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Formula THIRTYFIVE fork


FORMULA’S NEW FORK is an impressively light and stiff unit if you don’t need big rotors. Despite big 35mm stanchions and decent steering accuracy, it’s lighter than a lot of 140mm travel, 32mm legged trail forks. It’s only available with a tapered steerer though, and isn’t recommended for use with rotors bigger than 180mm.

The nest of dials and levers on the fork top includes lockout, lockout threshold and low-speed compression adjustment. The damping cartridge is removable for servicing and you can rotate it in order to put the adjustment knobs exactly where you want them.

The low-pressure air spring and oil bath lubing mean an extremely supple and smooth start, with decent midstroke support for consistent cornering geometry. Progression can be increased by adding oil to the air spring, but the default set-up was fine for us, keeping the fork’s head held high rather than diving into corners or braking bumps. The damping occasionally got overloaded and spiked during repeated high-speed hit sections but it’s an impressive performer otherwise.

Production forks will come with a quick-release 15mm axle instead of the bolted one seen here.

Travel 160mm
Weight 1,745g
Length 550mm
Wheel sizes 650b (tested), 29in (140mm)

PRICE: 1405$



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