A downcountry friendly fork offset and better shock eyelets, from the Swiss.
Better shock mount durability and progressive geometry appropriate forks offsets, are the latest product updates from DT Swiss.
The company’s suspension offering sees improvements to its R 232 One and R 535 One shocks, while the F 232 One fork also gains an offset derivative.
Shock eyelets and their contact bushings are competent interfaces that riders never think much about. Until they start creaking. Or develop lateral play. Ruining the steering and high-speed tracking stability of your dual-suspension mountain bike.
Read more: the best mountain bike suspension
Better mounting points
With more riders on larger casing tyres, with more aggressive tread patterns, grip levels and side loads have increased. And that means more strain on the shock mount eyelets.
To prevent premature wear and platy developing, DT Swiss has made a design upgrade for its R 232 One and R535 One shocks, which now feature DU bushings.
Being self-lubricating, these eyelets promise to deliver smoother linkage kinematics, allowing your mountain bike’s rear-suspension to function optimally.
DT Swiss One forks for modern frame geo
Aside from the bushing upgrade for its rear shocks, DT Swiss engineers and product planners have also recognized the demand for more fork offset options.
The trend towards longer reach numbers and slacker head angles makes mountain bikes more stable on steep descents, but also slows steering responses. To balance modern long, slack and low frame geometry with appropriate steering feedback, you need to trim fork offset.
DT Swiss has finally responded with a short offset version of its F 232 One fork. Targeted at cross-country, downcountry and fitness-obsessed trail riders, the F 232 One is now available in a 44mm offset option, in addition to the 51mm version it launched with.
Although DT Swiss offers a 41mm offset version of its 27.5” wheel fork, it is unclear if an even shorter offset version of the F 232 One, at 41mm, might be added to range – in future. For most riders on short-travel bikes in the 100-120mm range, featuring progressive geometry, the new 44mm offset should be ideal.