DVO

herzalot

herzalot

iMTB Hooligan
I am a suspension snob. I expect a shock (and a fork) to do everything. I value precision. I want to think about where I want the bike to go, and have it go there and stay there until I think differently. I want it to absorb repeated hits - be they 2" chatter, foot-deep holes at speed or 4' drops to flat.

My new DVO Topaz does exactly that. I never notice it. And that is high praise.

DVO themselves are interesting people. I had a problem adjusting the OTT adjuster on my Diamond fork, so I called them. I spoke with Ronnie Dilan. He told me to let the air out, then do the adjustment, then pump it back up. That worked perfectly. I called him back to tell him it worked, and we spoke for over 20 minutes - after they closed - about injuries, trails we love, gnarly moments in riding and more. It was like we had been riding buddies for years. I wasn't initiating the discussion, Ronnie was.

That said, I still like my Marzocchi 350 better at speed than my Diamond. Hopefully, I can get the Diamond dialed in. I do like that it does not dive.

The Topaz however, is probably the best shock I've ridden. Yes, I rode the PUSH 11-6, and it was cool, but not a good match for most riding applications. Cane Creeks are awesome, but I think the Topaz is at least equal, if not better. I do like the climb setting on the Topaz better. I have not ridden the Fox X2.

I like what DVO is about, and I hope they can keep bringing great products for discerning riders with the accessibility and approachability that they presently exhibit.

Learn a little about Bryson Martin here. You don't have to listen to 45 minutes to get the gist. 4-5 minutes will suffice.
 
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@herzalot Since you've spent a good amount of time on both the Topaz and DB Inline, I'd love to hear what you feel are the main differences you have felt between the two shocks on your Tracer. I realize that suspension design and setup may heavily weigh on your thoughts, but I still would like to hear/read them.
 
The CCDB Air - Inline worked great on the Tracer with one large volume reducer band installed. The DVO Topaz feels very similar (I am running one volume reducer on the negative side in the DVO).

Three improvements with the Topaz over the CC: 1.) The three position switch provides better options than the climb switch on the CC. 2.) The full climb mode on the Topaz is better suited to the Tracer kinematics than the CC climb switch and 3.) the external reservoir minimizes overheating.

As far as plushness, big hit composure and handling repetitive holes at speed, they are about equal (very good). Neither shock gets high marks from heavy riders (like over 220 lbs). That's probably true of all air suspension, but the standard Cane Creek DB Air CS may be better suited to heavier riders.

More commentary here.
 
The whole crew at DVO are a bunch of great people. They have a great product and stand behind it 100%. They are always willing to help out if you have any problems. Bryson is very active on social media and always makes his "followers" feel like a part of the family.
 
UPSed said:
The whole crew at DVO are a bunch of great people. They have a great product and stand behind it 100%. They are always willing to help out if you have any problems. Bryson is very active on social media and always makes his "followers" feel like a part of the family.
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I have seen their van parked in Correganville, the crew was riding the G spot and getting lifts to the bottom of Rocky Peak. I do not believe in gravity assist and ride up stage coach and then drop the bird
 
da big hills said:
I have seen their van parked in Correganville, the crew was riding the G spot and getting lifts to the bottom of Rocky Peak. I do not believe in gravity assist and ride up stage coach and then drop the bird
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If you are doing laps testing product and doing data acquisition, uplifts are allowed. (See "The MtB Rules" Rule 14). Uplifts may never be a motorized bicycle, however.
 
DVO = badass
I am fully onboard

2005-2013
I was a RockShox fork fan. Pike, Boxxer, Lyrik back to. I did not believe there was anything better. I became accustomed to the way the High Speed/Low Speed dampers worked and enjoyed them.
The FOX forks I test road and demo'd were always smooth and fine, maybe a little "muddy" feeling for lack of a better word. I never owned any FOX forks.

On the rear for air shocks the old FOX RP23's tuned by PUSH worked awesome for me on two separate bikes. For DH I had a Mazzochi ROCO coil that worked to my needs just fine, simple and reliable and not having some of the old FOX DX4.0 AND 5.0 Tuning issues that sparked the entire custom tuning marketplace.

Some Manitou stuff I had was terrible... tough era.

2016-now
I demo'd or rented 6 different bikes. All the FOX stuff felt good, the RS stuff fine also. Overall, did not feel like much changed since 2008 besides getting more expensive.

2017
This time around I took a huge risk with DVO, bought a Diamond and a Topaz having never ridden one.
So far, it's kind of amazing. it's just works. they are quite, very fine adjustments, and I just can't find much to talk about. Which is strange for me because I am notoriously picky about suspension set up. I echo that the small DVO team of Ronnie, and both Bryson's have been helpful to me which is gold.
 
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dustyyoungblood said:
So far, it's kind of amazing. it's just works. they are quite, very fine adjustments, and I just can't find much to talk about. Which is strange for me because I am notoriously picky about suspension set up.
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Funny, that's exactly how I have described my Topaz here and on MTBR. The highest praise of a suspension snob: "I don't notice it..."

I am not as smitten with my Diamond, but there's still some adjusting I can do. I am comparing to my beloved Marzocchi 350 and not to Pike or Fox 36.
 
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"the climb mode worked great. I expected it to be too firm and not allow the rear to track the rough stuff. It let the bike settle a little into its travel, and seemed to track the ground very well."

I second your quote here @herzalot
I feel like the diamond does this also in "6" low speed.

And the side mounted 3 position lever is such an easy reach on my foes. Alough I think I can run it open or trail almost always
 
Red and green, just in time for Xmas:
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Feels pretty dang supple for an air shock, around the block. Trail test soonish
 
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When I got my Fuel, I wanted to go with DVO, I call my friend Geoff there and he said it would be a couple of weeks. They never came and I decided to go with Rock Shox. One of these days I will get to try some of there stuff out. Always here good things.
 
Tested it out on car wreck before work today. So far seems Topaz has got to be the most supple coil-like air shock out there. Maybe edges out the xfusion vector by a hair, which is another one that works well for heavier riders due to its huge air chamber and many external adjustments. Topaz is more supple off the top despite much higher pressure for same 30% sag ( 230 psi vs 130 in vector) and seems to have a tad more mid-stroke support. I was a little worried after seeing reviews saying it bobbed when climbing even in firm mode, which did not happen on my Rune (high anti-squat) so I don’t feel the need to add a volume spacer to the negative chamber, and used 80% of travel on a conservative run down car wreck (I didn’t do the huck) so probably don’t need to add one to positive, more testing needed for that.
Love the simplicity, future home-serviceability, and the climb switch instead of spinning the lsc dial; and hated the inconvenient location of the rebound knob on the vector air. Love my vector coil though, never giving that up, will be spare or for Summit
 
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sir crashalot said:
Tested it out on car wreck before work today. So far seems Topaz has got to be the most supple coil-like air shock out there. Maybe edges out the xfusion vector by a hair, which is another one that works well for heavier riders due to its huge air chamber and many external adjustments. Topaz is more supple off the top despite much higher pressure for same 30% sag ( 230 psi vs 130 in vector) and seems to have a tad more mid-stroke support. I was a little worried after seeing reviews saying it bobbed when climbing even in firm mode, which did not happen on my Rune (high anti-squat) so I don’t feel the need to add a volume spacer to the negative chamber, and used 80% of travel on a conservative run down car wreck (I didn’t do the huck) so probably don’t need to add one to positive, more testing needed for that.
Love the simplicity, future home-serviceability, and the climb switch instead of spinning the lsc dial; and hated the inconvenient location of the rebound knob on the vector air.
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Glad you like it. Thought you might. I liked mine a lot.
 
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