Posted on April 01 2019
Cyclinic has a proud history of pushing the boundaries of MTB suspension service, working at the bleeding-edge of MTB technology to give the fastest, smoothest ride possible. While our obsession with service perfection means embracing the most recent industry developments, it shouldn’t come at the cost of our earth.
The ill-effects of animal agriculture on our health and the environment are becoming more broadly appreciated with swathes of people adopting a plant-based diet. However, there has been little thought for the role the mountain bike suspension industry is playing on the wellbeing of our environment. We here at Cyclinic are therefore proud to announce our status as the world’s first entirely vegan suspension service center.
With a few simple substitutions in products and practices, we are able to continue to provide the same high level of service you have come to expect - at no cost to our environment.
Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, is the huge amount of oil that is used in suspension servicing. Our use of tomato puree in dampers provides an environmentally-friendly, biodegradable, and tasty alternative. While refined oils have been shown to cause heart disease and poor artery health in humans, few people realise their potential to cause similar damage in suspension systems. Antioxidant-rich tomatoes provide improved compression damping, with less friction overall thanks to their high levels of lycopene.
Plant-based enthusiasts are often quick to inform you of how cheap and easy their lifestyle is to maintain, and we are no different. Why trust pricey genuine parts, when sustainable, vegan-friendly alternatives can be found in the produce section of your grocery store? When sliced to spec, carrot sections provide a simple and cost-effective substitution to bottomless tokens, with no sacrifice to mid-stroke support. They provide a more tunable bottom-out progression in the striking FOX orange colour you know and love. Vegetables give you plenty of plushness off the top without contributing to your plushness in the middle - keeping your wallet and waistline in check.
Not just a popular addition to a picnic or dinner-party, hummus really comes into its own when used as a lubricant, in lieu of all those nasty suspension greases. We find it’s best use is on air shaft seals, where it helps to get the best performance out of the air seals and shaft, and subsequently provides a long lasting low friction biodegradable solution. A customer also suggested we use honey instead, but sadly it is the product of an animal.
The hummus lubricated air shaft works especially well when paired with our Karrot-shima™ technology. The result is what we call Krudité™ - a confidence-inspiring chassis and a delicious trail-side snack.
FOX’s first use of Kashima™-coating broke notions of what was possible in smooth ride-feel and durability. Our unveiling of Karrot-shima™ is expected to do much the same . Sharing roots with some of our other innovations, carrot-stanchion technology will raise the bar for a Nuttelex-smooth ride while remaining affordable and entirely biodegradable.
We’ve also found a perfect substitute for bumpers on downhill forks. Those nasty rubber bumpers that will end up in a never ending degrading pile of landfill, are replaced by effective little Guava halves. They protect the investment by providing a suitable degree of cushioning to reduce any impact damage of stanchions vs frame. Simply cut a Guava in half, and use a cable tie to fix the two halves into place. Plus. they’re a very healthy chairlift snack if you forgot to pack something. #GUAVANOTSTRAVA
Now being Vegan friendly doesn’t just apply to using a Fork, a shock can be substituted with many common vegetables, including sweet potato (as pictured), or really any other long and cylindrical type vegetable. Just remember to apply plenty of Tahini (nature’s own locktite) at the fixing bolts to ensure you don't loose a precious spud mid ride. The dampening characteristics of the common sweet potato are suprisingly good, thanks to the high levels of pantothenic acid that help to provide a consistent feel with it’s temperature moderation characteristics.
Our new approaches don’t stop at technology - we’ve also completely overhauled our workshop practices. We use organic, pesticide free kale leaves for all cleaning and polishing of shocks and workshop surfaces. You can be rest assured that your suspension will never be touched with genetically-modified produce.
In the pursuit of stiffness-to-weight, we see more and more companies sacrificing strength and stability to keep their products light. This has led to catastrophic deformation of componentry under high loads, or ‘Gradual Lengthening Under Tension and Ensuing Nonperformance’ (G.L.U.T.E.N). Naturally, we at Cyclinic believe that G.L.U.T.E.N must be avoided at all costs, especially in the lead up to key races. As such, we are also working to become an entirely G.L.U.T.E.N-free service center - another world first!
Note: No vegetables were harmed in the making of these pictures.
