Anyone has more details about that?
Photos?
Photos?
US Open Gee Atherton inverted fork
Just Get the Dorado! It's proven and It rocks...
Looks similar to a Curnutt fork. But I guess all inverted forks look similar to a degree.
Don't most upright forks look the same to a degree?
Same thing for derailleurs, handlebars, stems, shifters, saddles, seatposts, wheels, hubs, spokes, brakes, grips, rear shocks...
nah, spokes come in different colours and lengths.
Obviously my point wasn't articulated as well as it could have been, well played.
This is why I love Ridemonkey. You got the joke/sarcasm, and butthurt was avoided.
So this is what Transcend saw already in South Africa? Any other guy on this fork also?
It wasn't in south africa.
Deadly serious!Are you trying to be funny or are you serious ?
From the Pinkbike article;
Says who? Just because you want to believe the hype doesn't mean I have to.
and you surely know better than the Fox engineers right ?
Fox have rarely done silly things just for the sake of marketing and usually they seem to know what they're are doing. Beside,I doubt they would throw money out the window if , they already knew an inverted chassis had no chance to provide advantages in mountain bike applications.I may turn up to be a major failure in the end but wether or not it goes into production one day, I still find it very interesting to see them pushing the envelope here.
Just before this thread goes down in flames I want it on record that I think Fox roxks, and if they do a UD I'm sure it will be great... what winds me up is what appears to me to be mindlessly regurgitated blathering such as in the Pinkbike quote.and you surely know better than the Fox engineers right ?
Beside,I doubt they would throw money out the window if , they already knew an inverted chassis had no chance to provide advantages in mountain bike applications.I may turn up to be a major failure in the end but wether or not it goes into production one day, I still find it very interesting to see them pushing the envelope here.
That is all. Resume the bonfire.
After the damping cartridge they also inverted their chassis...Any info on the tech insight the chassis? Do they work with airspring? Damping cartridge news?
Fox have been using what is basically a Curnutt Valve in their shocks so it wouldn't be a huge stretch to imagine them at least trying it out in a fork? Then again that doesn't really have anything to do with how the fork looks, just an interesting possibilty.
You'd have to wonder why, if torsional stiffness isn't that big a deal to them, they originally built the 40 so big and stiff in the first place.
USD forks make sense on motocross bikes, where you have 100kg of bike (instead of 15-20) plus rider smashing through whoops and braking hard from 150km/h, and the greater bushing overlap really makes a difference. They are incidentally stiff enough torsionally, given that the only thing the front wheel can actually twist AGAINST is the rider's arms... which are going to be similar strength regardless of whether you're on a MX bike or a DH bike, because they're built so beefy (20-25lbs?) to resist the longitudinal forces. The same can't be said for DH forks, so I'm curious to know why, after finally nailing all the issues that the 40s had (shortish seal life, blowing bladders out of the original dampers, stanchion wear, lack of compression in stock guise), giving them a product that is the stiffest on the market, reasonably light, and super high performance, that they chose to invert the fork. Being Fox, I'd be very surprised if it sucked, so maybe they've got some tricky magic going on in there... but JCL is actually right, they really aren't going to lower the unsprung mass by any significant margin and there's just no way they can build it as stiff. Yes various branches of motorsport have introduced some degree of lateral flex into their chassis/suspension systems, but next time you get your DH bike leaned over past 45 degrees on flat ground at 200km/h with 4" of rock hard suspension, come and tell us how relevant that is.
USD forks make sense on motocross bikes, where you have 100kg of bike (instead of 15-20) plus rider smashing through whoops and braking hard from 150km/h, and the greater bushing overlap really makes a difference. They are incidentally stiff enough torsionally, given that the only thing the front wheel can actually twist AGAINST is the rider's arms... which are going to be similar strength regardless of whether you're on a MX bike or a DH bike, because they're built so beefy (20-25lbs?) to resist the longitudinal forces. The same can't be said for DH forks, so I'm curious to know why, after finally nailing all the issues that the 40s had (shortish seal life, blowing bladders out of the original dampers, stanchion wear, lack of compression in stock guise), giving them a product that is the stiffest on the market, reasonably light, and super high performance, that they chose to invert the fork. Being Fox, I'd be very surprised if it sucked, so maybe they've got some tricky magic going on in there... but JCL is actually right, they really aren't going to lower the unsprung mass by any significant margin and there's just no way they can build it as stiff. Yes various branches of motorsport have introduced some degree of lateral flex into their chassis/suspension systems, but next time you get your DH bike leaned over past 45 degrees on flat ground at 200km/h with 4" of rock hard suspension, come and tell us how relevant that is.
Thanks Ed, that's awesome.
I agree. I was also very suprised that from all the companies Fox was the one to go with the USD. I actually thought the new fork Fraser was speaking about would be a lower diameter normal fork as 40s were crazy stiff and what other companies offered was enough for most (if not all) the riders.
Personally I don't understand such a polar move but who knows, maybe they are onto something.
i think USD forks achieves the same goals as a traditional mtb fork but in a different way. i just think they look cool, prob because they look "moto". honestly, having switched from a boxxer world cup to a dorado this season, i don't feel any difference. the lack of stiction and the compliance in the initial part of travel is similar to a recently maintained/properly lubricated boxxer
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Well one advantage is the much better protected stanchions. Maybe because the shiver was my first dh fork I too have always like the look.
I think it looks pretty dang sick. Braaaaaaaap
Hope they make a 29er version like the dorado
Maybe thats why? I doubt fox sees 29ers as the future of DH, but I could see somebody wanting to pick up a few extra sales - long travel 29ers ARE becoming more popular, whether or not they become mainstream. I'm talking out of my ass here probably, since typically fox waits until something is VERY established before putting their foot in the water (180mm travel single crown?), but if they see a future in 29 inch wheels in a long travel application, it'll be less expensive for them to have 1 fork they can sell then 2.
Also, is anybody really complaining about stiffness in the current dorado? I remember hearing that rockshox specifically didn't go with the larger stantion diameter because they believed it cause the fork to be too stiff to track as well as it could and it was causing additional fatigue.
Hmmm do you mean the old ones? Cause I haven't heard one bad thing about the new ones and I have owned 3 now that have been awesome! Please present some evidence if you are going to bash Manitou. I have heard all these bad things over the years but, they have ran great for me.
come on...how could anybody NOT have predicted we'd come back to this?!?!?!?!
but srsly, it's just a way for fox to pitch their old **** and get new ****. I believe fully that USD forks are generally better for dual crown systems, when done right, but I think this is simply a gimic to get more riders on new stuff. Plus, if you develop a whole new chassis, you can force obsolescence, while nowadays riders with 06 40s can upgrade their dampers and get most of the performance of a 2011 fork. I saw a whole bunch of retrofitted 40s at the GRT, but he wouldn't touch my DHX. Thanks fox!
Weren't their rumors of the return of the shiver?
But there's a difference between the inbuilt fork stanchion/crown compliance in a Boxxer and independent leg movement in a Dorado.
i think the talk in SA was he was possibly using a prototype stans no-tubes DH rim.
Looks real beefy. 40mm stanchions?
Hmmm....
More laterally stiff, not likely, but that could be better in the rocks
More fore and aft stiffness, maybe, but the 40 is already very stiff
Less un-sprung weight, yes, but will anyone notice
Actual lubrication on the seals and bushings, definitely, a nice improvement
Of course these are my own e-speculations
More laterally stiff, not likely, but that could be better in the rocks
More fore and aft stiffness, maybe, but the 40 is already very stiff
Less un-sprung weight, yes, but will anyone notice
Actual lubrication on the seals and bushings, definitely, a nice improvement
Of course these are my own e-speculations
Fox wouldnt touch anything at the US open
Wow, seriously?
I guess that they just want to point out that they have learned how to purchase proper seals for their forks. So now you can ride them upside down! And no oil spurts upon thy brakes!
However this new model also incorporates a special "WIN!" button to be used when your pit team calls you mid run, to notify you about 0.3s lead that SH has over you. One little nudge of the "WIN!" button and your back on track for total domination!
However this new model also incorporates a special "WIN!" button to be used when your pit team calls you mid run, to notify you about 0.3s lead that SH has over you. One little nudge of the "WIN!" button and your back on track for total domination!