Turner Horst Link vs. TNT

[Von-Skipp]

Article from Bike Mag.

[LBmtb]

Kinda small there, kippie. Have a larger readable version?

[dukethenuke]

I'm sure it's a good article kipp, but I can't read it

[Skeeter]

Where's that article from??

Sounds really interesting.

[Chaos]

from MTBR.com
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.ph...66#post1721566

[Von-Skipp]

ha whoops

[PacMan]

It's from the May issue of Bike Magazine.

[Pain Freak]

Like I've said before, "I have both a Horst Link Turner and a TNT Turner and I can't tell a difference one little bit.

[Von-Skipp]

Originally Posted by Pain Freak

Like I've said before, "I have both a Horst Link Turner and a TNT Turner and I can't tell a difference one little bit.

Thats what DT from the article is getting at. I think people were just hyped up from the big switch.

[royta]

With TNT, Tony Ellsworth can go **** himself. That is the only difference.

I only wish I came up with that little ditty myself.

[Schecky]

There was an article in the Register awhile back about Ol' Horst:

2/15/2006 – Wheels turning for O.C. inventor
Irvine inventor Horst Leitner finds solutions to problems for people who drive or ride.

Colin Stewart
Register columnist


Sixty-four-year-old motocross racer.

Countryman of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Inventor.

Horst Leitner, who trained as a mechanic and automotive engineer in Austria, immigrated to Orange County 26 years ago in search of a better life. Now he presides over a small company in Irvine that he runs like a think tank.

AMP Research is better than an academic think tank, in fact, because its high-tech equipment takes just a few hours to turn an idea into a plastic model you can hold in your hand. That's perfect for Leitner, whose innovative style is like that of the groundbreaking individuals who figure prominently in history books but are rare in modern corporate R&D departments.

His colleagues call him "genius," "guru."

He's more modest: "I used trial and error," he says of how he came up with a design in the 1970s that changed the way mountain bikes are built today.

His company's motto – "See. Invent. Prove. Build" – could serve as a guide for anyone who seeks to innovate.

For Leitner, "See" means to watch for problems that people face in their lives. He urges every member of his staff to do that regularly. "Invent. Prove. Build" is his process for finding and testing solutions, particularly for modest-sized problems affecting people who drive or ride.

Are you too small to climb easily into a large SUV? Leitner has an invention for you.

Do you have too much stuff to fit in the bed of your pickup? Leitner has an invention for you.

Do you wish your pickup had a trunk to store your stuff - but only sometimes? Leitner has an invention for you.

Do you want a mountain bike with smooth suspension even when you pedal or brake? Leitner invented a solution to that problem decades ago. His solution - now known as the "Horst Link" - remains a standard for the suspension system of today's high-performance off-road bikes.

"I don't believe Horst Leitner's contribution to the development of the modern-day, dual-suspension mountain bike can be overstated," says Mountain Bike Action magazine editor Jim McIlvain. "The Horst Link forced others to come up with better designs, too. It's still the one people always compare to. When they come out with a new design, they say, 'It rides like a Horst Link.'"

Leitner's devices for pickups and SUVs - the Power Step, the Bed X-Tender and the Fold-a-Trunk - all were developed in the past 10 years by Leitner and his team at AMP, which he founded in funky Laguna Canyon and moved in 2000 to the vast expanse of corporate tilt-up buildings between John Wayne Airport and the old Tustin blimp base.

The principles of his suspension systems for motorcycles and mountain bikes date to the 1960s and 1970s, when Leitner was a champion motocross racer in Europe, car dealer, motorcycle distributor and a mechanical engineer for Mercedes-Benz. As a racer, he knew that strong acceleration and braking could affect the suspension and make a motorcycle difficult to control, so he started tinkering with ways to solve that problem.
By trial and error, he found that he could use pivots to isolate the movement of the rear wheel from the twisting forces coming from the drive shaft and brakes.

Leitner and his family moved to Tustin in 1980 because Southern California was the center of the motocross universe, with the biggest races, best racers and the American headquarters of top manufacturers Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha.

Here, he founded ATK Motorcycles and put his new suspension system into production, building high-performance motorcycles that triumphed in motocross races in the 1980s. At about the same time, a friend who was enthusiastic about the new sport of mountain biking approached Leitner to suggest that he should improve bikes' suspension systems, too.
"He brought me two mountain bikes and said, 'Play with it,'" Leitner recalls. Riding them was painful because the suspension system was rudimentary, he says. "They beat me up." But early mountain bikers were satisfied with them because they had fat tires and were rugged enough to take into rough terrain.
Leitner set about devising a bicycle suspension system, then stopped before he perfected it.

"What am I doing?" he asked himself. "Creating something that nobody wants."

That exemplifies a valuable principle of innovation that Leitner teaches to his employees at AMP Research: Invent only to solve a problem that people are complaining about. Avoid solving problems that no one knows they have.

Because Leitner is still active in motorcycle racing, he often spots problems when he's at a racecourse, such as when he watched motocross racers in Carlsbad who couldn't fit their bikes into a standard-length pickup bed and lost their gear after leaving the tailgate open.

That led to the creation of the Bed X-Tender, a roughly $250 product made of bent aluminum pipes that extend the back of a pickup by about two feet.
AMP has sold nearly 2 million of them.

As for the suspension system for off-road bikes, Leitner resumed work on it after bikers began demanding a gentler ride. Then Mongoose Bicycles asked him if he could design a suspension system for a high-performance mountain bike.

"I said I could," Leitner recalls. "I didn't say I already had."
Even an inventor can benefit from the skills of a diplomat.

How innovation happens

Here are examples of how inventor Horst Leitner identified, then solved, two problems:

Suspension that pivots
Problem that Leitner solved: Accelerating or braking a motorcycle creates torque, a twisting force, that hampers movement of the suspension and reduces the rider's ability to control the vehicle. Similar forces affect mountain bikes. Pivots, called "links," at key locations between the rear axle and the power source (the chain drive for motorcycles, pedals for bikes) separate the suspension from the movement of the rear wheel, which improves control.

How the problem was identified: Personal experience as a motocross racer.
How the solution was found: Trial and error, followed by mathematical modeling and real-world testing.
When: Developed as a concept in the 1970s. For motorcycles, in production in 1980, patented in 1981. For mountain bikes, in production in 1989, patented in 1996.

Uses: Leitner's principles are used in ATK and KTM motorcycles and the latest California Highway Patrol motorcycles from BMW. For mountain bikes, the "Horst Link" is the foundation of the suspension system for Specialized Bicycle Components Inc. of Morgan Hill.

Sales:ATK, which Leitner founded, was sold to investors in 1989. He sold bike patents to Specialized in 1991.

Power Step

Problem that Leitner solved: For people who have difficulty climbing into a truck or SUV, a motorized step swings into place when the vehicle door is opened, then tucks itself under the vehicle when the door is closed.
How the problem was identified: A female engineer at Ford Motor Co. in Detroit told Leitner how awkward she felt getting into the large new Ford Expedition and asked him whether he could find a remedy.
How the solution was found: On the way back to Irvine from Detroit, Leitner thought about ways a metal step could pivot into place. He then drew a design on his computer, experimented with different locations for the pivoting links, and built a plastic prototype.

Refinements: Leitner and AMP Research engineer Anthony Smith determined the best step location for various people of different ages, weights and heights. A pressure sensor prevents the step from retracting when a foot or other object is in the way.

When: Introduced in 1999 at the auto trade show of the Specialty Equipment Market Assn. Patented in 2003.
Retail price: From $1,250 to $1,575.
Sales: 40,000 sold in three years.

What's next? Develop Power Steps for additional models of vehicles. Expand sales through original equipment manufacturers, a process that began with the Mercury Mountaineer. Develop new products for getting in and out of cars and trucks, especially for aging baby boomers

AMP Research
2552 McGaw Ave., Irvine
Current line of business: Design, development and manufacturing of automotive products
Employees: 85
Ownership: Leitner, daughter Helena Tummers, son-in-law Jay Smith.
Annual revenues: $25 million.
Top-selling products: ?Bed X-Tender (300,000 sold last year, for $12 million)?Power Step (20,000 sold last year, for $10 million)?Alloy Fuel Door (109,000 sold last year, for $3 million)
Web site: HYPERLINK "http://www.amp-research.com/"www.amp-research.com
Source: AMP Research

Innovation tips
Suggestions from Horst Leitner at AMP Research:
For innovators?• Avoid solving problems that no one knows they have.?• Don't just invent something. Ninety percent of patents aren't useful.?• Invent only to fill a need that you hear people talking about.?• After you have an idea, make a prototype as quickly as possible. Test it right away.?• Talk to end users.
For companies that seek to be innovative?• Don't be hierarchical.?• Everyone's ideas should be respected.?• Train people to look at everyday life and envision new products that will prove themselves in the marketplace.?• Tell your staff, "Make it. If it works, great."

Quote
“I don’t believe Horst Leitner’s contribution to the development of the modern-day, dual-suspension mountain bike can be overstated.”
Jim McIlvain, magazine editor

[dirttorpeedo]

cool artical. i used to race an amp b3 in downhill many moons ago. people would always ask havent you broken it yet? never did. horst is an invention god.

[Neccros]

I almost got a QA job with AMP... As always they found someone just a LITTLE better than me... yeah Whateva!!! My old job, Eibach Springs, used to make the springs for AMPs mountain bikes back in the day... AMP also made bikes for Mercedes when they offered a Bike/Car combo. I still have Mercedes Benz downtube decals somewhere in my collection. I think I will use them when I build a SS!!