The development of german: A.®
Who we are
German:A.® is the trademark registered for bike components marketed by GERMAN ANSWER bike technology GmbH & Co. KG. Located in Woelfersheim about 35 km north of Frankfurt/Main. Our company is well established in the field of suspension components for sports and high end bikes, particularly light weight and air-hydraulic systems.
Additionally to the development, manufacturing and distribution of bike components we now also apply our knowledge now to special applications, like medical prostheses, dynamometers and mechatronic hydraulic systems.
Our History
1993
Inspired by discussions with BMW (the well know automotives producer) to develop a "Faltrad" our
idea for a "Antriebsschwingensystem" for bicycles was born.
1994
First prototypes of the mentioned sprung system were built, series production and marketing started in
cooperation with RS-Bikes (Reyschmidt & Starosta GmbH & Co. KG, then importer of US-bikes
"Specialized").
1995
German Answer, our company, was officially registered. The "Antriebsschwingen" concept was
developed further and marketed. The successful company strategy was taken well into the year 2000.
The "Durango" bike was based on the "Antriebsschwinge" and became one of the lowest weight fullies
(less than 10 kg) with everyday usability in the market.
Further ambitious models with regard to function, weight and design followed (please refer to the
pictures at the bottom)
German:A.® Series from 1995 to 2000
(starting from top left): Mountainbike (Antriebsschwinge) „Durango X.LTD“, following model „Durango AiR“, Mountainbike (Eingelenker) „Hyper active 01 and 02“, Trialbike „Sidewinder“ and the racer „Sonic“ (26“).
At the same time we realized that there were few high end rear suspensions for fullies. So we started our
own development.
1996
We presented the innovative microcellular polyurethane spring and oil damped rear suspension system
"Morphos". Superior test results achieved by bike periodicals "tour" and "bike sport news" were
published 1996/1997. The microcellular polyurethane "Cellasto" used then is still proven and in use in
the automotive industry.
1998
We decided to also work on bike front suspensions.
2000
Spring and damping units became our main business. One result was the LRS rear suspension for one of
the worldwide largest bike manufacturers "Merida" and their German partner "MCG GmbH" (Merida &
Centurion Germany.
2001
Marks the development of a novel front suspension. Based on the research of Dr. Eric Groß (TUHH –
Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg) published 1996 under the title "Mountainbikes" by VDI,
Reihe 12, Nr. 308, a multi-link fork was designed.
Trapezoid-type fork "GA-force kilo" with air or steel spring shock system. Development from 2001-2003. Serial production from 2004.
The picture above shows the last model of „Durango AiR“ and the old front suspensions from german:A.
2003
The new trapezoid-type fork "GA-force kilo" was ready for market launch.
Providing the achieved high-end functionality, while weighting only 1260 g, it was a revolution to the XC- and marathon area.
The following years brought long articles in the magazines “Bike Sport News”, “Trekkingbike” and “Aktiv Radfahren” with exceptional results.
2005
is the year of german:A’s next revolution: TRAIL-TRONIC® is the first fully embedded electrically controlled chassis for fullies and the carbon fork “GA-force Kilo No. 1”, with only 1118 g the lightest suspension fork available.
Both products set the bar very high and were presented by the miss german:A’s at the Eurobike 2005.
2006
Start of GA-force Flame serial production- the upside-down suspension fork with 160/130mm travel and 1611g!
2007
The new “top model“ is presented at the Eurobike fair: “GA-force XCite”, the telescopic fork in flat bridge design made of carbon with 125mm travel and from 1390 g!
In summary:
We deal with the development, manufacturing and distribution of spring elements, spring technologies and spring concepts, which are applicable for high-end mountain bikes, in medical prostheses, dynamometers and mechatronic hydraulic systems.
In the mountain bike area our products mainly fit for OEM customers, like MCG Merida & Centurion Germany (Project LRS shock), Dahon (Redesign Jetstream), Stevens (Cinematic redesign& upgrade of F10 and its successors Fluent & Gluide (Award winner with outstanding test results in various magazines 2006 and 2007).
We also did some work in cooperation with various researchers about spring elements and suspensions in extreme light weight projects. These were for example the “carbon gold caddy”, “Formular Student” racing cars for University racing teams and the solar car “Hans Go!” from Uni Bochum, which competed at the “Solar Challenge” in Australia.
Conclusion:
German Answer GmbH & Co. KG shall continue the involvement in innovative techniques rather than working
along conventional lines. Close cooperation with technical institutions and Universities allows us to offer appropriate research and development as service to our customers.
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