sk8rpro1

I just did not notice the flex as much when actually riding the bike. The problem with flex, at least with my old Shiver SC's was the bushings were worn out causing it to be excessive. My fork was a 2002 and I did a full rebuild with slider bushings in 2012 and the fork did not flex hardly at all. In fact I had to use a dead blow hammer after sizing the bushings to install the stanchions. After the break in period it was good as new. To expect the original bushings on a fork to last that long without servicing is very unrealistic. You just have to maintain the fork regardless of design. Do the parking lot test on a worn out fox that has the coating worn off the stanchions and you will see flex in a non-inverted fork, but replace the bushings and stanchions and the flex is gone. This flex may be less notieable than an inverted fork, but it still exists.

Not to mention that we are talking a complete difference in materials used to make the parts. The uppers are made from billet material instead of cast material which makes them a stronger more uniform material. This also takes longer to manufacture and thus more cost. Also to take into consideration is the anodized finish which is much better than the cheap paint used on cast aluminum and magnesium parts. Do you know how to get paint to stick to aluminum or magnesium parts? You clear anodize it first. So why not anodize the whole part? Anodizing a casting will get you a poor coating due to the silicon not allowing the coating to penetrate the material. Poor starting materials equal a poor finish. Anodizing will outlast the paint, but costs more. Just do a little bit or research on what materials and coatings are going into the products before making unrealistic price comparisons. One last fact, a small company like DVO and White Brothers has far better customer service than the big box brands. Do you want a cheaper product or a product with a far better warranty and first class customer service? just my 2 cents.

The fork was never intended for a weekend warrior mountain biker. It was always designed for the high end of DH racing. The price is not that far off if you compare it with something similar. For instance the X-Fusion Revel HLR is a good comparison because of the low quantities intended to be produced and a newer design on the inverted fork to increase the torsional rigidity. This single crown fork retails for $1800 USD and when compared to the travel increase and benefits of the Emerald that is a good price. You cannot compare the cost of a brand new fork that has not been on the market for years to one that has because the market is flooded. The price you can purchase a Fox 40 or a Boxxer at is much lower than the MSRP because of the company manufacturing and selling making much larger production runs. I have ridden a Marzocchi Shiver DC and SC as well as a White Brothers DH2 and Groove 200 and the benefits of the inverted design are amazing. A lot less maintenance on the seals and much more small bump compliance. Yes they might not be as torsionally stiff as a non-inverted fork, but did you actually ride it or just check by holding the wheel and turning the bars.

@ Fox I have a 2006 36 Talas R that I upgraded to an RC2 damper. The Talas 1 system does not work properly to adjust the travel. Do you still sell the tool to add air to the IFP for this system? Is there any other cartridge that I could install into this fork? I would like the ability to lower the travel of the fork if a new cartridge were installed.