Amp Research B3

[Braggard]

Seller says it's a small

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/25597472...d14RYlWznmCAUoVRd4Rcfs1Q==|tkp:Bk9SR8rQqPDKYQ

 

[synchronicity]

During the 90s, I always had this vague kind of feeling that the word "research" used in the title meant they weren't fully tested.
Only put my finger on this subconscious vibe now; voicing these concerns 30 years late.

 

[Ricker]

Looks like a medium to me. Great retro bike though-

 

[2manyoranges]

Synchronicity - actually the ‘research‘ bit of Amp gave us the Horst Link - fundamental to modern suspension.

They were heavily based on genuine, leading edge suspension research. They WERE fragile. But I know of no AMP fork failures or frame failures at all, and that compared with very high level of failures of Manitou FS or some ti frames of the time (no names but you know who you are).

My AMP B3 medium did sterling service. Excellent performance down and up on the South Downs. And it weighed 24lbs. Stunning design. Tiny beautiful dampers which really worked, and easily adjusted springs. Super. Horst Leitner did incredible MX tuning and design and that was carried over to the AMP bikes.

There were some reservations…

It was unbelievably flexy. Even with the retro-fitted chainstay bridge it flexed enough going down that I constantly thought I had a rear puncture, with the rear squirrelling around all over the place.

The fork legs were unbelievably flexy too - they moved back up to 4cm (!!!) under braking. Fatigue death to the fork legs a real possibility, but never an actuality.

Fantastic bikes. I sold mine to a RetroHead in Lewes, and so it returned to its spiritual home (well its second home after Laguna Beach, from where I bought it). I had moved onto modern British Steel (Cotic and Stanton) and it was so sad seeing the AMP sitting in the store...

 

[2manyoranges]

And just to note, on the one advertised on EBAY - —- that to the INCREDIBLE flex of the frame is added the INCREDIBLE FLEX of a radially-spoked rear wheel on a small flange hub - BOING TWIST BOING BOING…..great on the flat. A handful going down.

 

[synchronicity]

Or maybe what I meant to say that they were always focusing on testing (and hence not the actual production/distribution).
I'm talking about my own subconcious bias name association here.
I know they were good bikes in their day (I remember that they were light).

 

[2manyoranges]

Synch - interestingly Horst L was erratically entrepreneurial - AMP frames and rear ends were sold under licence to Mongoose and Mercedes (!!) - I even saw one in the Merc dealer in Piccadilly - weird - the Horst Link was sold under licence to Specialised and then others - and the bikes even appeared as police bikes in the ‘States. It’s a big part of mountain bike history .. a missing link (hrrr hrrr)

 

[Mr. Zero]

Synchronicity - actually the ‘research‘ bit of Amp gave us the Horst Link - fundamental to modern suspension.

They were heavily based on genuine, leading edge suspension research. They WERE fragile. But I know of no AMP fork failures or frame failures at all, and that compared with very high level of failures of Manitou FS or some ti frames of the time (no names but you know who you are).

My AMP B3 medium did sterling service. Excellent performance down and up on the South Downs. And it weighed 24lbs. Stunning design. Tiny beautiful dampers which really worked, and easily adjusted springs. Super. Horst Leitner did incredible MX tuning and design and that was carried over to the AMP bikes.

There were some reservations…

It was unbelievably flexy. Even with the retro-fitted chainstay bridge it flexed enough going down that I constantly thought I had a rear puncture, with the rear squirrelling around all over the place.

The fork legs were unbelievably flexy too - they moved back up to 4cm (!!!) under braking. Fatigue death to the fork legs a real possibility, but never an actuality.

Fantastic bikes. I sold mine to a RetroHead in Lewes, and so it returned to its spiritual home (well its second home after Laguna Beach, from where I bought it). I had moved onto modern British Steel (Cotic and Stanton) and it was so sad seeing the AMP sitting in the store...

Not at all my experience on my AMP B2 or my Fat Chance Shock-a-Billy with the AMP rear triangle, although both of those frames are the small size. The AMP B2/B3 (in the small size) when frame and fork are serviced and setup correctly is an incredible ride with none of the flex mentioned above. I picked mine up second-hand, refurbished the pivots and shock, tuned to factory recommendations and both perform flawlessly on fast singletrack.

The positive experience led me to collect many more examples of the design from various manufacturers (DEAN, KTM, Mongoose, Salsa, Alpine Designs) who utilized the AMP rear triangle and/or licensed the design. The AMP B2/B3 frame is light AF with very minimal pivots, so I can imagine a heavier rider on a larger frame potentially getting it to flex, but that scenario is true of many frames. I wouldn't shy away from one of these if you're capable of doing your own service and willing to dial it in.

In regard to the "Research" component one interesting bit of trivia is that Horst Leitner and AMP implemented design changes almost immediately, so you may discover multiple variations of an AMP model within a given year.

Frame in OP is definitely a medium size.

 

[2manyoranges]

Mr Zero - note I loved my B3 and the flex was simply an observation on what is a VERY capable bike. interestingly I am 5-7 and 125 pounds and so pretty much a lightweight rider - and on a medium B3 to get the length in the toptube. You are right about the minimal pivots - in fact the whole thing was a brilliant design exercise in tightly engineered minimalism - bit like Lotus under Chapman but without the catastrophic failures. For me, no amount of set up will remove the flex in the AMP forks - at least on the incarnation I had. They were aluminium round profile straight tubing, and never going to be anything other than flexy.