2023 Pinkbike Awards: Suspension Product of the Year Nominees
Suspension Product of the Year Nominees
Suspension components can make or break the performance of a bike. Luckily, in 2023 riders have superb forks and shocks choices to suit any style of bike, from cross-country to downhill and all of the categories in-between.
Absent from RockShox's catalog for a number of years, the Vivid Air shock returned in 2023 with a special spin on compression damping. It’s not only reserved for 200mm travel bikes, though, and brings benefits to enduro bikes as well. In the dual-crown ring, the Boxxer underwent a massive makeover with muscular looks from the top down. Inside, there were greater changes though with the inclusion of the Charger 3 damper and a redesigned air spring.
Other brands have been busy too. Ohlins revised their TTX Air - the only shock on the market to offer two different size air cans.
As much as the Vivid wants to be a coil shock, Cane Creek's Tigon is a coil shock that acts like an air shock, to a degree. Its pneumatic bottom-out adjustment doubles as a structural benefit to fend off the forces of some frame designs.
Why it's nominated
Prior to Tigon’s “Ramp Tube” feature, riders would have to choose between the supple breakaway action of a coil shock, or the progression of an air spring. Although the idea is not entirely new, the pneumatic bottom-out control built into a coil shock is the ticket for hard-charging riders not willing to compromise on small bump traction.
With the Tigon, riders can tweak the mid-stroke support and progression without altering the initial sensitivity. The increased spring force further into the stroke is controlled by a special high-speed rebound tune preset at the factory.
Cane Creek uses a twin tube design for this dual spring damper, including externally adjustable low-speed rebound, high and low-speed compression, plus a climb switch lever. To turn some of those dials, a nifty 3mm allen key is housed in the shock eyelet and held in place by a magnet.
Equally important, the Ramp Tube adds rigidity to the shock, making it ideal for bikes that use a clevis-mounted shock, such as the Orbea Rallon and Specialized Stumpjumper EVO.
Equally important, the Ramp Tube adds rigidity to the shock, making it ideal for bikes that use a clevis-mounted shock, such as the Orbea Rallon and Specialized Stumpjumper EVO.
FULL REVIEW:
 | The Tigon brings the highlights of air and coil shocks into one package - there’s no other shock on the market that can claim all of the Tigon's selling points. Most importantly, the Tigon is strong enough to withstand clevis shock mounts. Simply put, it's supple, strong, consistent, and resists bottoming. |
Why it's nominated
Every component on the all-new Boxxer Ultimate, internally and externally, is different from the previous version. The 38mm stanchions put it in line with the Zeb’s chiseled looks and includes a Charger 3 damper, Buttercups, air bleed valves and a fender.
When RockShox's engineers increased the stanchion diameter though, they ran into issues in the development stages. They had to work out how to balance the 200mm-travel air spring to feel supple and consistent without being overly progressive. To achieve that, they came up with the Debonair+, a twin-tube air spring.
A small, but notable addition to the oversized stanchions are the gradients which make setting the crown heights a breeze.
Add in all the features found on the current generation of single crown RockShox forks and you end up with an impressive piece of downhill equipment. The fork looks different, feels different, and performs a hell of lot better than the previous version.
A small, but notable addition to the oversized stanchions are the gradients which make setting the crown heights a breeze.
Add in all the features found on the current generation of single crown RockShox forks and you end up with an impressive piece of downhill equipment. The fork looks different, feels different, and performs a hell of lot better than the previous version.
RIDE IMPRESSIONS:
| Incredibly supple and consistent. There were no sharp spikes or dead zones. This new fork has all the sensitivity you need, yet you can feel where it stands in the travel. |
Why it's nominated
Simple, elegant, and expensive - that’s what the TTX Air is all about. Well, simple may be rude because the twin tube design is complex but behaves with supreme control.
Setting up the shock is straightforward in comparison to some other shocks though. Based on the progression of your frameset, there are two air can sizes to choose from. Three fundamental damper adjustments (rebound, high-speed and low-speed compression) keep the tweaking to a minimum.
In fact, the high-speed compression only has three positions, each with their own path to the shim stack. Ohlins' reasoning for this method is that it offers a “more proportional damping response,” as Seb Stott explained in his review.
During Shock Week, multiple tech editors took their turn handing off Santa Cruz Nomads, switching out dampers and weighing in with their thoughts. Although we wouldn’t say the TTX Air 2 is the plushest ride, it did provide a level of control that differentiated it from four other shocks.
During Shock Week, multiple tech editors took their turn handing off Santa Cruz Nomads, switching out dampers and weighing in with their thoughts. Although we wouldn’t say the TTX Air 2 is the plushest ride, it did provide a level of control that differentiated it from four other shocks.
FULL REVIEW:
| If anything, the base tune for the TTX2 outperformed the RockShox SuperDeluxe my test bike came with, and I felt no need to dig into Öhlins' settings bank for something different. Though not the most "coil-like", the air spring is impressively supple and predictable. The lockout firmness is well-judged for off-road climbing and the high-speed compression lever is a handy feature to adjust the feel for different terrain. |
Why it's nominated
Another standout performer from RockShox that also made an appearance in Shock Week was the Vivid Air. Back in a seriously voluminous black air can, the air shock is aimed at the downhill, freeride and enduro crowd.
We’ve heard the Vivid described as more “coil-like” than coil shocks. Those words make little sense when strung together, however, it is impressively smooth and consistent throughout the stroke. To accomplish that feeling, the Vivid sets itself apart from the other shocks with an innovative design that Rockshox titles “TouchDown” technology. Oil bypasses the main piston in the initial stroke, creating that supple, low resistance feeling of a coil shock.
Included is the hydraulic bottom-out found on SuperDeluxe, rebound, as well as high and low-speed compression adjustments. Not to be outdone by Cane Creek’s trick, the rebound knob can be removed to double as a 3mm allen key to turn the HBO and HSC dials.
Included is the hydraulic bottom-out found on SuperDeluxe, rebound, as well as high and low-speed compression adjustments. Not to be outdone by Cane Creek’s trick, the rebound knob can be removed to double as a 3mm allen key to turn the HBO and HSC dials.
When you include all of the adjustable features with the TouchDown technology and claims of low service intervals, it creates a rear shock that’s hard to match.
FULL REVIEW:
| That quiet performance fades away nicely, but there's no mystery that the Vivid is working very well underneath you. We were hugely impressed with how well the shock performed on our test Nomads, and it has handled very different kinematics with equal composure. |
Author Info:
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nsmb.com/articles/yep-thats-still-rad
Kinda doubting his opinions on suspension a little.
Confirmation bias is a thing and Andrew Major has a big tendency to support smaller brands, it's his preference and he doesn't ride near as many different products per year as the Pinkbike editors.
I know that Manitou had some teething pains when they first introduced the Mezzer, but that's a really good product after they sorted out the bushings from the first production run. I owned the last model of Mattoc Pro, and although a bit flexy, it was an incredible fork. I have a 27.5 Dorado on my DH bike that's the best fork I've even had. All that said, they're not perfect, but they make a lot of good products. For every "fanboi" out there, there are 3 people who completely disregard Manitou products based on appearance, an acute manufacturing issue, or just lack of experience with the product.
Never had a problem……
I'm pulling for you with this bike. I love the look and the design. It doesnt quite into the mold i'm looking for, but I'm hoping youre extremely successful with it, so there are other models for me to choose from.
You and the guys at Ministry bikes, they look friggin great
No knock on its performance. Im sure it shreds...
This is why I would say the Vivid is new. It's the first time rockshox has had a true rival to larger volume piggyback suspension from their competition. The Vivid is a whole new platform (I doubt it shares much at all with the old school Vivid DH shock) for Rock Shox that directly competes with the X2 and others.
Oh, you mean poorly designed suspension systems that eat shocks? Hahahahaha.
(Yes this is sarcasm)
Easier to adjust. More progressive (Better bottoming resistance for linear suspension designs). Lighter weight. More "poppy" / jump happy ride.
Worse small bump performance/traction because of increased seal friction.
Coil-
Better traction on small bumps/roots. More linear (easier to use full travel on progressive suspension designs). More "Planted" ride, that "ploughs" better. Heavier, and harder to adjust (swapping springs VS air pressure). Less Poppy ride quality, that absorbs impacts without pinging off of things.
Was able to dial it in perfectly in 2 rides afterwards. If I started like that, would have save over 1k and 2 seasons of puzzling. The range at which CC DB and Kitsuma models work well in is stunning.
Try it one day. You won't be dissapointed.
I'm just guy working in his garage, barely even a brand, and I developed a shock which got nominated in last years awards.
That's all you should say, because your perception of their budget, R&D, and marketing is without merit because you obviously don't hold a management position at CC. Then you shoot both of your feet off by saying you'll never try what could be the best shock (but insert any product you want here) because you've decided to let your brain not let you try it.
I don't think the berm is where your skid is.
To me, that's such a mark of individual investment in the brand and I'll normally try to support employee-owned companies whenever possible.
Strong opener