Formula “Thirtyfive” Suspension Fork: Out Of The Box- by c_g
With all those exciting news on upcoming 2015 products and Sea Otter just ahead it is time to get down to real world reviews again.
But who says these cannot be as exciting? With a fork such as the FORMULA 35 loaded with features, this promises to be an interesting review. It took a while from seeing this fork first in its first prototype stage at Eurobike´12 ** to today’s review, but only looking at this burly beauty from Italy, I’d say it was worth the wait. With top performing forks such as the PIKE or the F34 already established into the market, the 35 sure has no easy way to be successful, but I will see if by performance it has a right to play with the big boys.
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As implied by the name the “thirtyfive” stands for the stanchions´ diameter, meaning it is bound to be precise steering and stiff. I sure hope I won´t be wrong on this one
.By the official data sheet it is intended for Trail to All-Mountain, but given the admirable weight of only 1740g (or 3.84 lbs – plus 54g for the 15 mm axle) and the adjustable travel from 100 to 140 in the 29″er fork, I see it potentially eligible for aggressive and/or heavy XC riders.
It comes with an offset of 44 mm. With the others around 46mm to 51 mm it is the lowest of the pack of mid to longer travel 29″er forks. I doubt I will feel much of it while riding, but it is good to know.
Our sample came with a 15 mm axle, that requires a 5 mm hex key to open and close. Additional to that we have received a (non rideable) prototype axle, that has a detachable quick release, which will work like the hex by its protrusion. I don´t really see the quick release lever doing anything really.In Germany the MSRP is set at 989,50 Euro (later on there will be a version with Remote-Lockout coming at 1089,50 Euro). Included in the package, comes a high quality shock pump, 50 ml of Ballistol (universal oil) and four spacers to adjust the forks travel by yourself.
FORMULA only states air pressure recommendations, but leaves all the other tuning options to the rider. Here is what the end consumer can do to tune the fork: Well, there is the obvious – air pressure and adjustable rebound damping (by the red knob on the lower right – unfortunately with no indication of which rotating direction does what). Then there is the compression damping adjuster (low-speed-compression to be exact) – blue as always and very grippy with its edgy shape. Then there is the golden lever, that engages the Lockout, but what does the third knob on the top do?
That little rubberized knob sets the lockout threshold, meaning you can set the bump force it takes to open up the lockout. The range allows for adjustments from a virtually rigid fork, to a rather soft lockout, that by initial impressions almost feels like a strong platform damping of other forks.** The knob can only be turned via a 2 mm hex key, which conveniently also is the size the rebound knob´s „tail“ has when pulled out. Cool.
The FORMULA 35 works with a closed circuit damper cartridge, much like the Pike´s Charge damper or the FOX FIT system, but this cartridge can be taken off quite easily even with the fork on the bike. As a side effect the rider can rotate the cartridge to get the dials where they best suit you … something I didn’t feel needed in my case, so I left them as they were.
As usual, the fork is air-sprung, but instead of an negative air spring, FORMULA opted for a negative coil spring and an additional top out coil spring. This technology adds a few grams to the structure, but is said to provide a better small bump sensitivity and a more linear** shock rate.** But the 35 has even more ways to manipulate it:
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For one it is super simple to adjust the fork´s progressiveness. Simply add a few milliliters of Ballistol to the air chamber through the unscrewed air valve and thus reduce the air volume. Stock the air chamber is filled with 5 ml already, but if you desire more progressive feeling, you can add up to 10 mm more, or reduce to your liking. The same basic concept as found with ROCK SHOCK´s Bottomless Tokens but even more simple to work with.
I have already mentioned the internal travel adjustment via the spacers, and if I believe the accompanying instructions even this is very simple. You only have to disassemble the fork (very simple) add or subtract some spacers and you can set it in 5 mm increments to anything between 100 and 140 mm. We have ordered the fork at 130 mm right away, to match the ROCKY MOUNTAIN Instinct but may be performing a travel change down the road still, only to see how it is done.
All in all the FORMULA F35 has a lot of options to get it dialed … no special tools and very little mechanical experience required. I will see when I turn my attention to dialing it in, if those variables truly benefit the fork or if they are not marketing motivated in the first place. We shall find out soon. As you can see, the FORMULA 35 fork is already mounted on my Rocky Mountain Instinct and will soon be put to use, so it won´t be long ,before I will come back to you with my tuning experiences and my first impressions. Stay tuned.
RIDE ON,
c_g
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