The forest of brands on the two-wheeler market is incredibly dense. Nevertheless, individual minorities are rising up and trying to stand out from the crowd. "Dead Rabbit" from Emmental is one such bike brand that was created by Björn Aeschlimann. The passionate downhill rider and trained mechanic started out in 2010 with the aluminum prototype of his downhill bike "Splendid". He developed this himself, including the suspension system, and manufactured it by hand in his workshop. Now comes the carbon version of the downhill bike. However, he has this built in the Far East and is initially available in limited numbers.

Interesting details of the fast Emmental

The Splendid Carbon is both visually and technically impressive: the VPP rear triangle offers 204 millimetres of suspension travel. A steering angle of 62.5 degrees for the L frame and 63 degrees for the M size ensures a smooth ride. Depending on requirements, this can be steepened or slackened by up to 1.5 degrees with the corresponding Angle Set. The head tube was designed for 1.5-inch headsets for this purpose.

When selecting the industrial bearings, Björn Aeschlimann made sure that the same bearings were used in the bell crank as in most front and rear wheel hubs, for example. The advantage is better availability. Most of the bearings are installed in the bell cranks so that they are also easy to replace. For the bearings in the frame, there is a corresponding tool for convenient mounting and dismounting.

A further special feature of this frame is that both the brake line and the gear cable can be routed internally or externally. Combined mounting, i.e. inside and outside, is also possible.
Two derailleur hangers are supplied to suit the different systems - one for Shimano's direct mount changer and one for the standard version for Shimano and Sram products.

From the hard to the soft facts

Instead of the usual products from Fox, Rock Shox and others, the "Splendid" uses suspension elements from X-Fusion. This is no coincidence, as Björn Aeschlimann has been working at Rennshop Wüthrich for six or four years on the distribution and servicing of X-Fusion products from the USA.

He offers various options for the Splendid: The frame as a set with suspension strut, without suspension strut, or the frame with suspension strut and fork. As Aeschlimann knows the X-Fusion products very well, he can put together the shim packs for the inner workings of the shock himself so that the damping fits perfectly on the dead-rabbit system.

The first pre-ordered bikes are currently being delivered to loyal Dead Rabbit fans. A limited number of L and M frames will be available for the current year. However, the sales focus is on 2017.

What's next?

Once the "Splendid Carbon" project is complete, Björn Aeschlimann will move on to the next project - an all-mountain/enduro bike. This is still at the very beginning of the development process. When asked whether it will be as visually striking as his downhill bike, Aeschlimann is cautious: "It's difficult to say, especially as there are already almost every conceivable shape. The design is not the main focus during the initial development process. Even if I already have ideas and sketches of what it might look like, the design is created in the course of development - after all, it has to make sense and, above all, work well in the end."

If this goes according to his wishes, Aeschlimann hopes to have the first frames ready for the 2018 season. First and foremost, we hope to be able to ride the Splendid soon. But we are really looking forward to seeing what interesting bike will emerge from the Emmental-based small forge over the next two years.