Design means more than giving a consumer product’s appearance a beautiful form. Design can awaken associations, underline function, illustrate a philosophy and make a name into a brand. Design shapes the everyday with aesthetic agile structures and is the key element in purchasing decisions. Design plays a decisive role for the bike in particular – as a highly prized object.
We at Denk Engineering interpret “form follows function” in a way that takes into account the potential of design. One can see the perfect operating principles in the bikes we build, whose ride characteristics are also reflected in the appearance that has a recognition effect, standing out and being a convincing ambassador for the brand to which it belongs.
Denk Engineering’s industrial design is individually tailored to our customers’ visions and is an important component for us in the successful overall construction of an innovative bike.
With the Cannondale Jekyll, we presented another completely new frame concept in 2011: the down tube and the uninterrupted seat tube protect the suspension unit against dirt, and the Y-shaped top tube increases the stiffness of the sensitive region around the seat post.
The Genius was the first bike to have an ST offset and a new type of frame layout. But we didn’t just set the benchmark in industrial design: with the Intelligent Linkage System (ILS), the four-pivot suspension had a totally new technology that intelligently adapted itself to the terrain. An air shock was also developed for the Genius which, in addition to linear characteristics, also offered three other spring deflection options. The Pullshock (also developed by Denk Engineering) in combination with the ILS allows the advantages of four-pivot kinematics to be truly exploited for the first time.
The frame of the Scott Strike developed in 2004 was not only the lightest in its day, but also had a revolutionary design. The bike’s low chain stays form the basis for a highly functional design that can still frequently be found on today’s bikes
The Scott Intoxica was one of the first market-ready full-suspension bikes made of carbon. It was characterized by the first bend DT and the unique HT subframe. It was therefore one of the most influential designs in biking history and is now treated as a collector’s item.
The Hot Chili Extreme successfully reflects its intended purpose not only in its name, but also in its design. Thanks to the bikes’ rapid dynamic appearance, the terms “jaguar” or “jumping-cat design” were first used in the bike scene. The frame design, however, also proved highly functional: for the first time the conflict between greater step-through (lower standover height) and sufficient space for a water bottle could be solved.
The Hot Chili X Rage, developed more than 20 years ago, has long become a classic bike. It was not merely one of the first full-suspension bikes to be produced in series, but also set new design standards. Its unmistakable x-shaped frame structure gave the Hot Chili brand cult status almost overnight. The bike was anyway fast: the German racer Marcus Klausmann was junior runner-up in downhill on a Hot Chili X Rage.
DENK ENGINEERING GMBH
Brombergstraße 2a
79102 Freiburg | Germany
Fax: +49 (0) 761 707 9943
E-Mail: info@denk-engineering.de
