DT Swiss’ new 232 One XC suspension evolves more than a decade of cross-country World Cup proven tech, mixed with holistic lessons learned on their more recent 535 One all-mountain fork & shock development. Together the new F232 fork & R232 shock deliver race-winning mountain bike suspension with a major step up in both light weight & stiffness, resetting DT Swiss as a force to reckon with on the World Cup stage.
DT Swiss F 232 One XC mountain bike suspension platform
Overhauling their XC suspension wasn’t much of a surprise after I spotted the World Cup-winning fork last summer on the bikes of Mathias Flückiger. I even called the name, based on DT’s recent move to logical naming schemes. Much like we saw on the 535 One all-mountain platform, the biggest outward change for DT is the move to a conventional front-facing arch design for the fork, which sees big stiffness improvements. At the same time, the rear shock gets refinements too, designed to match fork performance seamlessly.
The overarching theme here, like we see in most recent XC mountain bike tech updates, is that cross-country race courses have gotten more technical in recent years, and pretty much all XC tech had to get stronger to handle the more aggressive racing.
DT Swiss F 232 One XC mountain bike fork
The new F 232 ONE fork retains the 32mm stanchions of its predecessor, but the all-new optimization of the cast magnesium lowers has resulted in a new 29er fork that is lighter & stiffer than ever. At the same time the new fork steps up with longer 100-120mm travel versions that DT claims set a new stiffness:weight ratio for XC racing forks. The F232 fork wasn’t aiming to be the lightest, but starting at just 1480g, it’s close to the best that RockShox & Fox offer.
DT F232 fork – Tech details
In developing the new 232 platform, DT Swiss wanted to reclaim a top spot with a more precise feel & smoother performance. Even though they’ve been making suspension for years, their production numbers are relatively small in the market and most mountain bikers still see DT as a wheel & hub maker.
So DT set out to take on the two biggest names in mountain bike suspension, with the goal of beating them both on XC stiffness to weight. Torsional stiffness gives a fork a precise feeling for confident & predictable handling, and bending stiffness ensures smooth, friction-free telescoping to allow supple travel & damping. DT Swiss says their F232 beats the light XC forks from RockShox & Fox in both categories, with minimal extra weight. (We can take A to mean RockShox SID & B to mean Fox 32 in Step Cast & standard configurations.)
The DT suspension engineers set the stiffness targets they wanted to hit working with their pro sponsored riders, then worked backwards to hit their weight targets.
InControl O.D.L. on-the-fly damping adjustment
LineAir tunable dual-chamber air spring
DT F232 fork – Pricing & options
DT Swiss R 232 One XC mountain bike shock
DT R232 shock – Tech details
A DT Swiss dropper seatpost?!
