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ISIS Drive was
conceived and executed for the following two reasons:
1.
To create a common bottom bracket/crankset interface that can be freely
shared within the industry. Currently the industry is fragmented and
non-standardized with regard to the bottom bracket/crankset interface. This
standard seeks to eliminate this problem and thus allow the easy and fully
compatible exchange of parts among manufacturers.
2.
To eliminate or greatly reduce the current problems associated with bottom
bracket and crankset interfaces. These problems include incompatibility, lack
of crankset position control, insufficient interface strength, and difficulty
in determining interface compatibility and conformance.
The
standard consists of two parts: one governing the interface between the crank
and bottom bracket spindle, the other describing a set of standard spindle lengths.
The interface portion defines the ISIS
Drive interface geometry, insertion depth
and control, and attachment bolt specifications. The spindle length section
defines the relationship between the bottom bracket and the frame centerline
for different standard spindle lengths, thus ensuring the correct position of
the crankset relative to the frame centerline.
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The
ISIS Drive concept
began in 1998 when several companies in the industry started talking about
how to compete with the “other” spline interface. This “other” interface was
protected by several patents, which left most companies with the following
choices: 1) never produce a spline interface, 2) produce their own
proprietary interface with the result being a mass of non-compatible parts,
or 3) work with other companies in the industry to standardize on a common
spline interface. Obviously the third choice was the best.
The
result of these initial talks among many different companies was … a lot of
talk. Thus, at the 1999 Interbike show in Las Vegas, Truvativ,
Chris King, and Race Face sat down and began collaborating on a spline
interface for bottom brackets and cranks. All three companies immediately
recognized the benefit to the industry this interface could have. They had the
chance to fix a lot of the problems with the old interface and design
something from the ground up. Further, they all agreed to give the resulting
design to the public domain and freely provide it to the rest of the
industry. The result is the ISIS
Drive standard.
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