Ohlins Launches Updated DH38 m.1
In downhill racing, Öhlins currently sit at the top of the tree, holding both the World Cup overall and World Championship titles with Loïc Bruni. But as a company founded in racing, they don't rest on their laurels and now release their updated DH38 m.1 fork with a host of improvements on its already astounding performance that are claimed to bring more comfort and control to the rider.
Designed as a race fork, the DH38 platform has also held its own in the likes of the Fest series and now even has the ability to be reduced in travel to offer dual crown options for smaller travel bikes.
Designed as a race fork, the DH38 platform has also held its own in the likes of the Fest series and now even has the ability to be reduced in travel to offer dual crown options for smaller travel bikes.
DH38 m.1 Details
Wheel Size: 29" & 27.5"
Travel: 180 or 200mm, but possible to rebuild to 120 - 170mm
Offsets: 46, 50, 54, 58mm
Hub Standard: 110mm Boost DH
Price: €1,443 or $1600 for the fork, €316 or $350 for the crown
Availability: Now
More info: Öhlins MTB
Wheel Size: 29" & 27.5"
Travel: 180 or 200mm, but possible to rebuild to 120 - 170mm
Offsets: 46, 50, 54, 58mm
Hub Standard: 110mm Boost DH
Price: €1,443 or $1600 for the fork, €316 or $350 for the crown
Availability: Now
More info: Öhlins MTB
Details
Öhlins use a twin tube damper design across their suspension range, and have done for a very long time. For the DH38 m.1, they took a lot of cues and parts from their fantastic RXF36 m.2 trail and enduro fork. The new DH38 m.1 uses the same piston design to keep the damper performance consistent and there's a new low-speed damping needle design for the rebound and compression circuits, which increases the adjustability. The low and high-speed compression adjusters also now have a more positive click feeling, so it's easier to identify where you are in the range and how much you are adding or subtracting. They've also refined the one-way valve that controls the oil flow inside the twin tube damper, something that also comes across from the RXF36 m.2 fork.
On the air side, Öhlins use a three-chamber design. The normal positive and negative chambers are present, but so too is a third ramp up chamber adjustable with air pressure, which negates the need for volume spacers. The ramp up tube has a new construction to up its durability and lead to longer times in between its service. The negative chamber volume in the air spring can be tuned to have a larger volume for riders ultimately looking for comfort or be tuned to reduce its volume for those riders looking for more feedback and control.
Four offset options are handled by different crowns.
Protected by screw on caps, the rebound adjuster and ramp up chamber valve sit at the bottom of the fork.
The DH38 m.1 uses new lubrication and grease in an effort to reduce the friction in the fork and a new seal head design combines with the ability for more oil inside the fork to further work on dropping the friction and having a buttery smooth fork for longer.
Overall, there are now a lot of parts shared between the DH38 m.1 and its little brother, the RXF 36.m2, making it easier for home service or for the service centres when the fork needs to have its full service done by a trained professional. For the home mechanics the damper and air side both now use a cassette tool for removal, making it a doddle to keep on top of your forks lower leg service intervals or to swap out air spring or damper cartridges.
The twin tube damper has seen many updates coming from the fantastic RXF 36.m2 fork.
The chassis is designed around the Boost DH hub standard with its 100mm width and slightly adjusted brake mount position compared to a standard Boost setup. The brake mount is ready for 200mm rotors with it being easy to add adapters to size up the rotors if needed. One feature found on all Öhlins forks is their floating axle. Many DH forks use this too, and now more shorter travel forks too. But the floating axle design stops any friction issues from hub width tolerances by always allowing the fork legs to be as straight as possible and slide up and down with ease. Up to 29 x 2.8" and 27.5 x 3.0" tyres can be run if that's your thing, otherwise there's a bunch of mud clearance for more standard tyre widths.
Öhlins have an online setup guide for all their suspension products with accompanying videos to make it easy to follow. They also have a huge bank of air and settings available for anyone with a particular preference or looking for a certain suspension characteristic. These can be accessed through their approved dealers and implemented into your Öhlins suspension unit.
Options & Price
The DH38 m.1 is available to purchase in 200mm and 180mm options. Although Öhlins are keen to point out that it's possible to rebuild the fork at 120 - 170mm travel. This then opens it up to aggressive riders looking to have a sturdier dual crown chassis on their smaller bikes and not to mention making it a very good options for e-bikes, with their upped weight and riding speeds.
Each fork is the same and Öhlins offer four offset options all taken care of in the crowns, 46, 50, 54 and 58mm.
The fork comes in at €1,443 or $1600 and the crowns are sold separately for €316 or $350.
The DH38 m.2 is available to buy from your local dealer or through Ohlins.se, Ohlins.eu or OhlinsUSA.com.
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The issue is that when you have a single crown and you have a bending moment forward or aft, the crown usually flexes a little which is where the stress goes. With a dual crown, all that stress goes directly into the headtube because of the upper clamp, so you can oval/snap the headtube with a hard enough impact.
World needs "Slim DownNut"... NOW!
Downduro is actually how I ride all the time. 2012 Giant Glory + 11-46 Shimano XT + 125mm PNW dropper + 30T front chainring = a good time. Just gotta Honey Badger the climbs and you're golden!
I could take some travel pucks out of my Fox 40, but I'm a masochist and I'm all about the DH!!
It's funny because people feel bad for me on the climbs, then once I get to the top they're like "DH bike, Dope!"
You can't beat the smiles/$$ ratio on a 26er DH bike.
I'm seriously considering swapping my 170mm 29er fork for a lowered (possibly to 180mm) 29er DC fork.
Its cheapest/lightest to get a used 27.5 boxxer and swap the lowers for a 29er Yari, but the Bartlett is the new cool kid on the block. If I'm shelling out serious dough though, maybe this is the best option, lowered to 180mm.
I thought the first 29er Boxxers were made using this combination, but I don't have details on how it was done.
180mm Boxxers were fitted on the Specialized Enduro Expert Evo back in 2015.
Early 26” 200mm Fox 40s with coil springs had spacers inside that if you repositioned them you could set the fork at 160mm or 180mm, plus they have enough arch clearance to run 27.5” wheels and they have a 46mm Offset is could actually work on a modern Enduro bike.
I can find a newish boxxer 650b for like $400 used, and probably yari/lyrik lowers for $50 or less. The Boxxer is the lightest DC fork I know of, except maybe the Bartlett but I've read conflicting reports on their respective weights. So for $500 or a little less I could have a 1 pound weight penalty to get a DC that will outperform any single crown fork on the market. If I went the Dorado route who knows? I'm seeing them for $700 in the buy/sell at the cheapest, and those are older models, and weigh nearly a pound more.
If I saw both options at the same price, I'd prob go with the Manitou tho.
Also the turning radius of the Dorado is pretty good where as that of the Boxxer is terrible. You will be struggling to climb up switchbacks!
@Mondbiker there are people in the MTBR forums who claim to have done it
Now I'm super curious about the 650b boxxer conversion. Maybe I'll try it just to see if it works, and if not put it back together and resell it.
Anyone got a beat up 650b boxxer they want to unload?
The turning radius of the Boxxer is small because most of the offset is in the lowers rather than in the crowns.
Weight doesn't matter that much to me. I had a Shiver before so the Dorado is a lightweight upgrade! I run 50mm offset with 650b wheels and have no problem, it is just a matter of getting used to it. The Shiver also had 50mm offset and that was made for even smaller wheels!
Uh no. In my experience E bikes don't go down faster than regular bikes.
Turbo Kinevo weights 53 lbs. Most DH bikes/Enduro bikes are at 32. Thats a 20 lb difference, that is not dynamic like a rider who can maneuver around the bike and redestribute force between hands and feet.
While it won't affect riding performance, remember that things have to be engineered with a safety limit. Worst case is a 300 lb guy riding a Turbo Kinevo downhill.
the TTx22m and TTx22 air will become their flagship shocks
has anyone ridden one of them 38s? is it worth the extra money and weight, over a 36th or a Lyrik? Or does it mostly look good????
It looks like a RST, this is Taiwan style.I want titanium nitride coating and CNC technology.
Only in this way can it be called Ohlins.I miss 2003 year, when all brands of shock absorbers competed
in appearance, technology and materials.The products of that era have new technology, gorgeous design,
exquisite technology and materials, even the design of stickers is so beautiful.Take a look at the current products.
There's nothing left except technological.
I used to run Ohlins exclusively on my RR bikes, but with their 6-week don't ride your bike recall, and now this hose job, I'm done with 'em.
Helps of course that their single crown shit is inferior to Fox and maybe SRAM too for all I know
(Yes I've owned one) Bartlett is fantastic fork..best and only option to date I'm aware of for the enduro market, etc.
-110 X 15mm boost axle
-low axle to crown
-5.5lb weight
However... Öhlins on the dynamics of damping and oil flow are second to none. I've had the opportunity to give the DH38 (not the M1) a solid couple months of testing, and I can say that the level of support, small bump comlliance, progresivity and oddly contradicting linier compression stroke is astounding. Where I feel one major development that have done well is the isolated air spring. The triple air chamber is brilliant. The twin tube damper Öhlins produces is beautifully crafted, and they take no shortcuts in doing so.
Where I found the challenge is setup. Öhlins requires tuning to your specific weight, and ridinh requirements (which is included in the price). This can prove to be challenging due to the fact that they use their own numbering for their shims when doing compression/rebound tunes. Only certified Öhlins techs can get this info, but they still need to jump through hoops.
All in all, I'd say their products are aimed at racers that are looking for performance above all else.
Cosmetically speaking, their stuff is boring and doesn't really tick the "illustrious" box.
At the end of the day, while once again I will agree that many people are over Öhlins, the industry needs them. Why? Öhlins are likely responsible for the development of Fox's DHX2. The TTX22 and the new DHX2 share much more in common than the Old DHX2 and the new one. They are also developing equipment that does for other companies to strive to increase the performance of their own equipment. Love them or not, its the constant drive for market share that pushes companies to continue to develop better and better things, which as a consumer, we all get to benefit.
The newer Debonair Boxxer, Super deluxe Coil and DVO Jade Coil are quite a lot worse.
Ohlins does have a limited yellow DH38 if you want some flash.
I will agree though, that their products are a little bland.
Can I say they are better than the other products on the market? Not entirely. While I haven't tried the new boxxer, I have had a go with the new super deluxe, and its really very good. It doesn't have the same small bump compliance that a twin tube has, but its very supportive, and very consistant. I never felt it to be harsh, or unresponsive. Where it outdoes the last gen Fox DHX2 is the support. You can hit lines harder and faster than the DHX2 due to the fact it uses shims rather than poppet valves like the DHX2. Its strange that Fox went this route, as poppet valves have been used in pneumatics for years, and they are designed to dump large volumes of compressed gasses in a short period of time. Flow can be controlled by spring rate and input pressure. However, suspention sees variable input pressures. This is where shims are better, because you can control spring rate, and oil flow independently based off the shim stack.
Overall, choosing suspention from any major player to date, and regarding their newest up to date platforms, you really can't go wrong. This was not the case even 5 years ago.
If I were to choose suspention, I would look at part availability, ease of service, and customer support.
I'm sure if you wanted it that badly, you could find a plating company to strip the anno, and ti-ni plate them for you. After all your already spending $1900 (again, not including crowns) whats a couple hundred more?
I'm just saying, for $1900, I want GOLD! As much gold as possible!