First Look: DVO's Prototype Jade Rear Shock and Emerald DH Fork

Welcome to Taichung Bike Week and the unveiling of DVO Suspension's much anticipated Emerald DH fork. The entire crew made the trip to Taiwan to build the first prototype. -Lee Trumpore

With several unique features not previously applied to mountain bike applications, this 203mm fork is sure to turn a few heads and raise some eyebrows. -Lee Trumpore

Most striking is the fork's integrated Carbon Torsion Arch (CTA) which keys into slots on each side of the dropouts and is said to provide upwards of a 40% increase in torsional stiffness compared to a non-CTA Emerald. The CTA utilizes a sheets of carbon fused to a separate core material, allowing the brace to function much like a traditional tube when resiting twisting forces at the axle. -Lee Trumpore

There are no pinch bolts on either of the Emerald's crowns. Instead, DVO has decided to use a unique titanium collet system that tightens an internal wedge evenly around the fork tube. This eliminates any chance of misalignment. The collet system is currently in the evaluative phase and may not make it onto initial production runs of the fork until 2015. 650B crowns will be available as well. -Lee Trumpore

To further combat misalignment, a stepped 20mm axle is used to assure exact tolerances are maintained once the front wheel is installed. -Lee Trumpore

The Emerald uses an interesting air spring and negative coil spring combination. In addition to standard the air pressure adjustment, riders can also dial in their negative spring force as well as the air spring curve from linear to progressive depending on their personal preference. A full coil spring can also be installed without the necessity of swapping out loads of expensive internal parts. -Lee Trumpore

The top of the fork leg houses the high and low-speed rebound adjustments. In addition to external adjustments, different shim stack configurations can also be used to further fine tune the rebound circuit. -Lee Trumpore

The fully assembled twin-tube open bath damper. Bryson Martin and his crew take a lot of pride in their work. -Lee Trumpore

Above these pinch bolts, 36mm stanchions with a molybdenum disulphide coating slide into 43 - 41mm tapered 7000 series aluminum upper tubes. -Lee Trumpore

The underside of the fork houses the "bottom loader" high and low-speed compression assembly. -Lee Trumpore

Using a socket, the bottom loader pops right out, adjustments knobs and all. Internal pressure assures that no oil will be lost in the process, making internal adjustments clean and simple. -Lee Trumpore

By simply pushing out two metal pins, the entire compression circuit can be disassembled and revalved. Or, it can be swapped out for an entirely separate, pre-tuned piston assembly. DVO plans to provide aftermarket tuning kits and substantial tuning support so riders can feel comfortable taking tuning into their own hands. -Lee Trumpore

Not content to unveil just a new DH fork, DVO also introduced us to the first stages of a companion rear shock named 'Jade.' -Lee Trumpore

The Jade will utilize the same damping technology and approach to user friendly tuning as the Emerald, but will also have a few new tricks of its own, including some very special shock eyelets. More later... -Lee Trumpore

DVO's own in-house rapid prototyping has allowed them to bring products into production much more quickly and cheaply than going through a series of full aluminum versions. This plastic model even holds oil. -Lee Trumpore

These two eye-opening creations are just the beginning for DVO, and a full line of suspension solutions are in the works. Stay tuned to www.dvosuspension.com as they continue to build on 80 years of suspension building, tuning, designing, and riding experience.