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My first thought when I saw this post was that Fox should probably sort out their non-hollow normal crowns before they start casting cavities and holes in them.
Pretty sure most crowns are forged and hollow already... Making this work would just require the lowers and the steerer tube to be sealed and glued to the crown to hell and back. Any movement, wear or oxidisation could cause a main chamber leakage. Not unlike what happens with Rock Shox SID carbon crowns to be honest... I think one was put back into action through liberal application of Loctite 243 (blue kind) to seal the cracked threads for the top cap (the fastest and easiest way to try something when I was asked if anything can be done to make it work).
Maybe it's just the skinny tire playing tricks on my eyes, but that last one looks like it might have 34mm stanchions. All the other photos look like a 32. Perhaps two new fox xc forks in the works? Having a super light 32 and slightly burlier but still xc 34 makes some sense. To compete with sid sl and the 35mm sid.
Fox already offers the Step Cast in 32 and 34 so I wouldn't be surprised if that continues on with the new forks.
Looks like a 34 to me too fwiw. It also doesn't have the see-through/skeltonized arch we've seen in some of the other pics..
That crown is pretty slimmed down
The skeltonized part might just be behind the front part of the arch in the last photo. It looks to be like that on the other photos. But idk, just guessing? It'll be interesting to see if the 36/38/40 get the same treatment.
Edit: It's also pretty interesting how they shaved the center knobs off of that tire for faster rolling.
It's pretty cool that Fox appears to be using generative design to save weight on the arch and crown. If you're not familiar with generative design, here's a definition from Autodesk:
Generative design is a design exploration process. Designers or engineers input design goals into the generative design software, along with parameters such as performance or spatial requirements, materials, manufacturing methods, and cost constraints. The software explores all the possible permutations of a solution, quickly generating design alternatives. It tests and learns from each iteration what works and what doesn’t.
More info:https://www.autodesk.com/solutions/generative-design
Wiper seals are meant to keep dirt/grime OUT. Not air in, that is what the seals on the air spring side do. Yes, air can/will get trapped in the lowers. This design should not have an impact on how air could potentially pass from the uppers into the crown if in the event of this hollow crown being developed. AND it would be highly unlikely the design would allow damper oil to pass to the air side (I could be wrong), patents are typically drawn up in a way that could show the options/possibilities to cover full breadth of designs for patenting purposes.
Using the crown as a connection could potentially make it possible to use the damper side lowers as a spring as well. In that case the wipers would have to hold the pressure. Unlikely, but the catch is that sealing the stanchion into the crown (and sealing the crown-steerer interface) would be a bit of a challenge, that's why I imagined a connection all the way across could be made. Thus also the lubricating oil.
Searching for how Fox made the 38 spring (they use a cartridge instead of relying on the stanchions as the spring housing) I came across Luft Fusion, which I think makes a lot of sense - a chamber within a chamber layout adding another tube for the piston to seal against with the tube sealing against the stanchion and creating an outer sleeve. The change in volume can easily be tuned to achieve the desired compression ratios both on the positive and negative side, the smaller diameter of the piston requires a bit higher pressure, there is some more weight in the system, but overall it might just work with the likes of a 180 mm Zeb and the progressiveness it's experiencing.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/124593036229
Assuming this will be the new vivid air shock??
Had a feeling you were going to bring this up. If I recall correctly, the primary reason for the tube within a tube design for the air spring had more to do with spring rates than anything else... Again, I could be wrong, but that is what I recall learning about that system.
is it bad that all this just makes me want a metal coil.
Also, that graphic doesn't make much sense. Doesn't seem feasible for the air chamber above the air spring piston (typically the +) to be a both negative above and below the air spring piston. Something is a bit out of whack there, but I am not an engineer either so...?
Yeah saw the story from RS with the rethorical question: "What impressed Jesse Melamed ?" So I guess it's coming out soon.
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ukgjY5bA54kJ:http…
Vivid Air
the other site seems to have more and more saying the new slash is the one posted awhile back and not being far away, Some were onboard for it to be the remedy - Id still like to believe its a remedy as the 36 at what looked to be 160mm travel.
There's an oring at the top of the sleeve and you can see holes (ports) below the piston. It works.
Perhaps waiting on a yet to be released rear shock ?
Harry Potter and the Overly Elaborate Negative Air Chamber.
More likely trying still trying to sell the absolute boatload of the old ones they've got sat on showroom floors and in warehouses before making them even more worthless (my friend just bought one at 30% off from Trek!) by being superceded.
new vivid first ride is live on pinkbike.
Very affordable shredder.
https://www.mtb-news.de/news/rose-scrub-erster-test/
alu gt fury… hope it‘s more durable 😅
"Another aftermarket element to the Vivid launch is the introduction of RockShox's Bearing Adapter Kits, which can replace the standard DU bushing mount with bearing hardware, where frames allow (8mm ID x 30mm hardware required). This kit also fits the 2023 SuperDeluxe Coil shocks, adding some tuning options to the existing lineup. Bearing mounts can help reduce friction in the linkage, and improve the sensitivity of certain kinematics quite a bit. The Bearing Adapter Kit costs $30 USD."
Interesting to hear a bit more about this one too.
They are similar to the fox ones but thread together and have some sealing/crush ptfe bands in there to hopefully prevent creaking.
In other words, still inferior solution compared to needle bearings few brands are offering in wast number of sizes to fit pretty much every bike out there instead of one size only. Why bother.