible, anti-theft bike gear (including some awesome lights).

Never take your lights off, never get your seat stolen, and keep your mind on the road ahead. The guys at Fortified were also nice enough to provide a discount code that you can use to get a 15% discount on all their gear. Simply go to their website and use the code: "shockstoprocks".

Stephen, Diana, Scott, and Erik
The Redshift Sports Team

Help us reach our Goal! Plus, what makes the ShockStop different?
over 9 years ago – Sat, Sep 05, 2015 at 02:45:05 AM

Hey Backers!

First of all - thank you so much for your support! The last two days have been amazing - we've reached 2/3 of our funding goal and received a ton of great feedback and questions. We also want to give a special shout out to the repeat backers from our first Kickstarter campaign - you guys rock!

As they say, the last 20% tends to take 80% of the effort, so we definitely need your help to keep the momentum going and reach our funding goal. Please help us spread the word to your family, coworkers, friends and enemies. You can use the buttons below to share the project with just a click!

• Post on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Follow us on Instagram

We've gotten a lot of great questions about the ShockStop, so we've updated the FAQ section at the bottom of the Kickstarter main page to provide some answers to common inquiries. 

What makes the ShockStop different?

One of the most common questions people ask is, "What makes the ShockStop different?" We wanted to give our backers some insight into some of the factors that we considered during the development of the ShockStop.

Some Background

As we mention in the Kickstarter video, we aren't the "inventors" of the suspension stem. Depending on who you ask, it was either Leonardo da Vinci or Albert Einstein who first uttered the words, "Man, this bike could really use a suspension stem." 

In the late 80's and early 90's, just as mountain biking was exploding, a number of companies developed suspension stems for off-road riding. The most notable of these were the Softride Suspension Stem and the Girvin Flexstem. For a few years, riders on Softride stems even won multiple mountain bike world championships. But ultimately, mountain bike suspension stems were supplanted by suspension forks. 

But if suspension stems were so awesome for mountain biking, why did they go extinct?

Well, it turns out they actually weren't that great for mountain biking, and they were hampered by the manufacturing and technology limitations of the era. Specifically: 

• They were ugly. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Okay, but I'll just come out and say it - the suspension stems of the past were just plain ugly. We can attribute this partly to the horrible color combinations that were so pervasive in the 80's and 90's (seriously, who thought bright yellow paint was a good idea?), but mostly, it's because the designs were big, clunky, and stuck out like a sore thumb. 

• They messed with your bike's geometry. When you're riding over boulders and hopping over logs, you need a lot of suspension travel to cushion big impacts. The suspension stems of the past had up to 3-inches (75mm) of vertical travel, which meant that the effective geometry of your bike changed radically as the stem compressed. For a lot of people, it felt like they were falling over the handlebar every time they hopped over an obstacle.

• They were unreliable. The suspension stems of the 80's and 90's were some of the very first suspension pivots that were every built on bicycles, and it showed. The joints were prone to developing play, which made steering unreliable - pretty much the last thing you want when you're barreling down an off-road trail.

• They were heavy. This was partly due to the limitations of manufacturing techniques at the time, which relied on heavy welded construction, and partly because the stems required such a large travel range. Even though they were lighter than suspension forks, they were still 2-4 times heavier than a comparable rigid stem.

• All flex is not created equal. A suspension stem should be vertically compliant, but it also needs to be torsionally and laterally rigid to make sure that your bike's steering and handling are unaffected. Again, due to the limitations of the technology at the time, those early stems were pretty flexy all around, which meant your steering input might end up being more like a steering "suggestion".

• Large travel + no damping = Crazy rebound! When you compress a suspension stem down three inches, it has a tendency to spring back up just as fast. Needless to say, having your stem try to buck you off your mountain bike every time you land a jump is not ideal. 

Well, that all sounds pretty awful. What makes the ShockStop different? 

In a nutshell, we designed Shockstop specifically for riding on roads (paved or unpaved), and we took advantage of the last 30 years of technological and manufacturing innovations to design a suspension stem the perfectly matches modern bikes. 

• Limited suspension travel. The key difference between the ShockStop and past suspension stems is the range of suspension travel. Because the Shockstop is designed for road riding, the amount of required suspension travel is much, much smaller (1-2cm, since you're hopefully not encountering a lot of boulders or jumps during your road rides). Building the stem around this specific road travel range let us transform the entire design. 

• Beautiful, Clean, Understated. Bikes are beautiful, and we didn't want the ShockStop to change that. The limited suspension travel allowed us to completely internalize the suspension elements and blend the design seamlessly with the appearance of modern bicycles. The subtle pivot design means you don't notice it unless you're looking for it. 

• Modern design. 20 years of evolution in the full-suspension mountain bike industry means that pivot design and technology has improved drastically since the first stems were introduced. The ShockStop utilizes modern best-practices for suspension pivot design, including the same fully-sealed cartridge bearings that are used in high-end full-suspension mountain bikes. No slop, no play, no maintenance.

• Advanced manufacturing. We worked with our manufacturing partners to take advantage of the latest manufacturing techniques like 3D-forging, a process that uses an internal mandrel to shape the hollow part. This eliminates the need for welded joints and results in seamless parts that are incredibly strong and rigid.

• Lightweight - The ShockStop weighs a mere 238g. To put that in perspective, that's about 1/8th of a bottle of water more than a standard rigid stem.

• Adjustable - The ShockStop features dual interchangeable elastomer springs that let you fine-tune the suspension feel to perfectly match your riding style. You can mix and match the different elastomer stiffnesses to dial in the ride feel with much better resolution than the suspension stems of yore.

So no, we didn't invent the suspension stem. But we do think we created the first suspension stem that's truly optimized for road riding. We think you'll love it! Thanks so much for your support!