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X-Fusion Vengeance

dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
2,922
10
Your face.
REALLY GOOD.

I am just working on writing up the review now, but I gotta say, wow. They did a great job on it. Its super smooth, compression adjustments are decent (not amazing, range is limited), rebound adjustment is decent (little bit wide between clicks), its about as stiff as you're gonna need, it actually is 4.9 lbs, and it seems to be decent quality so far. I gotta say too its hands down the most sensitive fork I've ever tried, except for maybe the Magura Thor. Unlike the Magura though this one hasn't broken every two rides and leaked oil everywhere.

Bad stuff? Its a bit linear out of the box, but I am working on finding out how you can change that. The rebound is a bit odd, in that it makes a sucking noise and isn't the most refined thing out there since the gaps between clicks are sizable. I still prefer a maxle too, but the 20mm setup here is solid.

Its really a great fork, especially for a "first". The pricing on it makes it even more attractive, considering MSRP is quite a bit below Fox and RockShox.

I'd even go so far as to say that if X Fusion can keep this up, they will possibly interupt what is right now a 2 horse race, and finally be another choice with the top suspension companies.
 

nmpearson

Monkey
Dec 30, 2006
213
8
^totally agree. i rode a ton of forks this year and the vengeance was one of my favorite. great deal, very plush...i didnt find mine to be too linear, and i can't say about the sucking noise bc i listen to music when i ride. i do very much wish it had a qr20...if it did, i wouldn't have switched to a 36. i did think the vengeance was stiffer than the 36, but the non qr20 thing killed it for me. i'll get one again though for sure
 

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
REALLY GOOD.

I am just working on writing up the review now, but I gotta say, wow. They did a great job on it. Its super smooth, compression adjustments are decent (not amazing, range is limited), rebound adjustment is decent (little bit wide between clicks), its about as stiff as you're gonna need, it actually is 4.9 lbs, and it seems to be decent quality so far. I gotta say too its hands down the most sensitive fork I've ever tried, except for maybe the Magura Thor. Unlike the Magura though this one hasn't broken every two rides and leaked oil everywhere.

Bad stuff? Its a bit linear out of the box, but I am working on finding out how you can change that. The rebound is a bit odd, in that it makes a sucking noise and isn't the most refined thing out there since the gaps between clicks are sizable. I still prefer a maxle too, but the 20mm setup here is solid.
so the only thing good about the fork from what yovue said, is that its super smooth/ultra sensitive and stiff.
 

tuumbaq

Monkey
Jul 5, 2006
725
0
Squamish BC
The rebound is a bit odd, in that it makes a sucking noise .

Are you joking ? too bad cause I thought your review was quite interesting until I read that...then you lost ALL credibility... I mean , Im not sure what you mean by odd but if by odd you mean it makes an ODD sucking noise , it leads me to believe that A)you havent tested a lot of forks before and B) you have no clue how dampers work...:think:


I'd love to know what you mean by odd (are you referring to the damper behavior itself or simply the sucking sound it makes ?)
 
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Uncle Cliffy

Turbo Monkey
Jan 28, 2008
4,490
42
Southern Oregon
Mike Levy from Pinkbike does some pretty good reviews. His is here.

The axel to crown measurement surprised me. I don't want my BB taller, I want it lower.
Also, I'm still surprised to hear the suspension market is a "2 horse race." This is an option I'm probably going to try.
 

dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
2,922
10
Your face.
Are you joking ? too bad cause I thought your review was quite interesting until I read that...then you lost ALL credibility... I mean , Im not sure what you mean by odd but if by odd you mean it makes an ODD sucking noise , it leads me to believe that A)you havent tested a lot of forks before and B) you have no clue how dampers work...:think:


I'd love to know what you mean by odd (are you referring to the damper behavior itself or simply the sucking sound it makes ?)
Its odd because I don't have any other forks that make noise like this. I know its drawing oil through the damper, its just odd because its a bit loud and it occurs no matter how slow or fast you set the damper. Mentioned it to X-Fusion and they didn't seem to care much, so I'm not terribly concerned.

So there you are Captain Internet. Explain enough?

And suspension if sully a two horse race. Yes you have Elka, Avy, Cane Creek and whoever else, but they are tiny alternates to riders that know. At the end of the day its pretty much all Fox and RS to the majority of MTB riders. Marzocchi has pretty much buggered off, and Manitou is....well pretty much gone aren't they?
 

Delimeat

Monkey
Feb 3, 2009
195
0
Canada
Its odd because I don't have any other forks that make noise like this. I know its drawing oil through the damper, its just odd because its a bit loud and it occurs no matter how slow or fast you set the damper. Mentioned it to X-Fusion and they didn't seem to care much, so I'm not terribly concerned.

So there you are Captain Internet. Explain enough?

And suspension if sully a two horse race. Yes you have Elka, Avy, Cane Creek and whoever else, but they are tiny alternates to riders that know. At the end of the day its pretty much all Fox and RS to the majority of MTB riders. Marzocchi has pretty much buggered off, and Manitou is....well pretty much gone aren't they?
I concur. The Vengeance is louder than other forks I've used. That's my review on Pinkbike, obviously I liked the fork. It is still on my bike and I'm not exactly rushing to take it off because it works great. Like mentioned in the review and on here, it is a bit linear but that can be sorted out pretty easily. I far prefer the standard 20 mm thru-axle, although I don't think most others will.

The length could be the biggest knock against it (it is a bit heavier, I don't care...) but keep in mind that some riders are actually looking for this.
 

dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
2,922
10
Your face.
You did a great job on that. Its funny, I was reading it just sayin "yup...yup...yup........yup" over and over. Also agreed that if it had an external travel adjust/ climbing aid that it'd rock the house.

Good to know yours was noisy too. At the end of the day its not something that particularly bothered me, but I know it will bug some people that are anal about crap like that.

i still can't get over how sensitive it is. I thought a Lyrik was stiction free and sensitive, but the Vengeance just blows it away.

I bet somebody complains about that too. God the internet sucks.
 

Delimeat

Monkey
Feb 3, 2009
195
0
Canada
You did a great job on that. Its funny, I was reading it just sayin "yup...yup...yup........yup" over and over. Also agreed that if it had an external travel adjust/ climbing aid that it'd rock the house.

Good to know yours was noisy too. At the end of the day its not something that particularly bothered me, but I know it will bug some people that are anal about crap like that.

i still can't get over how sensitive it is. I thought a Lyrik was stiction free and sensitive, but the Vengeance just blows it away.

I bet somebody complains about that too. God the internet sucks.
Thanks for the e-props.

Agreed on the sensitive bit. It was smoother and more sensitive out of the box than pretty much any fork I've used that was well broken in. Is it down to a dialed fit between the legs and bushings, better lube oil, better QC??? I don't know, but it's damn impressive.
 

Adrnln Jnke

Chimp
Sep 2, 2010
8
0
And suspension if sully a two horse race. Yes you have Elka, Avy, Cane Creek and whoever else, but they are tiny alternates to riders that know. At the end of the day its pretty much all Fox and RS to the majority of MTB riders. Marzocchi has pretty much buggered off, and Manitou is....well pretty much gone aren't they?
I would like to argue that statement about Marzocchi buggering off.
I do agree if you are talking about their 07-09 crap. I had a 08 55 ata micro which when it wasnt broke it worked quite well except for its bad stiction. That fork was broke almost as much was it wasn't broke. But Marz has really been working well on its products and I think listening to its customers because things have been turning around for them. I have 2011 55 Micro Ti which I have yet to even ride, but it was replaced by Marz for the other one being jacked up so damn much.

I would really like to see somebody review one of these forks.
Delimeat maybe you could talk to the guys a PB and see if you could get one of these forks.
 

dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
2,922
10
Your face.
They may be making better forks, but that isn't really the point. the point is that in terms of market share right now, Marzocchi is a way distant 3rd place, especially in Canada. Appearance is sometimes worth more than perforance. I've been asking Marzocchi for a fork or two for years, and they won't do it. To be clear too, I will happily send them back and I made that very clear to them. They still said no. The only conclusion i can possibly draw from that is that the forks are still risky.

I have no idea what the good people at X-Fusion are doing to make their forks so smooth, but man does it ever work. For most of the forks I've tried that are that sooth get loose rel fast. Hasn't happened here yet.
 

leprechaun

Turbo Monkey
Apr 17, 2004
1,009
0
SLC,Ut
So i broke both of my arms and my wrist last year...now i've got a bit of a problem with chattery terrain:rofl::shocked: Needless to say i've been doing a lot of fork testing and tuning. X Fusion came to the rescue when i never in a million years would have thought to look in that direction.

I've had a Vengance for about 6 months now. It is for sure the smoothest fork i've ridden. I'd like to say it's Zoke smooth but that just confuses people these days! Old Monster T smooth?

I find it to be pretty progressive. I have rarely bottomed it, and if so it sure doesn't feel like it bottoms. It has a fairly common negative coil spring so the oil height on top of the piston could be raised to resist bottoming/improve progression easily.

The Axle to crown is a bit tall, it's about the same height as a Lyric 170

I removed the lowers after a summer of dusty riding and the grease between the seals was still there. I thought for sure the fork would get loose since it was stiction free the first day i got it. It has not at all.

So i started the summer on a Lyric 170 DH..
I like this fork quite a bit. It is acceptably plush and doesn't feel divey.
I removed the lowers of my Lyric multiple times over the summer trying to get it super fluttery over braking bumps. I was wiping Slick Honey on the uppers before race runs. In the Utah dust it squeeks every time the seals wipe the dust off of the uppers just like a Fox. I revalved it with a lighter stack. I used Fox Green fork oil in the lowers. I removed the black oil seals and just ran the greay upper seals and packed the void with Slick Honey. I tried coil and Solo Air spring systems. The lowers aren't tight, everything is in alignment. It works fine, but it just has more control i guess you'd say. Most people around here love the Boxxer and the Lyric is just a little Boxxer.

After taking the Vengance apart i'm a bit mistified by how smooth it is even in extremely dusty terrain. The damper is sealed, but it doesn't have a floating piston or a bladder. There's a little bit of airin the top of it. There hasn't been any issues with it heating up or losing travel. Cavitation doesn't seem to be a problem. If you turn the damper upside down and cycle it then you can get it to cavitate but it is still mild and it takes a number of cycles.

X Fusion had figured out how to get:
1 seal/bushing sizing perfect
2 seals that don't squeek and still keep dirt out
3 air system that feels 100% like a coil but with progressive ramp up
4 low friction, high flow damper.
5 prove Kashima Coating to be unnecessary even if it looks cool! OK maybe it's more durable (we'll see about that) but Kashima forks still squeek when they're dusty.:eek:

I'd be curious to hear more people's reviews of the damping. I obviously like it to be butter. I run little damping, and i people who like lots of damping. I run the low speed compression 4 clicks in and high speed zero. I found the fork to be divey until i upped the air pressure. I tend to run it low to keep the fork tracking, something that isn't a problem with X Fusion!

X fusion has lots of things coming too! I've been lucky enough to do some testing with them and new cool stuff is in the pipe.

I also have a Vector HLR coil shock that blows me away every time i ride it.
 

dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
2,922
10
Your face.
because they wont give you a free fork?
Read what I wrote. They won't send out ANY forks to anyone that I know that has asked for them. And as i clearly said I'd send it back. I just heard about Marz making an effort to make a comeback, and thought it would be good to get the word out.
 

Adrnln Jnke

Chimp
Sep 2, 2010
8
0
Read what I wrote. They won't send out ANY forks to anyone that I know that has asked for them. And as i clearly said I'd send it back. I just heard about Marz making an effort to make a comeback, and thought it would be good to get the word out.
I spoke to one of the Techs there at Marz and we were talking about the 55 micro ti and he was telling me that the new 55's are his favorite fork and that they are super smooth and are better than ever.

It would just be nice to see someone do a proper review of one of these forks.
Its just a shame that they wont send you one
 

Jonny5

Monkey
Feb 13, 2007
502
0
Anyone else having drama with these forks? 2 rides in and two blown cartridges? Fork turns into a pogo stick with harsh top out.
 

WParsons

Chimp
Mar 19, 2011
71
0
I've been on a Vengeance for about a year and its been great. Before it I tried a Fox 32 talas with the fit cartridge and that thing was horrible. I also had a Fox 36 talas and it was marginally better. I've ridden a 36 Float, which was nice, but still not on par with the X Fusion.

I've had my X Fusion temporarily mounted on a dh bike doing runs at Sun Peaks to right now mounted on a hardtail.

The adjustments are similar to a moto fork, they actually work! One or two clicks you can feel on the trail. I took it apart and the internals are all machined aluminum and quite well made.

A buddy of mine has the Velvet and he basically reiterates everything I say about my fork.
 

sethius

Chimp
Jan 19, 2009
28
0
Anyone else having drama with these forks? 2 rides in and two blown cartridges? Fork turns into a pogo stick with harsh top out.
had one (being the HLR model, not the lower RC) on my bike since they first came out and have had no hassles what so ever, it's been alot less tempermental than friends fox's. A travel adjust would be nice and a qr20 axle, but performance wise it's value has been outstanding. I've found the compression adjusts to actually do something unlike certain other companies, prehaps even too much lee way here.



the setup on which it's been run, and now they are on a HT for all round riding, and even holding up nicely under some HT downhilling duties. I'd like a longer travel version.
 

blackohio

Generous jaywalker
Mar 12, 2009
2,773
122
Hellafornia. Formerly stumptown.
I have one on my Remedy and it feels amazing. Same thing everyone else has said. super smooth, responsive to input. It rides how I want a fork to and for the first time ever I have been 100% stoked on an air fork.
 

Jonny5

Monkey
Feb 13, 2007
502
0
Yep. That's how it felt for the first 10 minutes yesterday, freaking nice. Then a small ledge after a rocky shoot sent it to ****ville. Will take it a part today. Cartridge has all but exploded, crap rattling around in there everwhere.
 

Jonny5

Monkey
Feb 13, 2007
502
0
So turns out the double wrap cir clip on the spring side let go and not the cart as I thought. After trying to fit it I saw why. Some bad tolerance or a burr meant the cir clip was not fully seated on its second loop. Small mod later and it was in properly this time. The cart still feels a little off though. Will have to see. I'd recommend checking it out the cir clip before riding one of these.
 

in the trees

Turbo Monkey
May 19, 2003
1,210
1
NH
Although I don't have aton of miles on mine yet this season, I'm happy with my HLR so far. Very smooth and adjustable. And I like that is has a bolt-on axle vs. a QR system.
 

Jonny5

Monkey
Feb 13, 2007
502
0
Trust me to get the dud! Will persist. Many more probs and it'll get the flick though.