Pinkbike Awards - Innovation of the Year Nominees

Fox Racing Shox showed Pinkbike its Live Valve electronic suspension controls in July 2015. Aside from some cosmetics, Fox's Live Valve was fully functional and installed in dedicated X-type EVOL Float shocks, and a module was in production that plugs into to its existing Float 34 and 36 forks as well. After putting some ride time on the system it became crystal clear that Fox had taken electronically controlled adaptive suspension to a new level, producing full-time plush feeling suspension action, along with a degree of pedaling performance that had yet to be attained by mechanical or electronic means.

Live Valve's effectiveness relies upon speed. Its low-energy solenoid-controlled compression valve employs natural hydraulic forces to open and close in five milliseconds. The valve is controlled by an even faster-acting computer algorithm that uses accelerometers placed on un-sprung regions of the fork and rear suspension to respond to impacts before they can be felt by the bike's human occupant. In Live Valve's nearly perfect world, the bike's suspension remains nearly locked out until either wheel has an impact event, after which, Live Valve opens the shock or fork's compression damping to control the impact and then waits momentarily for an additional hit before it reverts again to "lockout" mode. The system's sensitivity is adjustable, its battery life is pegged at an average of 25 hours, and it will retrofit to most bikes that can accept a Float X-type reservoir shock.

Fox understands that having a bombproof and very effective electronically controlled suspension system is not of itself a guarantee of success and, reportedly, they are planning to proceed carefully as they release Live Valve into the market to ensure that the system is well understood by potential customers and shops and that it is well supported. Live Valve couldn't have arrived at a more opportune time, as the popularity of enduro pushes geometry and suspension design away from the side of pedaling efficiency and towards the gravity-specific realm of DH. Fox's Live Valve suspension offers bike designers full-time, pedal-friendly performance in all power modes, which frees them to optimize suspension curves exclusively for traction and terrain. Beyond enduro, Live Valve promises to enhance the performance of any mountain bike's suspension, from XC racers to basic trail bikes.

Who cares? Your rear derailleur does, because the larger the sprocket, the lower it must hang to shift to it - and that exposes one of the most fragile and expensive components of your bike to ugly rocks and snags.

e*thirteen sought to further broaden the gearing spread of SRAM's 11 by 42 cassette to give one-by users the full range of a two-chainring drivetrain. To minimize its overall diameter, the TRS+ Cassette uses a smaller, nine-tooth cog to provide a six-percent taller gear, and on the other side, the cassette accepts a 44-tooth cog, which results in a 9.5-percent lower gear. TRS+ cassettes mount to SRAM XD drivers, but unlike SRAM's one-piece cassette design, the TRS+ is a two-piece unit, so you can replace the large group of three aluminum cogs or the smaller group of eight steel cogs separately as they wear. e*thirteen offers its TRS+ cassette in 9 x 44 eleven-speed or 9 x 42 ten-speed options. Both will shift with SRAM or Shimano components although they require SRAM XD drivers. The TRS+ broad-range cassette achieved our nomination because it broadens the gearing spread of an 11-speed one-by drivetrain to that of a comparable two-by system, it offers long-term serviceability, and it is cross-compatible with existing derailleurs and XD drivers. Weight: 320g 11spd, 300g 10spd. MSRP: $309 11spd, $279 10spd (USD).

Magura Vyron eLECT Seatpost

Wireless dropper post

When Magura decided to enter the dropper seat post arena, they made the decision to forego hydraulic lines and cable housings and operate the post using the well proven wireless remote control system that the German parts maker had been employing on its suspension products. The Vyron eLECT post has a 150-millimeter-stroke and uses air-sprung, hydraulically controlled internals - no surprises there - but sealed electronic valves replace the pistons or mechanical levers used to actuate other droppers. While the most obvious benefits are the lack of cables and hoses (and the need to route them through the frame), there are other factors in favor of Magura's wireless control.

You can buy it and put it on your bike - that's an easy sell. The control button can be moved anywhere on the bars. There is no need to shorten of lengthen hoses or housings per frame sizes. Dealers and customers don't have to adjust, bleed or service an external system, and OEM assemblers can install a Vyron eLect post as fast as a standard seat post on the production line. And, as long as the seat tubes match, Vyron owners can move their posts easily from bike to bike. Magura states that the battery allows 400 cycles, and it locks in the last position it was set to when the battery loses power. The post charges in three hours from a USB cable, which is respectably fast. Magura gets the nomination for its Vyron eLECT dropper post for employing electronics to make life simpler for both riders and mechanics. System weight: 595g. Sizes: 30.9mm, 31.6mm. MSRP: $450 USD.