In January 2009, Chris *Doc* Boudreaux showed us his prototype Superco Silencer downhill bike. Designed and handmade by Chris in Utah, the Silencer was a light, aggressive and refined version of the jackshaft DH bikes he had been creating for some 10 years previous. Low, slack and ahead of its time, the Silencer was a labor of love by a true American craftsman who created this bike for the experienced racer. The Silencer never made it into final production, but it has been lusted after by many a DH fan and has inspired others to think outside the box with their own creations. Here's to you, Chris!
Superco Silencer Prototype specs
- The frame is constructed with Tru-Temper SuperTherm steel tubes and machined aluminum parts.
- The frame achieved 9-inches of rear travel via a jackshaft suspension system with a linkage-driven shock (Avalanche Chubby, shown). Doc had used this suspension system in some form or another since about 1998. It allows for preferred pivot placement that is not dictated by chainring location like common designs. The rear wheel moved back and/or up, never toward the front of the bike during hits. The linkage design prevented harsh bottoming.
- Gearing changes were all handled via the left side of the system, accompanied by the concentric bottom bracket for chain tension. As much as 3/8-inch of bb height change was possible with the concentric bb.
- Bike weight as shown was 37lbs 15oz. It featured Ti bolts, a 3-year-old (at the time) BoXXer World Cup with prototype (at the time) PUSH cartridge, a Ti floating brake arm with machined aluminum mount, tubeless setup and 165mm Profile crank arms.
- The rear hub spacing is 150mm, but used a 12x135 hub to accommodate 15mm on the left side for the brake mount, resulting in a near dishless wheel.
- The 63.5-degree head angle and 13.5-inch bottom bracket height were extreme at the time. During our interview, Doc mentioned he believed slack head angles would be come the norm sometime in the future. He was right.
- 16.5-inch chainstays which were a short starting point, but the high pivot lengthened the chainstay through travel.
- A campy-style integrated headset created a shorter headset stack height allowing for the use of a longer top tube, resulting in more area for structure while still keeping the cockpit area low.
- Shown is a custom-made (by Doc) direct mount, zero-rise stem.
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