PENCIL SKETCH TO PRODUCTION

“While we’re out front showing the public a new set of forks, upstairs in the truck we’re already talking about what’s to come in two years,” says RockShox’s Jon Cancellier, signalling to a point he’s drawn on a timeline that spans the length of the room. As product manager for one of the world’s leading suspension manufacturers, Jon’s explaining how the bike industry works – the crystal ball gazing that brands have to do to predict the next big trends. We’re sitting deep in the bowels of SRAM’s Colorado Springs HQ (RockShox was taken over by SRAM in 2002). It’s taken a transatlantic flight, a big dose of jet lag and bad coffee, and the signing of a non-disclosure agreement to get here, but now the door’s shut behind us and we’ve sworn not to reveal their secrets, the crew at RockShox are getting ready to reveal all. We’re here to discover how a suspension fork is made – what it takes to go from a scribble on a beer mat to a fully tested production product.