Technology of The Ride:Siren Song Update
March 17th, 2008 by Guitar TedThe Siren Song has generated a lot of interest, as I had a hunch that it might. This post will detail the flex plate and answer a few technical questions that have been raised concerning the Song 29″er.
The flex plate is made from titanium and is connected to either half of the bike by bolts and nuts. (Theoretically, you could unbolt the back end of the bike and remove it) There is a little more to it than just that though. Siren’s Brendan Collier had to design the tabs that the plate would bolt to, and design them so that they could be welded to the bottom bracket on one side and one tab on the front end of each chain stay.
Here you can see that not only is the plate bolted to the frame members, but they sandwich each other to form a more positive link between the flex plate and the frame itself. These pieces had to be precisely machined to not only fit the chain stays and the bottom bracket, but to allow this “sandwiching” as well. Not to mention getting the tabs on the chain stays to align with each other, no small feat!
Here is a view from underneath. This shows off the stiffening plate that Brendan designed into the flex plate design. This makes the back end track with the front end better than it would without it.
The Song is essentially a full custom designed off road bike and the 29″er is described as a “hybrid version made for bigger guys”, as Brendan puts it. The Song can also be done in a mixed wheel format with a 29 inch wheel and a 26 inch rear. The tubing spec is customizable to rider weight and style, the frame geometry is customizable as well, and the bike can be done in single speed mode or as a geared bike. Even the shock stroke and size is variable per Cane Creek’s specs. So, to make any sort of comparison to the Dos Niner, or any similar soft tail is almost impossible to do fairly. It’s quite likely that no two Song’s are exactly alike either, so in terms of the technical aspect of the bicycle, I have focused largely on what is the same on each Song, and that is the flex plate.
For more, look for my First Ride Impression write up on the Song 29″er single speed we have on test soon.
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Sounds like a belt drive candidate considering the flex plate is removable!!!!!
Very sanitary construct compared to the prototype photos. Good Job Brendan!
Pretty cool. I’m anxious to hear how the ride feels though.
For example - is all that effort for the soft-tail and flex plate worth it in the long run compared to a hardtail.
So hopefully you’ll have good trail conditions to thrash that thing about a bit and report back on the ride quality.
Thanks for the cool detailed photos.
Right on G-Love. As you may have seen I was just typing out loud about the Siren and soft tails on my blog last night. Thanks for the updates on the flex plate.
SIMPLESPEED: I bow to your superior intellect and reasoning. I would have never thought of that. That, my friend, would be one BAD A double S machine, if you know what I mean.
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I wonder how well those bolts that thread into the chainstay part will hold up. I see they do not have nuts on the bottom side which means the Ti plate must be threaded. But how many threads can it have? Interesting.
captain bob: Think about all the bolts in full suspension bikes. The pivot bolts and heck, even EBB pinch bolts for that matter. As far as the titanium plate, Brendan assures me it is well designed and the bolt has plenty of purchase. Even if it did strip out, you could run a longer bolt through it with a nut and have it be secured. It is also replaceable, but Brendan says their analysis shows very little stress at the bolts, so probably nothing to worry about.