I'm considering an Ibis Ripmo V2, which comes with either a Fox Factory 36 GRIP2 + Fox Factory Float X2 or a DVO Onyx D1 + DVO Jade X coil.
I've heard a lot of positive things about DVO, but I've never had a chance to try it out for myself. I'm told that they offer a great level of adjustability and serviceability for the home mechanic. My main concern is that it's not a mainstream brand, so if anything goes badly wrong, it may be much harder to find help and spare parts.
As for Fox, it seems like a tried and tested stalwart, but I get the impression that they are charging any undue premium for their products vs other brands.
DVO is distributed by Windwave UK (Transition bikes, Colnago road bikes, FSA etc.. dealers) and they can carry also out repairs/warranty work and supply parts if needed
They are great guys there and they used to be Marzocchi's UK disto and repair centre for over 20 years until FOX bought Marzocchi which resulted in Silverfish taking over the UK distribution and repair of Marzocchi suspension
After that happened they took over DVO distro and warranty and haven't looked back
Fox 36 GRIP2 is a great fork, have it on my bike and once dialled in it seems to do what i want, but doubt you'd struggle to dial in the DVO to an almost similar feel, i'd say it's down to the rear shock, the X2 can be tuned pretty wide and if the frame is designed around an air shock, sometimes a coil can be a bit of a goldilocks solution, so again, what are you going to be doing and what type of range and feel are you after from your suspension?
Fox all day every day. Spares, repairs , service anywhere you are in the world, plus (and quite important for me) more desirable to others if and when you sell is secondhand.
what are you going to be doing and what type of range and feel are you after from your suspension?
To be honest, I've only tried a coil once and it wasn't really set up properly for me, so can't make an objective judgement. However, I live and ride in the Alps, so the reason I'm considering a coil is because it will not overheat on long descents and altitude won't affect its feel. These are both gripes that I have with my current air shock. From what I gather, coils are also more reliable, and that's a key consideration for me.
DVO is distributed by Windwave UK (Transition bikes, Colnago road bikes, FSA etc.. dealers) and they can carry also out repairs/warranty work and supply parts if needed
As per my post above, I recently moved to Switzerland, so Windwave UK won't be of much help to me sadly :(. From what I gather, DVO is not well established at all in Switzerland.
Sounds like the DVO fits the bill then, i have a coil and air on my enduro, it pretty much lives with the coil now, i can live with the slightly harsher low speed stuff as i am oversprung for bigger stuff, it helps with pedalling a little as well, but as stated, it does have a downside with smaller stuff.
Same with the forks, biggest thing for me with GRIP2 is they feel plush compared to my other 36s (FIT4), but i can easily live with the FIT4 as it does the job i want, just a loss of a little feel, if it's a fox 36 GRIP2 vs DVO then the fox wins, but it's not like for like, it's top spec fox vs lower spec DVO, again the question is do you 'need' the extra plushness, i know i could live without it if needed to do the stuff i enjoy.
I don’t think the internal air temp. of a rear shock changes massively during a run. Certainly not enough to notice it really. Not in modern shocks anyhow. More important to service it with fresh oil etc.
I use coil though , but local hero here in Sweden Robin Wallner rides for ibis, he uses an x2. Admittedly with factory support
I'd pick the coil over air any day, however DVO coil shocks did have a habit of the shaft prematurely wearing, but not as bad as Fox coil shocks.
The one thing I will mention, there is a reason Ibis no longer offer a Fox coil shock on these bikes. They had a habit of snapping the shock shaft.
Fork wise, I love my DVO Onyx. I will say they do feel different from any other fork I've had, but once you get them dialled in and get used to that slightly different feel, they feel fantastic.
Didn't get on with x2 air so got ohlins tx22 rear and fox 38 front. Not seen many dvo set ups but not been impressed
The one thing I will mention, there is a reason Ibis no longer offer a Fox coil shock on these bikes. They had a habit of snapping the shock shaft.
Interesting! I was wondering why they don't offer the V2 frame with a Fox DHX2, despite going through all the effort to make it coil compatible...
Didn’t get on with x2 air so got ohlins tx22 rear and fox 38 front. Not seen many dvo set ups but not been impressed
Out of interest, why have you not been impressed with the DVO set-ups Tony? Your reputation precedes you, so very keen to hear your take.