Fabien Barel and the Mondraker Forward Geometry
Three time world champion Fabien Barel tells us about Mondraker’s innovative zero reach stem for single crown forks.
“Mondraker launches an evolution geometry concept focused on its core bike range. The new Forward Geometry presents clear advantages for any category compared with a traditional geometry. All these benefits are focused to improve the control, handling and riding confidence.
Fabien Barel, as Mondraker ambassador and a key role in the development of the Forward Geometry gives a more thorough explanation about the new geometry.”
This is a very interesting concept.
My first thought is how does the longer overall wheelbase change things? Would that make it more difficult to handle in tight and twisty trails?
Has Fabian always had his bars so high or is that one of the peculiarities of the design that lets you do that?
How come having the front wheel farther off the BB could help putting weight on the front ? That just sounds contradictory to me…
This will add stability for sure and I don’t know about handling in tight corners, but regarding flat corners rode at full speed, I have the feeling that it will just make it easier for you to lose the front wheel. Someone to explain this ?
Thats Fabian’s preference, there would be no need to have all those spacers under there.
@ Foon the front wheel is further away but due to the zero stem the bars are not, so your ability to weight the front wheel is not affected. In fact due to the great length of the front end it should be improved as the levers are longer I think…
At the very least it will allow people to dust off and use their old Azonic zero reach stem. They were cool about 14 years ago I think.
The longer the TT the more weight you are putting in the front part of the bike towards the front and less on the back end. So weighting the front should not be a problem. Its not a new concept and definitly not for a couch ride. I run 745 bars with a 50mm stem and I think cornering is best very aggro. Just imagine with a Zero stem. Pinned.
I read about this concept in the forums. Get a larger frame but get a shorter stem. The shorter stem offsets the longer wheelbase so you will still weight the front.
I’m with @Foon. The front wheel is further forward of the bars than a conventional setup, is it not? So how does they help load the front wheel?
The only thing that makes sense is because the front wheel is further out, that allows you to transfer more of your weight forward because you have the confidence that the extra length provides.
like porn it would of been nice to see a POV angle, or some photos from a riders perspective.
As to loading the front wheel…just a guess, but you are still putting your weight on the bars and therefore the front wheel. Front wheel weighting shouldn’t be a problem, but I can imagine there will be a period of adjustment as with any new frame/stem.
Also, I believe Fabian Barel simply runs high(er) handlebars…
In the video they said they made made the top tube longer, increasing the wheelbase. If you do this with a traditional stem it’s going to be hard, for some riders, to still weight the front wheel. So if you shorten the stem you will still be able to weight the front as you normally would, but have a longer wheelbase at the same time.
But but but .. he didn’t say ” shallenging ” !!
is this not just Gary Fisher “Genisis” geometry?
I think to get this you have to take it to comical extremes – so image a bike with a front wheel only just in front of the rear wheel – how hard would it be to weight the wheels evenly over rough terrain? Almost impossible. Then imagine a bike with a 20m wheel base – how easy to weight the wheels evenly then? Impossible not to… so everthing is a compromise but this makes weighting the front and rear wheels while riding easier, not harder.
yeah i thought gary fisher did this a few years ago
This all sounds very interesting, and maybe it is the future, but crikey that is a spectacularly ugly bike.
The normal Foxy looks great but that is a proper dog’s breakfast…
Bare in mind that the Mondraker’s top tube drops away towards the steerer so you have to run a few spacers to stop brake levers colliding with the frame.
@Rob, yes! Except they aren’t using a custom fork with modified offset to change the mechanical “trail”.
@ddmonkey, The rider’s body position is not changing with this setup, just the relative position of the front wheel. If you take your 20m example with the rider still be positioned over the BB, approx 17.5″ forward of the rear wheel, how much weight is on the front wheel? Not much!
I’m not refuting the concept though. The further out ahead of you the front wheel is, the more confident you will be attacking tough terrain.
hhhmmm even with the spacers removed the bars are still gonna sit on top of the steerer tube rather than in front of it…
so not good if you like low bars
- It’s ugly
- Lessens the adjustability for riders of different heights
- No stem options for different types of riding trips
- Bike shops won’t buy into it
- The bikes still haven’t really changed after what, 4 years now?! Maybe improve the ranges rather than making one freak bike per platform
Christ I hope it does work well as it looks like it’s been beaten by the ugly stick, this from a very happy 2011 Foxy owner.
Totally get what the belief is, just think they’ve made a beautiful bike gangly….:-(
foar! its sexy and I want it!
Why stop at zero? Can’t we have minus geometry. With the stem pointing backwards?
That is one ugly bike.
My XC bike was a little too big for me so I put a 70mm stem on it. Now I’m glad it was a size big. I was thinking about getting a new AM bike in a size too large so I can run a 50mm stem. Now a 0mm stem is an interesting concept. I’d want to try it before making any conclusions.
ugly..big frame/short stem..job done if thats your thing..no thanks
gary fisher was ahead of his time..
If it’s sooo much better why not return to downhill and kick everyone’s asses? Because it’s not..
I learnt my lessons with 29ers; I was quick to knock them, then I rode one… I’ll reserve judgement until Ive tried one this time. How nice did those trails look though?
@Tim Almost 100% sure that’s the trail above Luceram in France part of “la descente des feuilles” loop, one of the best spins I’ve been on in my life.
Bike is ugly as hell, but would love to test the concept. Much like offset bushings, could be a great way to refresh the geometry of a bike (provided the top tube is long enough), by making the front end feel slacker (by being further back from the front wheel)
haters will hate
Azonic made these about 15 years ago. I had one and it was good just never caught on.
Those Mavic shoes look nice.
I was too bust scoping out those lush trails…nice!
Awesome. Finally mtb is going MX in geo as well!