Introducing the Supercross Vision F1 Carbon Frame

September 4th, 2021
bmxultra
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Supercross BMX are launching their third generation carbon frame, the Supercross Vision F1, it’s possibly the most versatile and advanced carbon BMX race frame to hit the market. (Well that’s if you ignore their first soiree into carbon back in 1994. Take a look at “the evolution of Supercross BMX race frames” to find out more about the evolution of Supercross frames.) The ENVY BLK and the ENVY BLK 2 have been among the most sort after BMX race frames of resent times and have won a string of awards over the years.

Bill Ryan, the head honcho and the main mad scientist, over at Supercross BMX took some time to discuss the new Vision F1 frame with us. The Vision F1 builds on the ENVY BLK series and continues to push the evolution of the Supercross race frames.

bmxultra.com: Where did the name Vision F1 come from?

Bill Ryan/Supercross BMX: Vision is our focus of the Future of BMX racing, and to make it a forward vision, and the F1, can mean a lot of things, the F1 Race Car Technology of the Monocoque chassis, or the Fiber 1100, or the FAST 1, you decide…

bmxultra.com: You can see the obvious differences between the ENVY BLK and the Vision F1. There’s the enclosed dropout. The 10/15 dropout adapter kit. The square chain stay and seat stays, with a familiar front end. What less obvious differences are there between the two frames?

Bill Ryan/Supercross BMX: The Vision has an entire new inner structure and entire new molding process, unlike most carbon frames where each part is formed and then bonded together, the entire frame is one monocoque piece. And while we were changing the molds and the EPS forms, we figured we would take the knowledge and data we have gained over the last 7 years of the ENVY BLK and the ENVY BLK 2 and adapt that to a FEA model and further enhance the power block rear end, and enhance the launch control of the frame to allow it to launch faster, accelerate quicker and still not ride too stiff as some carbon frames do. There has to be that perfect balance. And of course you do see the Dual Braking options, the Dual Cable routing, the Flip/Chip rear end, the built in Tensioner / Guide which will further enhance the power transfer by guiding the chain back up on to the rear cog.

bmxultra.com: Does the Flip/Chip limit the range of gears that you can use?

Bill Ryan/Supercross BMX: The Flip/Chip was designed to MAXIMIZE the gearing potentials, obviously we haven’t tried EVERY single gear combo possible, but we have tried all the most popular ones and it works great.

bmxultra.com: I’ve seen the Flip/Chip used with no idler set up, it’s obviously possible, but is it recommended?

Bill Ryan/Supercross BMX: It is designed that you can do it for certain gearings, such as the 44/16, and we are going to make custom Flip Chips for special gear ratios.

bmxultra.com: What is the biggest front sprocket the frame is made to take?

Bill Ryan/Supercross BMX: We designed it for the infamous California Gearing, a 52 tooth front chainring.

bmxultra.com: Will the tensioner mean you can get away with poor chain alignment?

Bill Ryan/Supercross BMX: No one should have poor chain alignment, the idler is designed to guide the chain up on to your rear cog, and we designed the frame around a 45mm chain line, so if you set your front gear at a 45mm chain line and your rear cog at a 45 mm chain line, you should be perfect!! No skips, hops or jumps, just smooth sailin’ from here on out.

bmxultra.com: Do you get any noise from the tensioner/guide?

Bill Ryan/Supercross BMX: The Guide is made from a Thermoplastic that is impregnated with Teflon. So it is as quiet as we can make it, but if you set your tension too high, it will be louder. It is all on the user set up.

bmxultra.com: I saw somewhere the Vision F1 is disc or v-brake compatible, but how do you attach the v-brakes? There’s no obvious brake block and brake posts?

Bill Ryan/Supercross BMX: Yes the vision uses a fully removeable V- Brake Block which allows you to have a clean look when removed, and ease of access to install when needed or wanted. We are not FORCING anyone to go disc, just giving you the option when you are ready. Our V Brake System is very robust still and has an exclusive internal cable routing or just for the V-Brakes. It is designed into the frame.

bmxultra.com: The rear dropout set up is new. What sort of adjustment will people have when positioning their wheel in the dropout? Is there room, or need, for a chain tensioner?

Bill Ryan/Supercross BMX: We looked at the riders wheel position at the races, and most riders set it up about Mid position, so we designed the rear part of the FLIP/CHIP to be a 43/16 at the Middle of our normal rear end positioning, and when you flip the FLIP/CHIP around it is the equivalent of removing one link to go forward as the SLAMMED position. The Vision F1 comes with a built in Tensioner / Idler that will take up any chain slack if needed for any other gear ratios, and it is also going to be where we can make custom FLIP/CHIP’s for all other gear ratios so if you have a particular gear ratio you like, you can have it set without the tensioner or Idler with a custom Supercross BMX FLIP/CHIP.

bmxultra.com: I’ve heard you say it many times before “not all carbons are equal” or something similar, what carbon is used in the Vision F1 and why?

Bill Ryan/Supercross BMX: No, not all carbon is created equal, it is a tagline we started to use in 2014 and we got SLAMMED for it, funny enough now people know and understand that. There are books on the differences of Carbon and some makers, such as Torray where we get our carbon make some bottom of the barrel stuff and then they make some real High end stuff. It is just like anything, you can buy a cheap burger or you can buy a good burger, you can get a cheap Beer or you can get a GOOD beer, you can get a cheep Coffee, or a GREAT coffee, you can drive a crap car or a Supercar, and the Carbon world is the same. The Torray T1100 that we use is the Worlds Finest for Bicycle production. Don’t get me wrong the T700S is amazing, and the T700 is pretty good too, but the modulus and the tensile of the T1100 is crazy good. It is a stronger, more flexible and durable carbon than any of the others currently available. But we are testing some others so who knows what may be available in the next 4, 5 or 10 years… Technology is amazing.

bmxultra.com: How will the Vision F1 compare, weight wise, to a ENVY BLK?

Bill Ryan/Supercross BMX: It is only about 2-3 ounces lighter per size, we could have made it lighter, but we wanted to maximize the durability and the launch factors of the frame more so than the weight. I don’t think that the weight is that big of a deal when you are down at 2.5lbs on a Pro XL Carbon Frame. I want a frame, at that point, that is going to hold up for season after season, and we have tested that and proven how long it will last. Randy Roberts has 5 years, heck maybe 6 years now, on his ENVY BLK and he is not easy on bikes. Could we go lighter, of course we can. And can we engineer special inner molds to make custom frames for riders if need be, sure we could, but the cost is so great, and again around 2.5lbs for the Pro XL frame, it is light enough. These 16lb complete Pro Race bikes are pretty crazy.

bmxultra.com: Should we expect any geometry changes?

Bill Ryan/Supercross BMX: The Geometry has been pretty dialled in over the years, so the geometry remains the same that everyone has loved. No need to reinvent the wheel.

bmxultra.com: I’ve been a big fan of Supercross for many years, the product is always beautifully presented. The Vision F1 is no different, except it looks like you’ve taken the opportunity to give the logos a little make over. Should we expect to see that carry though for all future branding/marketing?

Bill Ryan/Supercross BMX: Thank you! I appreciate the compliment. And yes we always go thru small tweaks here and there, you can’t stay stale , as much as I LOVE our Roots and have a Passion for what we have done in BMX, I am constantly striving to move it forward, And just as you saw the stacked logo show up in the branding, you will see more of the new logos show up more and more.

bmxultra.com: What size options will be available?

Bill Ryan/Supercross BMX: The first molds we have finished are the Pro XL, the Pro XXL, the Expert, the Expert XL and the Pro XL 24” Cruiser. We will be doing all sizes eventually, but with the cost of the tooling, it is a slow process, and we want to make sure we do it right and we are not cutting corners, so eventually we plan on Micro, Mini, Junior, Pro, Pro XXXL, to also be added to the mix.

bmxultra.com: Will they be more accessible than the ENVY BLK, which seemed to sell the minute they landed at SX HQ?

Bill Ryan/Supercross BMX: We hope so, but the problem has been that the demand has always out reached the supply. We are trying to keep up with it, but it is not like we can just go and make more of the tools for a size, and carbon frames are very very labor intensive, they are all hand laid and placed in to the molds and wrapped. It is very time consuming.