[python] Sketches of four-bar-linkage design

Hello All,

Laurent, Wow! Cool bikes! I wish my french was better as the automatic translation is a bit confusing... Keep up the good work!

Also, thought I'd send along two messy sketches of my latest design -- it's that four bar linkage thing again, I've been working on some details and I think it will be rideable, though I guess I'll have to make a prototype before I get too excited. After spending a lot of time trying to figure out the four bar linkage geometry if it was placed close to the canti-drive, I realized it would be much better to have it tucked under the seat (just like the Python!), and it is very simple to figure out the geometry then -- narrower toward the front, and you can easily figure out where the virtual pivot point will be(at a particular angle, it changes!) by drawing lines from the side linkages, wherever they meet will be the virtual pivot (see http://www.tonyfoale.com/Articles/Dive/DIVE.htm )

The (terrible) drawings show a mono-stay/mono-'fork' version, which would look very cool, although probably it would be better to just make it two-sided (probably lighter and stiffer in the end that way). It's supposed to be two L-shaped carbon fiber pieces joined by two short linkages. Canti-drive in the front. Monostay rear.

Michael

PS: I'll try not to post too much about this bike to this list, because it is not actually a python, although the frame is quite similiar. I'm going to try to recruit people to help me when I have more time...

PPS: Any feedback/ideas? I'm mainly concerned with making a functional prototype.

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