SIX THREE: $2349

6" travel FSR 4 Bar design

4-bar linkage rear suspension with licensed FSR technology. 161mm (6.3 in.) rear wheel travel (non-adjustable). Forged 1-piece linkage with integrated brace and 12mm pivot axles at both ends.

Maxle System

Maxle 135mm x 12mm forged rear dropouts. Quick-release convenience with 12mm axle diameter rigidity and light weight.

Headtube

1-1/8” head tube (5mm thick) for light weight and strength.

Tire clearance

New forged chainstay yoke for increased tire clearance over 2007 model.

New frame

New front triangle design featuring lower center of gravity and hydroformed frame tubing.

What is Maxle?

It's a quick release thru-axle system! Gone are the quick release nuts, bolts, and levers. Maxle is entirely tool free, and so much quicker to remove the rear wheel. The result - All the stiffness benefits of a thru-axle system with none of the hassle!

How does it work? A Regular thru-axle system works by clamping the swinging arm to the axle. With the Maxle system, the axle is threaded into the dropout (with the quick release mechanism open). Once secured, the quick release lever is closed. By closing the quick release lever, expansion wedges are driven into the axle, causing the axle to expand against the dropout.

Which bikes is Maxle on? We use Maxle on the Shore (150x12mm) and Six(135x12mm) series, as it's these two categories that benefit the most.

What is Hydroforming?

Hydroforming is a way of shaping a malleable metal such as aluminum into lightweight, structurally stiff and strong frame tubes. Hydroforming is becoming more widely used in the cycle industry, which makes use of the complex shapes possible only be hydroforming to produce stronger, lighter, and more rigid frame tubes for bicycles. This technique is popular with most high-end bicycle manufacturers and is also frequently used in the shaping of aluminum tubes for bicycle frames.

Hydroforming is a specialized type of die forming that uses a high pressure hydraulic fluid to press room temperature working material into a die. To hydroform aluminum into a bicycle frame tube, a hollow tube of aluminum is placed inside a negative mold that has the shape of the desired end result. High pressure hydraulic pistons then inject a fluid at very high pressure inside the aluminum, which causes it to expand until it matches the mold. Hydroforming allows complex shapes to be formed, which would be difficult or impossible with standard solid die stamping. Hydroformed tubes can be made with a higher stiffness to weight ratio.

What is Horst Link?

The Horst Link is a term for a four-bar rear suspension which attached the rear axle to the seat stay instead of the swingarm. Horst Leitner, the link's namesake, discovered that the design separates braking and pedaling forces from the rear suspension. Instead of chain tension and braking, causing "brake jack" or pedal "kick back", the Horst Link allows the wheel to move freely in a vertical path. In fact, the Horst Link will cycle up and down with the rear tire locked nearly as well as it will when it is rolling, because the axle is on the seatstay and the seatstay is "decoupled" from the suspension. A Horst Link design is often referred to as a "fully active" system, meaning it's free to compress and rebound at all times, both when the rider is in the saddle and standing up. Not only is the suspension independent from chain forces under pedaling loads, but it allows you to maintain an efficient pedal stroke since the suspension action has no effect on it.

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