A summary history of my technical experience

Koji Yoshioka
President
SUS21 Company Inc.

1. Something new in the world

Ever since I was a child, I’ve always chased my dream of wanting to make something new in the world. I wrote in my notebook “Once believe in something heartily, never give up on it.”
I came across my original suspension idea in high school years, but I had to gain many technical knowledge and practice to make it practical use. 17 years ago, I filed the patent for the basic technology of new suspension system in Japan. I also filed the patent of Yoshioka Suspension in 7 countries including USA and Europe.

2. Isolating a shock and vibration

My idea turned into reality 15 years ago. However I did not know how to introduce my suspension to the world market. My suspension is totally different from the existing common sense of suspension.
The wheel in the existing suspension moves up and down to isolate a shock and vibration. My idea is to isolate a shock and vibration by a movement of wheel in the longitudinal direction.
I applied my technology to a competitive bicycle “ Road Racer “. My product is a super light suspension fork which is made of carbon fiber and aluminum alloy. I named it “Aero Swing “.

3. My technical story

When a bicycle rider tries to increase a speed, a rider stands up and makes a pressure against his bicycle with conventional suspension. This pressure reflects to a bicycle and an additional up and down movement. This is minus to save energy.
The wheel in my suspension does not move up and down. The pressure from a rider does not transfer to a bicycle. This feature makes less energy loss rather than a existing suspension. Then the racers who use my suspension save energy than other racers. They might win the race. This is my technical story.

4. The Race Across AMERICA

The Race Across AMERICA is seen as the most toughest bicycle race in the world. The riders started Irvine, California and run across USA in 1997. The winner was the rider who reached Savannah, Georgia, first. Racers could rest and sleep whenever they want to. In this race, rider’s physical and mental strength is an important factor. However the performance of the bicycle is also important to win the race. The bicycle using my suspension participated in this race. 5 racers who used my suspension won from 1st place to 3rd place in men’s race and 1st and 2nd in the women race. .I was very glad that racers used my suspension and finished the race with good results. My suspension won the “ 1997 Race Across America “.

5. My SAE technical paper history

My SAE technical paper history is as follows;
Oct. 1993; Membership to SAE approved, My membership number is 4834331491

Koji　Yoshioka