LaharDhv m9 no-1. Owner: Nick McMillan Christchurch NZ

There were several motivations for commiting to a gearbox bike program in the early nineties.
I had studied all the literature on chassis design available and it was obvious that all the objectives for maximising suspension performance had been identified pretty clearly by the 1930's, and the world of motorised suspension was under no illusions over this.
It was obvious that no rear suspension system that had a chain drive directly between BB and rear wheel could achieve the golden performance objectives of good sprung/unsprung weight ratio, mass centralisation, neutral drive squat and brake dive behavior, brake and drive independance from suspension, and wheel travel in the direction of bump force. The mainstream of mtb rear suspension was then and still is all about attempting to balance a jacking force from the chains tension with thrust squat inevitable when the rear wheel can get closer to the centre of gravity under power. This is an impossible task when the ratio of chain force / drive thrust is different in every gear with your transmission on the rear wheel. This fundamental flaw has been used as the driving force for new suspension bike sales by an over-hyped industry that every year promises that they have finally got it right. The gearbox solution answered all of the golden performance objectives.
The other side of the coin was the built in obsolesence of deraileur drivetrains and the fact that their short lifespan enables simularly short longativity in frames and other components to seem acceptable. I had observed that the immensely talented juniors coming up through the ranks were almost inevitably doomed to depart the sport once their parental bike sponsorships expired. The lack of improvement since deraileurs were borrowed from road bikes is evident in the fact that many top dh pros use road deraileurs. I wanted to build a dh machine that could be raced competitively with full mechanical reliability for at least 5 years. I envisaged these bikes being bought secondhand by juniors who could then charge on on a reliable and competitive bike with minimal service costs- like the road scene. I am immensely proud to have shown that this goal is possible with the 2001 designed M8 bikes proving unkillable in the hands of the countrys most destructive riders in up to 7 pro seasons per bike. The facts that the m8 performance level can still impress top talented, experienced riders with thousands of dh runs under their belts and they are trusted enough by their owners that they are prepared to loan them out for a season to the countrys 2 top u17 riders Dave Scandrett and Pete Cooper make me immensely proud.
The new m9's have been tested now by near 20 pro level riders, many of whom have experience on the m8. They are unanimous that the M9 is better than the M8 in every respect. With the input of guys like 03 NZ#1 Tim Nelson, national champ Nathan Rankin, ex junior champ Wyn Masters, pro podium regulars Byron Scott, Punter, Scotty Sheldon contributing to the geometry, it shouldn't be a surprize.