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I'm all up for functionality over esthectics, but damn that's an uggly fork!
I guess this is what we get when corporations get rid of designers in favor of Generative AI desings
Maybe it was the best design stiffness and tool opening wise and had the looks that are passable. Older, more rounded arch designs had a lot of webbing on the backside adding weight, possibly not in the right place.
You have to think about a lot of things mass producing products, when it comes to molded things (especially plastics, but metals too) wall thicknesses must be fairly constant, you can't have thick sections (can cause dimples when cooling as the surface cools and freezes first, then the inside, shrinking in the process), can't have overhangs as it complicates tooling, etc.
What the heck is going on with the bridge?
Eh, looks are all subjective. I happen to like the looks of it - very brutal & stout, fits with purpose. Let the XC guys have flimsy generative design web arches.
tuning compliance with a plastic insert? fascinating.
Maybe under the black cover on the lowers (where the bridge of the two sides connect) they connected the internal volume of the lowers together to have equal pressure
Wondering the same... Maybe a mud guard will attach there?
Cannondale should make a dual crown fork for the Jekyll, and call it the Full Send.
yep, sensor would be my guess too
My mind went to something for the fender, too. Some form of friction fit that snaps over this?
Am I the only one who's really only excited by radial tires and lightweight ebikes for kids right now?
Airshock tech is sorta at a standstill (Fox Genius aside), the Fox Podium seems like a great representation that we're getting desperate for innovation with front suspension. The new Shimano lineup is great but its not going to massively change your ride experience.
Preventing flats, protecting rims, and having reasonable weight tire/wheel systems still seems like there is more to learn.
The Mondraker F-Play 24 caught my attention for my kiddos. She's a little ripper who would love to be able to have more in the tank for longer rides and more vert, plus it's only 35lbs - only a few pounds more than comparable non-motorized 24" full suspension bikes. The YT Primus is 28lbs. Biggest difference is a huge price jump - $1300 for the YT and $3200 for the eeb.
Kids ebikes. The end if nigh.
tho now that i look at the zoomed image, it appears the casting is continuous below a plastic cap. alas, my dreams of lateral / torsional compliance tuning via swappable brace inserts has been dashed. dashes off to patent concept
It could be be a stiffener. Magnesium is not very stiff so if this were carbon, titanium or steel the combined structure might be improved. Manitou had a fork in the 2000's with a carbon arch.
edit: I hadn't noticed the hollowed out thickness of the black part, that make my stiffener idea seem less likely.
I'm no expert, but I don't think kids will learn much on a full sus ebike... I've gotten a Trick 24 for my kid and that is an awesome bit of kit already.
Also, I'll carry the ebike shame and let the boys grow on pure, cheap(ish), accoustic bikes
I'm going with fender integration. And/or bike rack protection. It has depth, yet is hollow.
Apparently Fox has a new fork released in the last few days, not seen much about it though…
Are any sponsored riders using it this weekend at the ews round?
From the first look I could have sworn those stanchions looked smaller than 38mm. My initial theory was that this was a beefed up Lyrik to fit with WBD's push back to all mountain race bikes.
I ended up doing some ghetto math in relation to the valve stem in a blown up photo of the fork on Dan's Bronson. Measured the valve stem at 3mm with the stanchions at 23mm on my computer screen. Compared those to an actual valve stem measuring 5mm.
(5*23) / 3 = 38.33mm Pretty damn close to the current 38mm stanchion!
The beefed up crown could be the cause of the eye fooling here, looking at the existing FA Lyrik, the crown to stanchion interface has a similar edge compared to the smaller step found on the current Zeb.
Hope shows a new stem at Eurobike which unfortunately will not go into production
Close...but these are a new 36.5 mm stanchion fork. It's half way between the 38 Zeb and the 35mm Lyrik. And yes they are going to call it the Totem.
Polygon's become a real linkage slut, the new bikes teased at Eurobike now use VPP. One photo borrowed from Pinkbike, the rest are over there.
Interesting that they’ve gone to the trouble of designing that piece with internal volume / structure. Would be surprised if it’s just a fender mount. Aesthetically it's less tidy looking which would be an odd design choice for a non functional accessory.
The lack of bleed ports on the lower legs is curious. Either the extra volume added below the dropout on the air side casting makes them less necessary or they’re constantly vented to atmospheric pressure. The challenge of the latter would be large enough vents to prevent hissing and suction while also not ingesting contaminants.
A port at the dropout for adding oil without needing to drop the lowers would also be a user friendly design feature. Not sure that's worth hiding though?
The other site has a few more deets, including that it's pronounced "stable lead", it's not "fully ridable" (whatever that means), and that the squishy bits "should be available to buy early next year."
Apparently the aircan on the shock is carbon which has me scratching my head as to why; maybe for weight? 🤷♂️
Just noticed this on their site: "Designed to transcend fleeting trends, our components are built for lasting performance. Rooted in practicality..." 🤣
What if you could do a full lower fluid flush by just attaching a syringe? Freshen them up on a whim, or daily during an enduro?
I know I'm a bit late to the party, but I want a podium just to slap on a set of these and relive my 2002 childhood dreams
Would love to know the strategy behind launching a brand with a name of invented construction that can neither be pronounced nor understood.
Also this:
Exactly the case of the Totem. Actually.
I think you're on to something here. Those castings definitely could have a small 3mm 'tube' in them, exiting at the arch where the plastic thing is a vent. That said, I would think they could really ingest a lot of dust, so maybe there's an air filter material in the plastic thing, and you need to swap that thing out every 50 hours or something.
couple of new Kona's listed on their website:
Oh man, the dream 🤩
Although give it a few more months and we’ll see the Zokes version of the Podium.
Cam McCaul is probably already testing it so they can debut it at Rampage.