Horst Link, now out of patent!

As seen over at Dirt Rag: Ghost Bikes coming to the US.
But that's not the real news.  Here's the interesting part:

Ghost’s full-suspension line uses a four-bar Horst Link design, which until recently was under patent by Specialized in the US.

Huh!  After Horst Leitner got tired of a DYI defense of his patent and sold it to Specialized in the late 90's and they got their legal team cracking on things, a lot of good bike designs went by the wayside.  Remember the GT LTS for example?  Several mom-and-pop bike works also got crushed in the scramble.

Well now it's game back on for suspension design.  Don't expect the equivalent of the Cambrian explosion for suspension we saw in the mid-90's, but look for some innovative designs to start popping up.  Like, say, this one, from that Dirt Rag article:

But enough of technology and suspension linkages for the moment.  Fine as that bike looks, the brand name kind of creeps me out.  A ghost bike is a memorial, not something you ride!

It's kind of like naming an airplane "Auger" or a sports car "James Dean Tragic Crash Special."  Does not bode well, do not want.