Entirely new for 2013, X-Fusion is launching an ultra exclusive golden nugget. Priced heads and shoulders above it’s competitors, the Revel is also claimed to outperform anything in the class.
Unfortunately, at a staggering retail of $1,776, the company will only be making 200 forks. So what makes this fork worth it’s weight in gold?
For years, riders have been clamoring for inverted forks but the difficulty in engineering a light weight and flex free chassis have kept most manufacturers from releasing single crown inverted product.
After years of development, X-Fusion believes they have discovered the golden ticket and their solution mimics the technology found in some dropper posts. What they’ve done is use stainless steel cylinders riding in three separate keyways along the length of the uppers and stanchion tubes to prevent rotating. They’ve dubbed this patented trilateral keyway design Gold-E-Locks.
Many riders will also be glad to note that X-Fusion has gone with a 20mm axle up front in order to increase the fork rigidity. The larger axle diameter also matches better with the Revels hard charging personality.
The forks new LockX 20mm axle also conceals a unique trick. When clamped, four wedges expand into the fork axle clamp, which further increases overall stiffness.
Someone pulled a crown race from this fork to get it ready for the show. It’s great to know these show ponies have been put through their proper paces outside.
Since the fork doesn’t have a arch, it’s being billed as a one-size-fits-all solution. With a 46mm offset, steering on your classic 26“ wheel is a bit faster, but X-Fusion Marketing Manager John Michael Haur claims it’s an easy adjustment. The offset on this fork was done in both the crown and the dropouts so that the steertube is not in line with the axle, which the company claims allows the fork to absorb square edged bumps more naturally.
The current fork tube guards were 3D printed but the final version will be carbon
Travel options are 120-140 for the 29er and 160 for 650B. Each fork will be hand assembled at X-Fusions HQ in Santa Cruz, Ca. By building each fork in house, rather than their Taiwanese factory, they can ensure the highest standards.
So while that $1,776 price tag (which is not coincidentally the year America declared it’s independence from Great Britain) may seem high, the combination of innovation and performance may well be worth the price for the 4.5 lb pogo stick.
Still not swayed? Their new flagship downhill fork and single crown fork will be available this October. The RV1 will be available for $1,449 with the Metric coming in at $999.
Also on display at the booth was a prototype dropper post we couldn’t discuss. Aside from the new golden stanchion treatment we also noticed a remarkable lack of cables.
