A Trail Rocket.
Designed in Spain and in a unique collaboration with AMADE. AMADE is a research institute based in Girona that develops solutions for testing composite structures such as those used in the aerospace industry. So it is only fitting for MSC to work with AMADE to develop this trail rocket. The Blast combines stiffness and a lightweight package that incorporates a highly effective suspension design. The original prototypes were sent to AMADE where they had high-fidelity sensors embedded into single fibres over various points on the frame. This whole process of just installing the sensors was delicate and time consuming taking 6 weeks to complete. The results from the testing the bike in a controlled environment was astounding, AMADE could detect forces accurately on each section of the bike as much detail as the fibre strand - communicating this directly with the engineers MSC could fine tune the frame to maximise stiffness over the high stress areas - this was also used in conjunction with extensive Finite Element Analysis to optimise th layup. Altering fibre layups and resin mixes MSC came to a very refined fibre arrangment - A very rigid frame and one of the lightest 120mm frames on the market (2,000g)
For 2014 the Blast was revised to accept the new standard of 650B wheels - The ultra stiff frame drives a 165mm stroke shock which produces a very high leverage ratio and active rear suspension. You may ask why you need such active rear suspension? It allows the rear suspension of the bike to react at high speed over small bumps more effectively and essentially keeping the rear tyre in contact with the terrain - this not only improves climbing, braking performance and cornering - it also introduces a lively character to the bike. One of the biggest drawbacks with such a high leverage ratio shock is that it produces a lot more heat in the shock compared to other designs -by spec'ing the bike with a high performance shock like the FOX CTD / XFusion O2 which utilise high flow circuits reduces any issues that could would have occured with older shock technology. We spec the bike with a custom tuned Fox CTD or the Xfusion O2 RCX. You get a bike that is supple, highly active and sticks like glue to any type of terrain. Want? It keeps getting better.
Instead of using pivots in the rear swing arm, the BLAST uses an arrangment of fibres that allow it to flex exactly like a pivot but without the drawbacks of a typical bearing pivot - no maintenance, no slop and consistenly smooth and friction free. Rear end stiffness was a key design element from the get-go. Firstly to overcome the extra loading on the main pivot, the engineers combined a huge oversized 17mm main pivot which also doubles as the S3 Low Direct mount. Secondly the seat tube is placed forward towards the front of the BB - this allows more material to be used around the main pivot and placing the twisting forces to the double chamber down tube rather than over-stressing the main pivot. A huge box section 3D sculpted head tube takes a standard ZS44/ZS56 headset which utilises full length carbon fibre wrap minimising resin and weight but optimising stiffness.
Internal routing for gear, brake, dropper and even the remote shock lockout, internal tubing runs through the frame so you can keep your cussing to a minimum. The rear dropout utilises a two piece system that sandwiches solid carbon creating an extremely stiff structure - a solid rear wheel interface and crisp direct shifts.
- Internal Cable routing for gear, brake, dropper and the shock remote cable
- Internal routing with guides so maintenance is quick and simple
- "CarboFlex" seatstays require no maintenance
- Semi-integrated seat tube
- Oversized downtube and PF30 bottom bracket standard
- Tapered headset
- Oversized 17mm main pivot with integrated S3 LDM
- Sandwich type dropouts for a stiff derailleur-to-frame interface. Adaptable to 9mm open and 12x135QR standards
The Blast takes a 165mm eye-to-eye shock and is suitable for 120mm or 130mm travel forks. The seatpost size is 31.6mm and uses the 12x135 Maxle standard it needs a Zerostack 44 top head tube cup and Zerostack 56 bottom cup.