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FORX E-Mountain-Bike Cranks, by Industrial Design Firm 4Design

By Rain Noe - July 12

in Bikes

FORX is a New-Zealand-based manufacturer of cranks for EMTBs, or electric mountain bikes. Australian ID firm 4Design was called in to develop FORX's products.

"In the rapidly emerging world of electric-assisted mountain bikes," 4Design points out, "many components have been inherited from traditional bikes without fully understanding the ergonomic and performance implications."

"With the development of the FORX range of cranks we have addressed this and tailored the cranks to improve bike performance and rider comfort, safety and confidence."

"The FORX cranks have a unique length and shape that not only improves electric motor performance through improved cadence, but also provides a more natural 'Q-Factor:' better ankle clearance, less knee, hip, back strain, and less 'crank strikes.' It's a game changer. These fundamental design changes allow for a greatly improved rider experience."

You can see more of 4Design's work here.

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Dee An

5 months ago

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Forx's other product, a strap for tightly securing tools to a bike frame, actually appears to be a good idea I've not encountered before. Why not highlight that here?
But their cranks, strewth... I've just sent that they're on sale on their website... They originally wanted £360 for a set of cranks, you could buy Shimano XTR cranks for that money. They're jokers.

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Dee An

5 months ago

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Haha, if you visit Forx's website, their slogan is "Designed by Mountain Bikers for Mountain Bikers"... and yet they've used an ID agency to design these cranks.
Okay, the background to their blurb: there is a fear that striking a pedal against a rock will damage the motor of an eMTB. This occurrence is greater on an eMTB because the motor is heavy and so the bottom bracket is lowered to lower the centre of gravity. Their solution: make the cranks shorter, and reduce the distance between the pedals. That's it.
The hexagonal hole in these cranks is done for looks. More serious CNC-milled cranks may have material removed, but in ways we recognise as removing mass whilst retaining stiffness. More serious cranks will be forged, or, at a much higher price due to tool wear, cold forged.

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- Adam Nunn
  
  Dee An
  
  5 months ago
  
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  I guess you could argue that the force on the pedals will be lower on avg for e bikes compared to acoustic bikes, since the motor is doing some of the work for you.
  
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  - Dee An
    
    Adam Nunn
    
    5 months ago
    
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    Yeah, electric bikes - especially those for commuting and city life - have allowed riders to choose features over the traditional tyranny of weight-saving. This has been a good thing for riders, and has created space for some design innovation (of the useful kind).
    However, these cranks are are taking a hit in performance for no reason other than style, and charging riders lots of money for the privilege. To any seasoned rider, they immediately look wrong.
    
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