Chris Canfield's company, Suspension Formulas, develops and licenses mountain bike suspension designs used by brands including Revel and Canfield Bikes. Now he's launching his own bike brand, Vampire Bikes while also continuing to race DH at the Masters level.
- In 2019 you won the UCI Masters World Championship at Mont St. Anne when you were in your 40s. What's allowed you to be so fast for so long?
- How much of DH racing is about equipment vs. rider?
- Did you get involved in building bikes out of necessity, or was it something you really enjoyed from the beginning?
- Tell us about the Canfield Balance Formula suspension design. Is it primarily focused on pedal efficiency? What does "controlled braking" mean?
- Is designing suspension for a DH bike easier in some ways since you aren't as concerned about pedal efficiency?
- CF3 is a newer, patent pending suspension design. How is that different from CBF?
- With the expiration of the original DW Link patent, does this open opportunities for new designs and/or improvements?
- Is it difficult working with bike brands as a suspension designer? Does your design end up getting compromised in some ways?
- What does the Vampire Bikes customer look like?
- What do you make of recent news about athletes launching their own bike brands? What do you think is driving this?
You can follow along with the launch of Vampire Bikes on Instagram @vampire_bikes and learn more about some of the suspension designs we discussed at suspension-formulas.com.
--Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks
