Interbike ‘08 : The Suspension Waiting Game
October 1st, 2008 by ArleighWalking into Interbike I was very prepared to be blown away. Hoping to see a couple new models from various brands, a suspension fork and who knows what else. Unfortunately, for all parties involved, I was not blown away. There still is no suspension fork, though there is talk still. Talk is cheap and I want something to ride!
Manitou : The talk is they had to go back to the drawing board on fork design. Originally they were hoping they could change a 26″ fork to work with 650b. This wasn’t the case, it didn’t pass the test and now they are back to square one. They will be pushing forward, engineers working on something after they recover from Interbike.
Fox : Tight lipped as ever. Rumor from other brands is they are working on something. This is the same talk from Sea Otter.
XFusion : They approved the fork everyone has been using as 650b “safe.”
Now, where is my suspension fork? I have no clue, and I fear it won’t be until Sea Otter for something to be rideable. Many companies are chumping at the bit to release a 650b but the fork is a hold up. I can guarantee that the first one out is going to get many OEM sales for those bikes that are only waiting on a front end.
What is RSS?
Get our articles in your inbox:
Hey Arleigh, thanks for this info and other 650 stuff from Interbike. My bikes are set up with rigid forks but yeah, we need suspension forks in 650b. Have you tried the XFusion?
I have tried the X-Fusion Velvet R and it works / feels great. Especially when one considers the performance to dollar ratio. But unless something has changed on the Velvet R, you still need to be careful with this fork. When all of the air is let out of the fork, the crown comes to rest squarely on the tire. X-Fusion’s new Vengeance fork looks very promising too.
Currently I am running a 2005 Manitou Nixon 145. This fork is a great match for my El Bastardo. For the life of me, I can’t see why this fork isn’t considered 650B safe… There seems to be more than enough clearance in this fork even with all the air let out.
Cheers,
KP
Last night I tried a Quasi Moto on a Blunt rim with a Fox F80RL and had 1/4″ of clearance with all the air out.
Am I missing something – or are you?
White Bros: “White Brothers believes in innovation. This is why we are the only company to offer suspension forks for the new 650b (27.5″) wheel platform that is gaining tons of speed.”
Magic-650b 80
Magic-650b 100
Fluid-650b 100
Fluid-650b 130
http://www.whitebrotherscycling.com/650b.shtml
RJ
Bend, OR