DVO forks, why are they rare as hens teeth?

Posted by: UFO

Posted by: heckler

The small bump sensitivity is unparalleled in air suspension.

This. I can't figure out how essentially just a simple coil negative spring can accomplish this. I've ridden SR Suntour forks which are quite similar architecturally, they have been good but not this good.

Triple this. On my Diamond the tire was glued to the ground. Best fork I’ve ever had. Being light at around 140 I don’t flex forks much. Well current forks. That Psylo was pretty crappy. DVO should be super popular.

I tried holding off for an Onyx 29 44mm offset with 160+ travel to lessen my FAUX death grip. But no luck when I purchased. 

Really looking at Formula and the soon to be released EXT

I've got about a year on the Onyx SC in 27.5 flavor. Came from a 2017 Fox 36 RC2, with some time on a Lyrik from a few years ago. I'd say the DVO is a little less refined with occasional noise from the OTT negative coil spring near top-out (don't notice it riding), but plusher, stiffer, supportive, more durable, and easier to work on. Biggest current DVO downside is lack of offset options and the odd almost-at-top-out noise/clunking in the parking lot. Biggest positives are reliability, and combination of plush and supportive.

Durability: The DVO is a lot more durable than the 36, which is why I made the switch. I was one of the people that would kill CSUs every few months. DVO is a little heavier (200-ish grams), which is what I wanted for my trail/everything bike. The DVO also runs 40cc of bath oil in both legs, which is freaking awesome for keeping it feeling good when it's not fresh.

Damping: I was super happy with the Fox 36 RC2, but the DVO feels great. DVO stuff is generally lightly damped, so I run the LSC at 3 of 6 all the time, where the Fox was close to open. The Onyx LSC adjustments could be finer, I really only use the #3 setting. I run HSC fairly close to closed (1/3 to 1/4 out), where the 36 was set fairly open, plus a bottom-out token. The Onyx is really well controlled, I quite like it, but the Fox has more usable adjustments and LSR + HSR, while the DVO is LSR only. No complaints with the Onyx default HSR shim, it's where I want it as an aggressive 190lb non-racer, handles bomb-holes and flat landings nicely.

Air spring: I quite like the DVO, but also liked the Fox. Wasn't a fan of older RS air springs, they felt wallowy. I've got the Onyx set a few psi more than they recommend, and the OTT 9 turns in to add plushness at the beginning stroke. I ran 6cc extra oil in the air chamber at 160mm, now at 170mm I'm running it stock. Lots of mid-stroke support, which is sweet. DVO wins on this one.

Service: DVO crushes the Fox here. Lower leg service is easy with no special tools. Fox is easy, too, but you need to be morecareful knocking out the threaded pieces when pulling the lowers (get the expensive lower removal tool for the damper-side). Rebuilding and bleeding the damper is super easy on the DVO, which saves $170/year. I just had to make a damper cup thingy from a Nuun tablet package (or buy the bleed cup from DVO). I always found the FOX RC2 rubber bladder was totally bungled after a year, Grip2 probably fixed that. I eventually stopped doing my own damper service on Fox so that I could get new CSU every time I sent it in to Fox.

The only thing that is fiddly on the Onyx is changing travel, but at least the travel spacers are cheap. DEFINITELY buy a burly automotive-style pin spanner like this one or you'll wreck shit. It's easy once you have this tool and some Loctite. The DVO spring-side lower oil does look uglier than the Fox ever did when I service them about 3x/year, but that's because it's mixing with grease from the OTT spring. I'm fine with that.

Support: DVO (in the States, at least) is second to none. A tech guru (Ronny, from back in the Marzocchi days) actually takes your phone calls, doesn't bullshit questions when asked, and will even give you advice on re-shimming (needed on the original Jade shock, which I didn't like and sold). Most parts available on their website and not a ripoff.

Posted by: JVP

I've got about a year on the Onyx SC in 27.5 flavor. Came from a 2017 Fox 36 RC2, with some time on a Lyrik from a few years ago. I'd say the DVO is a little less refined with occasional noise from the OTT negative coil spring near top-out (don't notice it riding), but plusher, stiffer, supportive, more durable, and easier to work on. Biggest current DVO downside is lack of offset options and the odd almost-at-top-out noise/clunking in the parking lot. Biggest positives are reliability, and combination of plush and supportive.

Durability: The DVO is a lot more durable than the 36, which is why I made the switch. I was one of the people that would kill CSUs every few months. DVO is a little heavier (200-ish grams), which is what I wanted for my trail/everything bike. The DVO also runs 40cc of bath oil in both legs, which is freaking awesome for keeping it feeling good when it's not fresh.

Damping: I was super happy with the Fox 36 RC2, but the DVO feels great. DVO stuff is generally lightly damped, so I run the LSC at 3 of 6 all the time, where the Fox was close to open. The Onyx LSC adjustments could be finer, I really only use the #3 setting. I run HSC fairly close to closed (1/3 to 1/4 out), where the 36 was set fairly open, plus a bottom-out token. The Onyx is really well controlled, I quite like it, but the Fox has more usable adjustments and LSR + HSR, while the DVO is LSR only. No complaints with the Onyx default HSR shim, it's where I want it as an aggressive 190lb non-racer, handles bomb-holes and flat landings nicely.

Air spring: I quite like the DVO, but also liked the Fox. Wasn't a fan of older RS air springs, they felt wallowy. I've got the Onyx set a few psi more than they recommend, and the OTT 9 turns in to add plushness at the beginning stroke. I ran 6cc extra oil in the air chamber at 160mm, now at 170mm I'm running it stock. Lots of mid-stroke support, which is sweet. DVO wins on this one.

Service: DVO crushes the Fox here. Lower leg service is easy with no special tools. Fox is easy, too, but you need to be morecareful knocking out the threaded pieces when pulling the lowers (get the expensive lower removal tool for the damper-side). Rebuilding and bleeding the damper is super easy on the DVO, which saves $170/year. I just had to make a damper cup thingy from a Nuun tablet package (or buy the bleed cup from DVO). I always found the FOX RC2 rubber bladder was totally bungled after a year, Grip2 probably fixed that. I eventually stopped doing my own damper service on Fox so that I could get new CSU every time I sent it in to Fox.

The only thing that is fiddly on the Onyx is changing travel, but at least the travel spacers are cheap. DEFINITELY buy a burly automotive-style pin spanner like this one or you'll wreck shit. It's easy once you have this tool and some Loctite. The DVO spring-side lower oil does look uglier than the Fox ever did when I service them about 3x/year, but that's because it's mixing with grease from the OTT spring. I'm fine with that.

Support: DVO (in the States, at least) is second to none. A tech guru (Ronny, from back in the Marzocchi days) actually takes your phone calls, doesn't bullshit questions when asked, and will even give you advice on re-shimming (needed on the original Jade shock, which I didn't like and sold). Most parts available on their website and not a ripoff.

That's great and detailed insight, thanks for taking the time to write that! Refreshing and a good read, even though I am not in the market for a DVO fork. I DO kill Fox CSUs regularly, though.

Does Fox replace CSU past warranty period?  How can you afford to buy a new CSU every few months. That is crazy.

My lyrik CSU goes once a year like clockwork. I just sent my Lyrik away and it was three months past warranty and LTP denied warranty. Not stoked.

Posted by: heathen

Does Fox replace CSU past warranty period?  How can you afford to buy a new CSU every few months. That is crazy.

If you're in the USA and send your fork to Fox in Californ-aye-eh for service, they'll usually replace the CSU as part of the $170 USD full service fee even when it's past warranty. Not sure if there's a Canada option for this. One issue is they've had problems keeping the right CSUs in stock. They did it once for me before I realized it was creaky, thought it was just a toast headset. Another time I asked for them to look into it during a full service. The third time I had to fight with them to do it for no cost since it started creaking horridly (sounded like a broken frame) 2 months after I paid for the $170 service. I was pissed, more about losing a few weeks riding time in peak season. Bought the DVO to keep me riding and sold the Fox right after I got it back.

Fox makes great feeling forks. I really hope they fixed this issue with the 38, but from what I've read I'm not sure if they did. In 2015-ish they reduced the overlap between the CSU and the stanchions in order to get a lower axle-crown height. That's about when they started creaking, but that's also when trail bikes got DH slack, so double whammy.

For the record, people in my crew have killed CSUs on on Lyriks, Pikes and DVO Diamonds as well. But not at the rate that that these riders killed the current gen 36s. Single crown forks have a tough life these days on our DH-worthy xc sleds.

I had a Diamond. I liked the small bump sensitivity but it always felt too linear. First time I noticed this was riding down Somewhere Over There and there as a bit of a harsh compression on the trail but I'd not noticed it much when I'd ridden the trail before. The DVO bottomed out with a huge 'crack' sound. I read up on adding oil but people had issues with it migrating into the lowers. One could also fabricate spacers from 32mm Rockshox spacers IIRC. When I sold the bike, the new owner send the fork away for a routine service and most of the fork had to be warrantied?! So maybe one or two of the bottom out scenarios wrecked it? I found the compression dials confusing but maybe that's just me. 

A good fork but maybe I got a bad one? It was too linear for my hack lines.

In a small market it's all about distro - we might as well be on an island up here. The two big dogs carry SRAM/RS, and if you're not being sold by them, your product will always be less common. 

You might as well ask about Manitou, or even Marzocchi.

Posted by: nouseforaname

In a small market it's all about distro - we might as well be on an island up here. The two big dogs carry SRAM/RS, and if you're not being sold by them, your product will always be less common. 

You might as well ask about Manitou, or even Marzocchi.

Would Maz not fall under the Fox distribution umbrella? Mana who?

DVO calls for 7.5wt oil in the lowers, any brand but Maxima or RS. I hear people are useingFox Gold 20wt. Anyone use Fox gold 20wt in the lowers?

Reviving this old thread.

@JVP : Just wanted to get the pin spanner to do that myself too as my Park didn't work at all. Did you use the exact pin spanner that you linked to in your post (Tooluxe c2006L) ? I can't find the Birzman that they recommend but the Tooluxe can be bought off Amazon. Thanks!

Yeah I bought that exact one. It almost touches the shaft, but doesn’t, so all good as long as you’re careful. It was tiiiight from the factory, really had to reef on it.

Awesome, thanks @JVP! Did you have to heat the part to soften the threadlock inside the cartridge or just cranked it up dry? Most people who have successfully done it had to heat it quite a bit from what I've seen.

Also @heathen, I had bookmarked this thread on MTBR which has good info concerning which oils to use in DVO forks :

https://www.mtbr.com/threads/dvo-suspension-oil-list-semi-official.1054924/page-3

Page 3 is the most helpful for lowers (you'll see what suspension centres and DVO themselves use) but the thread might be worth reading to see if someone used FOX 20wt. I use WPL 20wt myself like The SuspensionLab and DVO NZ do. Cheers!

This is the pin spanner DVO uses and recommended. I have it and it works awesome. I have changed the travel on my fork twice now.

https://fortnine.ca/en/motion-pro-pin-spanner-wrench-08-0610