DVO Suspension Announces Topaz Gen 3 Air Shock & Custom Tuning Option
The next generation of Topaz has a 27% stronger inner shaft.
PRESS RELEASE: DVO Suspension
The Unobtainable Becomes Available
DVO Suspension is excited to announce an improved Custom Shop experience as part of our new online shop. Typically reserved for elite athletes, the DVO Custom Shop makes the unobtainable available to all riders. When shopping any DVO Suspension product, customers can easily add a custom tune to their order for an additional $150 USD. After answering six questions to provide a clear tuning direction, a fork or shock is fully opened and gone through by our master technicians. This involves high-performance race oil, a custom shim stack with high-performance shims, and a hand bleed. The end result is master crafted suspension, customized to the rider’s unique needs.
The Next Generation of Topaz
With the launch of our new online shop comes the official release of the Topaz Gen 3. The next generation of our do-it-all air shock is designed to meet the grueling demands of the modern rider with a 27% stronger inner shaft. The new housing is designed around a transverse reservoir layout to aid in oil flow and achieve more frame clearance. The updated bladder system provides unmatched small bump sensitivity that’s externally tunable.
Topaz Gen 3 is available in metric and trunnion sizes with T3 compression, dynamic rebound, positive and negative volume adjustment, and adjustable bladder pressure. The shock comes in its own reusable carrying case, and includes a shock pump and quick-clip volume spacers.
Specs:
Damper:
Spring Features:
Starting Weight:
Trunnion Sizes:
Metric Sizes:
Standard Sizes:
Price:
Spring Features:
Starting Weight:
Trunnion Sizes:
Metric Sizes:
Standard Sizes:
Price:
T3 Compression | Rebound | Bladder Pressure Adjust
Air Volume Tuning for Negative and Positive Spring
450g, based on 210x55
165x40, 165x42.5, 165x45, 185x50, 185x52.5, 185x55, 205x60, 205x62.5, 205x65
190x40, 190x42.5, 190x45, 210x50, 210x52.5, 210x55, 230x60, 230x62.5, 230x65
Please see our Topaz Gen 1 for standard sizes
$550 USD
Air Volume Tuning for Negative and Positive Spring
450g, based on 210x55
165x40, 165x42.5, 165x45, 185x50, 185x52.5, 185x55, 205x60, 205x62.5, 205x65
190x40, 190x42.5, 190x45, 210x50, 210x52.5, 210x55, 230x60, 230x62.5, 230x65
Please see our Topaz Gen 1 for standard sizes
$550 USD
Author Info:
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Although, I kinda play with the thought of trying a coil shock and DVO is one of contestants (Monarch is the other). I have read that DVO is less prone to failures because of side forces
“I’m a big metal fan.”
this isn't even a knock on DVO....just saying someone famous uses something isn't really the definitive proof of its quality you seem to think it is.
Where I am, the shim tune itself is $70. But the shop won't disassemble the shock for free.
Some shops will custom tune without a service but there is still a charge, for example j-tech say
“ *Custom tuning can be done without having a service, if the fork/shock is new or very recently serviced, at a cost of £35 + the custom tuning charge.”
Placebo is strong in the tuner suspension world. Having it done by the OEM is your best shot at a real improvement unless you have access to one of the few rigs who know what they're doing on every shim stack.
And- not placing all the blame on the shops here. Most customers ask for what they can't ride anyway. "185lb expert rider" does not mean the same thing to you as it does to your tuner. Sometimes the amateur rider who smashes into everything with no finesse at all anyway needs and even MORE supportive setup than a skilled rider who carries speed more smoothly.
TLDR: you can't get a "perfect for you tune" unless your tuner knows you, has seen you ride, knows EXACTLY what your setup and riding conditions are like......... and also knows what he or she is doing.
1. lying - he hasn't changed a thing
2. not making money
3. exploiting somebody else's time who is working for little to nothing
4. a magician
A re-tune is far less work than a full service. A full service costs around £120 in the uk.
So, the first question is, how long will it take? For $200, I think we have to at least be talking about 2 hours of labor minimum, and I don't think that's how long this "customization" will take, but maybe I'm wrong here?
The second question is value. The shock itself is $550 or $600 typically, is the difference in performance worth an additional 1/3 the price? Now you've got a $700-$800 shock, that now has a limited resale market, and value to others. So not only did you sink another $200 into it, but perhaps reduced resale value by another $200...
Not many people truly understand what a true rider specific, custom suspension setup actually is and what it involves.
My first dealing with it was talking with Craig at Avalanche Racing. I ordered their damper, filled out the questions regarding my bike, weight, riding style, etc. He then called me and spent an hour on the phone asking more questions and really digging into what I was struggling with on the OE setup, and what I would like to see. While still not truly 'custom tuned' suspension, his experience and discussion gets it pretty damn close. Any future changes can be made by either firing the damper back or buying the kit to make the changes yourself.
My only complaint is that it's so damn good I have to order one for every fork going forward haha.
My Offering V2 had a pretty bad alignment issue. I didn’t keep it long enough to find out but I was sure it was going to fry the x2 I had.
That's what I've been seeing-a lot!!
The mountainbike industry needs to start letting engineers read the pr copy before it goes to print.
Was the Topaz "gen 2" the Tri-Air 2, and a Tri-Air 3 is to be expected in some months ?
I'd like at least a dial for low-speed compression damping, with at least five clicks.
The damping via adjustable valve actually means slowing down the compression stroke by restricting oil flow and (ideally) not changing the amount of force necessary to compress the shock in the process.
The bladder system on the other hand is effectively just increasing the amount of force it takes to compress the shock by adding another air chamber. Also the effect of a higher bladder pressure will be more pronounced the faster and the deeper you go into the travel. At the top of the stroke while slow compression is occuring it will barely have any perceivable effect. That is where you would need an adjustable valve for low speed compression damping instead (- slowing down the oil flow).
IMO the adjustable bladder is a useful addition especially to coil shocks, but it certainly can't replace the functionality of an adjustable valve.
I would imagine DVO's response to your request would be to go for the Jade instead, which has low speed adjustment. If you don't want a coil shock then go for the Fox X2.
If you think that five clicks of adjustment would be enough, then that's only a few more then what's already in the T3 lever. It may be possible to mod an existing shock to add those halfway clicks. I'd suggest inquiring with DVO about that as they seem quite keen to get their customers product performing the way the want.
Not possible, I've already inquired about that.
Based on your answer though, you seem to be familiar with shim stacks, but somehow completely clueless about what a LSC adjuster is.
Cons: Not enough of a Rockshox copy to get HBO.
I once ran a shock upside down so I would stop painfully snagging my fat leg on the climb lever. Buddy I ride with was quite upset about my inverted shock so from that point on I put all my shocks on upside down just to piss him off.
Now we have trunnion and the industry has ruined my petty joke.
The only way the seals could run dry is the fork or shock not having enough oil in them to begin with, leaking or not being serviced enough.
My fork is a 2018 model, serviced twice anually and runs great. I hear they're having some QC/tolerance issues lately though which is sad.
Bike company: if only we could fit the same stroke shock in with a smaller i2i, it sure would save us some design and engineering time. We could apply some 'engineering buzzwords' to sell it to the public.
Shock manufacturer: that's dumb, don't sideload my shock.
Bike company: but.... water bottle mounts...
Only two-three things which I´ve blown regularly on the Topaz2 was a seal head (they fixed that about two years ago with a running change) and the seal behind the rebound knob (I hope they fixed that with Gen3...).
And I also had a scratched damper body two times (which would be very expensive if you´d have to pay for it yourself!) , hopefully that stronger inner shaft on the Gen3 helps keeping the shock internally alligned.
Customer service by the German distributor was always great.
As long as the shock wasn´t in for warranty repair it was working great on the Reign 27,5 and the Speci Enduro, on par with the Fox X2 I´m using now. And it had the way better climb switch.
DVO stuff looks great btw.
I bought a brand new d1 diamond in 2019 and it sat in my closet forever. I got a new bike in 2020 and in 2021 replaced the 36 with the sweep damper with the unused diamond. The diamond is for sure better. I added the dates in there because I feel like enough time had passed that I felt the money I spent on it kind of could play a role in some amount of biased. Idk...
I would imagine or at least hope that factory level fox stuff is better than DVO, once again, idk though...