boxxer or dh 2.0?

skyst3alth · May 3, 2005

I would go with the White Brothers, it has such a huge range of adjustability, you can set it up for anything you'd like to do. Also, the weight isn't that bad ontop of it.

Plus, it's inverted, and inverted forks give me boners.

-Adam

santacruzer87 · May 3, 2005

OK, as a White Brothers owneer and a Boxxer owner its hard to say. I think that the White Bros wins at flat out amazingly smooth compression, but they aren't the most reliable forks. I've had constant problmes with play in the lowers. White Bros. are also amazingly complex.

Boxxers are sick, especially world cups. The thing about boxxers is that you can get all sorts of upgrades, enduro seals and all sorts of super nice ineterals (push indistries, gamut, blackbox, mojo). You also know how to service it.

I would have to say go with the boxxer.

Inclag · May 3, 2005

Try to test ride different forks setup for a similar weighted rider as yourself if you can. Honestly that's the best thing you could do. In my experience, an inverted fork definately does have different riding characteristics than a non-inverted design which you may like or dislike. Same thing goes with all the different damper designs out there.

In most cases, Boxxer's require a bit of adjustment out of the box to tune it to your liking. As far as the White Bros. I'm not really sure, maybe ask the people on this board about setup. A Boxxer should be torsionally stiffer than the White Bros. by design. The White Bros. having better fore-aft stiffness. Depending on your riding style and level this may be important.

You also have other factors like axle to crown height, the weights (boxxer a little lighter most likely) of the respective forks, the feel of the compression stroke, the range of external and internal adjustment, customer service (of which Sram rocks and since the takeover by Ecko Sports, White Bros. has been pretty good), availability, color, maintanence etc, etc, etc....

All in all, both forks are probably going to work very well. If you can't decide on a fork taking into account all these factors, then the best thing to do is try them out. You're bound to get alot of good info from these forums, as well as brand loyalty BS as well.

With respect to the Boxxer (mine being a 2003 blackbox upgrade Team)

Things I like
- It has pretty decent stiffness
- It's light and flickable
- Low axle to crown (of course it'll be taller with the 8 inch I'd imagine) which is good considering my bike and it's tall headtube
- The maintanance is really easy, then again most forks aren't rocket science.

Things that kind of bug me
- I'd love slightly more user friendly adjusters (external preload, and knobs for rebound/low speed compression)
- I can't get the compression damping exactly how I would like it, which would be a little lighter top stroke. Also, I would like a little longer but heavier feeling mid stroke.
- The seals are not marzocchi level

Things that I can't stand
- Nothing

xy9ine · May 3, 2005

i'm on the 3rd year of a set of DH2.0's and i can't say anything but good about it. it's pretty light (7.75lbs), torsionally stiff for a invert (definately stiffer than a shiver), has great tuning range, fantastic build quality (compare the crown machining to the mass produced stuff from marz or rs), is super short axle to crown, adjustable between 7-8", super reliable, and (most importantly) performs amazingly.

i've put many hard hours on the the fork (a whistler whore), and apart from having to replace a leaking shraeder valve in the compression reservoir, have never had to do any service other than a twice a year cleaning & lube - which is easy to do. bushings & seals are still in great shape. i don't normally hold on to hardware for so long, but this fork has been such a no-brainer i havent had any reason to trade for anything else. highly recommeded based on my personal experience. i'm surprised they're not more popular.

kidwoo · May 3, 2005

santacruzer87 said:
White Bros. are also amazingly complex.

True. They have a spring in one leg and a damper in the other.

Actually they may look a little more involved on paper than say an old zoke but once you've gone in there, there's nothing more complicated than a manitou with a tpc setup.

Edit: oh yeah content.......

Both forks can give you a pretty low a-c height which I really like. They both steer pretty well as far as deflection in a bunch of twisty, rocky stuff (if anything I'd say the boxxer might be a little better). The one thing that's still always kept me from owning one though is durability. I've had 2 WB forks that I beat the piss out of over the course of 3 years and saw holes/dents in boxxers, both lowers and stanchions, blown dampers, siezed up sliders, the well known seal issues.........etc etc etc. My DH3 belonged to a friend of mine who now has had 2 boxxers and before I got rid of it, he kept trying to buy it back from me. Lots of folks never have problems with thiers but as far as a full blown DH fork, I'd look elsewhere....especially since I don't race and lightness is further down the list from durability. I wouldn't mind sticking one on my freeride bike which sees fewer rocks. Who knows though. It's a different beast this year.

In case you're wondering, the only reason I got rid of my las WB fork was for the stiffer steering I got from an 888.

bballe336 · May 3, 2005

if you want lightweight dont put an mtx on the front. but anyways i have never ridden a white bros but from what i know about boxxers i like them. but try and ride both and decide which you like. i am so jealous of your canfield and i havent even seen it yet...............

flymybike · May 4, 2005

iridebikes said:
Ok, I'm finding myself in a bit of a pinch... Its getting close to summer, I will have enough money to finish my canfield build very soon. all that's left to figure out is the fork. I thought I was for sure going to get a white brothers dh 2.0, but then after taking the class offered by Sram and taking apart their whole line of forks, including the boxxer world cup. I don't know what to choose.
I'm going to be riding whistler hopefully quite a bit. Might do a race or two. I'll be doing mostly freeride stuff. Alot of the shore, and that style stuff. I'm planning on riding a few times with Mr. Simmons and hopefully a few of the other guys up there. I am trying to keep my bike fairly lightweight. Its going to be a canfield brother's formula 1, sram x.9 and avid juicy 7's, hadly hubs, 729 rear rim, and mtx front rim. ghetto tubless with minion dhr and high roller in back. north shore cranks, and diabolus everything else. my targe weight is 42 pounds, and I will have no problem meeting that with either one of the forks. But which one would you choose? I'm not getting a 888 I know that. Its now either the world cup boxxer or white brothers dh2.0
any suggestions?

The WB 2.0 is a totally differnet fork (Internally ) compared to pre 2004. The overlap went from 4.5 to 8.5 for a huge difference in stiffness. I've been on the new style for over 2 years now (prototypes and production)and I LOVE it.

The damper has more volume with external compression, rebound and floating piston back pressure (controls sag and topend sensitivity). The seals don't blow, you have to wear them out.

The spring side has two springs with rate options and a seal that can be removed internally for a more linear rate. There is a external air assist that is meant to run zero pressure so it doesn't affect the top end sensitivity but adds progression to the stroke. With a small amout of air added it will go from fast race setup to huck off the roof setup.

In short, it's stiffer steering, easy to use external adjustments and extremely reliable. Plus I designed both your frame and the WB 2.0 fork, tested them together and made sure they performed correctly paired up.

PS: if your looking for a light race fork the new WB DHR s a 5.7 lb 7" travel air fork.

kidwoo · May 4, 2005

flymybike said:
PS: if your looking for a light race fork the new WB DHR s a 5.7 lb 7" travel air fork.

......that doesn't exist :dead:

Is that thing actually going to see production?

Curb Hucker · May 4, 2005

kidwoo said:
Is that thing actually going to see production?

yes, a near production prototype was at sea otter. Last I heard was July, lance?

kidwoo · May 4, 2005

Curb Hucker said:
yes, a near production prototype was at sea otter. Last I heard was July, lance?

Bring it yo.

flymybike · May 4, 2005

Sorry the marketing guy made me do it!
It will go into production but it is still being tested. I am the one that is holding it back because I want it to be the best it can be. Only after I test it to the point that I feel no one will have a performance, durablility or any other issue. I really don't have a time line but It is a real fork and it is sick. Curbhucker- July sounds about right.

Fulton · May 5, 2005

DH2.0 is the best fork I've ever ridden, my personal fav no question's asked. plus, Eko sport has some of the best customer service in the industry.

flymybike · May 5, 2005

iridebikes said:
hm... well depending on if I get into dedicated racing for next year. i might be looking inot that fork. how is it for hucking? I'm guessing you couldn't go too big on it. am I wrong in assuming that?

So the WB 2.0 will be ordered next week. and rear hub friday. then all that is left is front wheel. Shell out the cash for 823 and haldey? or spend half as much and get a complete handbuilt mtx wheel? hm... not sure

You can identify the new model 2.0 by the air cap on the top of the left leg.

I've done some crazy stuff on my DHR and it seems to be solid. It wouldn't be my first choice for a huck fork, get the 2.0 for that, but it has held up extremly well at Silverton last season, I jumped it off a 7-8' slickrock ledge to a crap bumpy landing and it was sweet. I jumped it off Mushroom rock in moab a bunch of times. I'm a bit of an extreme case, super picky, but the DHR would be my first choice for a pure race fork and I feel confedent in the fork to jump it too.

OGDMFG · May 5, 2005

Pretty artwork there lance.

jeremy

kidwoo · May 5, 2005

I think I can see the air cap so that must be the new one right?

That's an awesome pic.

flymybike · May 5, 2005

kidwoo said:
I think I can see the air cap so that must be the new one right?

That's an awesome pic.

Thanks Jeremy & kidwoo, I like that shot too.
The 2.0 has a air cap on the damper leg at the foot, just like old forks had, but the new one has a air cap on the top of the spring leg too. Just to clarify.
lance

HearNOevil · May 5, 2005

Boxxer WC any day.

flymybike · May 5, 2005

iridebikes said:
I've heard that the spacing for the white brothers dh forks is 20x120 for a dishless wheel... is that true? on the website is says its standard 20x110, but a guy i know(who usually is full of crap) said that its a pain because you have to use spacers so it will be a dishless wheel... I'm not sure how much i believe him. any thoughts?

Yes the 2.0 is a 120 hub spacing. It's a pain if you have two forks and swap them alot, I just have two front wheels. It is for a dishless wheel. I know rissie made 120 hubs, not sure of any others though.

Brad23 · May 5, 2005

the DHR looks pretty tasty. I'm in the market for a fork this year and that looks like the perfect fit. My only concern tuning and maitenence. I don't think to many LBS would work on it. How easy is it to take apart and service?
I guess it may be easier than oil/sprung. Then what would be my best bet for trying one out? Would I have to take a trip to UT?

flymybike · May 5, 2005

Tuning:
Air spring: You have air pressure for the positive and negative spring ( self equalizing). You can add shims to increase ramp (volume adjustment) by removing the air cap and tossing them in.
Damper side: External rebound at the bottom of the leg. Floating piston back pressure- controls ramp, sag and top end sensitivity. Factory set compression.
Maintenance: Remove the compression screws at the bottom of the legs. Remove the lower assembly. Clean and inspect then re-lube with slick honey, Pro-gold or other suspension lube. Air spring: remove the stanchion plug and pull out the control rod. Inspect the seals and reassemble. Remove the air cap and add fork oil to lube the seal, about 10-15 ML.
Easy!

I will be a some races this year and I send time in UT an CO so if your out this way or have some races planned your welcome to try mine. pm me.

Curb Hucker · May 5, 2005

flymybike said:
I will be a some races this year and I send time in UT an CO so if your out this way or have some races planned your welcome to try mine. pm me.

I want mine now

ink:

boxxer or dh 2.0?

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