DVO suspension has been teasing their new inverted suspension products with pictures of 3D prototypes on Facebook. They’re waiting till next month to reveal most of the details but this is what we know so far…
The Emerald inverted fork will be air sprung and “have a twin tube open bath damper with optimized oil volume which makes it lighter with the benefits of full open bath.” The target weight is 2900 grams (6.4 lbs). A matching DH coil and shock using the same hydraulic technology “to match the feel of the fork” is also being developed.
From the forks silhouette it is obvious this new fork will feature a tapered steer. Those who prefer to run Angle Set headsets look away (although offset bushings will always be a cheap and effective alternative). According to DVO:
“we went with tapered steer because it is stiffer, stronger & lighter than 1 1/8 and most recently made DH bikes have a 1.5″ head tube. There are many options from head set makers so we feel most riders can make the retro fit to their current head sets & we plan on making a 1 1/8 if it’s a problem but we prefer stronger, stiffer, lighter!”
The name of the game with inverted forks is torsional stiffness and there’s no easy solution. A bigger axle won’t mask the issue because the problem isn’t slippage. The only way to make an inverted fork torsionally stiff is by designing a stiff chassis. DVO has tackled the issue by using a “Carbon Torsion Arch” and some other details they won’t share just yet. They’ve stated that they toyed with hex or ovalized clamping surfaces (where the crown clamps to the uppers) but their upper tubes have to be round because they are externally CNCd. We’re guessing they’ve got some trick new clamps and dropouts in the works.
The Emerald is a 2014 model but it will be available in 2013….and yes, there will be a 27.5″ version!
Leave your questions in the comments.
www.dvosuspension.com
