Over the past couple years, DT Swiss has scaled back their suspension offerings, focusing on the shorter travel end of the spectrum. The new R414 rear shock, however, has a huge range of uses from XC to light enduro and could be considered the start of DT’s phase two suspension effort.
It has a larger air chamber than their XC units, and it moves the check valve between positive and negative chambers into the stroke a small bit. With their XC shocks, as you fill the positive it’s also filling the negative, but then as soon as there’s sag in the system, the piston is moved past the check valve and the systems remain separate. With the R414, the check valve is moved to between 20% to 30% of the stroke, so as you’re sitting in sag, the system is equalizing positive and negative chambers for smoother performance. So, it’s important to cycle the shock as few times as you’re setting it up and then rechecking pressure. This design is more commonly used in the industry, so it’s not new, it’s just new for DT Swiss.
External controls include Rebound and ODL 3-position compression adjustments. ODL stands for Open, “Drive” mode for pedaling hard and climbing, and Locked.
The damping system is new, too, with fully separate rebound and damping circuits. Before, if you slowed down the rebound, it would also firm up the compression. The R414 lets you adjust one without affecting the other.
It’s designed to fit bikes with travel up to 160mm, but works very well at 100mm travel, also. They say Nino Schurter is using it because it simply works better than their ultralight XC shocks. They also say it has larger oil volume than most single-can competitors. So while it doesn’t have a piggyback reservoir, it can handle riding a little beyond what standard cans are made for, but isn’t quite designed for top level enduro racing.
The reason for not making it more aggressive? At the moment, their forks are all 32mm stanchions that top out at 130mm for 29er and 150mm for 27.5 and are really designed around marathon and light trail use. They’re working on bigger, more capable forks, but won’t give up details other than to say it’ll be a completely new line that covers Boost, enduro and all the other popular new categories.
The R414 will come in sizes up to 220mm length with new standard and metric sizing options. That is the largest they’ve ever offered. It’s OEM only for now, but will be available aftermarket starting in September.
The new plug-in RWS has a pop-off handle that snaps into place to install and pops off for a cleaner look. It works with a 6mm hex key built in to tighten the axle, and still maintains their patented design that lets you position the lever wherever you want should you decide to just leave it in. And it does snap in and hold securely enough to leave it in if you want.
Will be spec’d as OEM on some brands like Bold initially, as well as Felt for their road bikes. It will be available starting in August for DT’s forks and for rear axles on bikes using X-12 and Shimano E-Thru, as well as any custom, brand-specific standards that some frames may use if that brand wants to order enough of them.
For now, there’s no plan on offering it in the Maxle thread pattern. Why? It’s mainly a warranty thing. Suppose you put one on a Rockshox fork and something goes wrong. Who handles the warranty, Rockshox or DT Swiss? That’s an argument they’d rather not get into.
