DT SWISS HAVE simplified their damping and chassis for 2014 and moved production to Taiwan but the excellent XMM proves less can sometimes be more.
The new one-piece, injection moulded magnesium lowers
include a deeply webbed rear-mounted arch and lighter 15mm dropouts for the
brand’s ratchet-handle RWS axle. Staying with taper wall 32mm legs makes this
the lightest mid-travel fork we’ve tested this year. You wouldn’t necessarily
know it from the precise and accurate steering manners though, and the warranty
allows you to use 210mm rotors for max stopping power.
The Single Shot II damper is
stripped down to the bare-minimum rebound adjuster and lockout lever but this
is still the best performing DT fork we’ve used. The coil negative spring means
small-bump response is smooth and grippy enough to flatter the precise feel,
and the naturally progressive stroke (rather than seriously linear like before)
keeps ride height consistent through hard cornering or braking.
We’ve not had any binding or spiking moments smashing
through or launching off big stuff either. It’s well priced too, so if
reliability proves OK it’ll be the surprise lightweight trail fork benchmark
for 2014.
Travel 150mm
Weight 1,670g
Length 540g
Wheel sizes 26in, 650b (tested), 29in (120mm)
PRICE: 828$
