Technical |
Wednesday, 25 May 2011 10:44 |
Conceived , designed and made in Great Britain, Empire Cycles’ AP-1 is the accumulation of both its creator’s passion for precision engineering, and deep-seated love of downhill mountain biking. Featuring a three-piece, sand cast frame that uses the finest aerospace aluminium the finished, heat-treated, super-stiff AP-1 chassis is x-rayed to ensure it exceeds Empire Cycles’ strict quality control guidelines before being precision machined to extremely tight tolerances, and given a shot-peened, anodised stealth grey finish. Make no mistake, in its raw form the AP-1 is a work of art. A masterpiece worthy of residency at the Tate Modern. But while its hard-edged design and top-spec manufacture is stunning, the AP-1 is no precious artifact. It has no place in a gallery. For it has been made with one fundamental purpose: to be the best downhill mountain bike on the planet. Well balanced and slick, the handcrafted AP-1 is not an evolution of what’s gone before. It’s a revolution. And proof, if it were needed, is in the detail…
Cast Aluminium Construction Empire Cycles’ unique, three-piece precision sand cast construction is no gimmick, it’s the future of mountain biking. The hollow aluminium swingarm and one piece main frame is stiff, increasing the unsprung mass ratio and, critically, it relies on no welds. Therefore there are no weak points, and as the very last process is the machining – done to incredibly accurate tolerances – every component fits together perfectly.
Sealed Needle Bearing
Adjustable Axle / Dropouts |
Last Updated on Wednesday, 25 May 2011 10:57 |