Tech focus - Ride Engine

We talk to the ground breaking Coleman Buckley who is set to revolutionise the harness industry once again.

Ride Engine - Direct Connection - Interview with Coleman Buckley

We've seen the video, and we were pretty blown away, can you tell us a little bit about this new concept for harnesses? Where did the idea come from, and how hard was it to make it a reality?

Our original goal was to unify the spreader bar to harness to create an encompassing exoskeleton for maximum comfort. Along the way, we realised this was also an excellent opportunity to radically improve the closure system as well. The idea of locking buckles isn't really new, and there's a long history of people trying to use some kind of snowboard style ratchet for harnesses, one patent I believe dates back 15 years. The reason they never came to exist though is that the mechanism used by that kind of ratchet will release under loads exceeding about 90lbs. What we did was combine two different types of load-bearing buckles, one that adjusts in size and one that tightens to create a hybrid system with all the features we wanted.

What was the reaction like when you first tabled the idea in the office?

The vibe at Ride Engine is always supportive of new stuff, so reception was good. Initially, the closure mechanism we had was pretty funky, so it wasn't until the dual mechanism idea that we realised it was going to be a hit for sure.

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How long has it taken to go from an idea to a finished product?

I was messing with variants of it for about three years, but the closure system wasn't ever right. Once we had that lightbulb moment with the dual closure system the whole Ride Engine development team leaned into it, we banged it out in about 6 months.

What at the key benefits and advantages of the new Direct Connection system?

• The bar doesn't spin
• One movement entry/exit
• Set it and forget fit
• No webbing slipping/mid-session adjustments
• Easy switch between spreader bars if you use a hook and switch to a rope slider or a wider open hook for windsurfing.

Are there any drawbacks?

Not really. It's a little more expensive, but overall, it’s basically a pure improvement that is worth paying for. The biggest issue is probably how much it's going to hurt the used value of your current harness - haha! We do have a system for updating older webbing systems to the new bar, though.

Will you be using this set up across the whole harness range?

Currently, we use the Direct Connection in the 2 hard shell harness the Elite Carbon and the Saber. The soft-shell Momentum and Contour seat harness are still webbing based. For us at the moment, the creation of the full 360 degrees of support was best adapted to the hard-shell structure.

When is the product going to be in the shops?

NOW! Check your favourite Ride Engine dealer for availability.