our story

Telepathy started with a simple idea- to make a bike that cornered well while remaining smooth in rough terrain. To accomplish this- I rethought the fundamentals of linkage design.

Starting from first principles, I used the concepts of cornering radius and force transmissibility to frame the substance of our design. To achieve good cornering, we wanted consistent handling- naturally leading to a parallel wheelpath to provide a constant wheelbase and cornering radius during suspension compression. Force transmissibility is lowered when the axle path is aligned to the bump forces- an angle about the same as the head tube angle for the obstacles typically encountered on mountain bikes.

With these two simple ideas, I arrived at the optimal wheelpath for mountain bikes- a straight line parallel to the front fork. This gives the best combination of handling characteristics with the smoothest ride possible. It also generates automatic front wheel traction as the bike is compressed and the contact patches move backward.

The idea is simple, but it is also crazy. So crazy that we almost never made one. This is the highest pivot ever made (to our knowledge).

With the burden of realization that better is always different, but different is not always better, I decided to do it. Luckily, I was able to convince my team and professors to do it and we made the first prototype as an engineering Capstone project at Montana State University.

We finished the first prototype in the spring of 2022 and that first ride made it all worth it. I remember feeling at one with the bike, not thinking about it at all. When we stopped and my friends asked me how it rode, I had to pause and think. I had practically not noticed it was there. Everything felt just as it should- consistent and predictable. The ‘getting used to’ period of riding a new bike was almost absent- the ride was intuitive. The cornering was unreal- it sliced and diced the snow covered rut track that we rode with incredible control. I was able to maintain good traction, yet drift incredibly predictably in the loose corners.

That’s when I knew that we had to develop the linkage and bring it to the world. The journey that has followed has been nothing short of an adventure. With 5 more prototypes worth of learning experience and a first hand foray into the world of start up businesses, we are ready to share our project with the world.

I can’t wait for you to experience that mind reading front wheel traction for yourself.

Cheers,

-Matt Lessmeier

Co-Founder, Telepathy Bikes