Skip to main content

Magura TS8 DLO 100 29in fork


Magura's short travel forks always impress and the TS8 is no exception if you're more concerned about stiffness than weight.

The most distinctive feature of Magura's forks has always been the double front and rear sculpted blade arch design. This does an impressive job of stiffening up steering behaviour on QR forks and with the screw-in 15mm axle the 32mm stanchions feel more like 34s even in 120mm travel format. You can use a RockShox Maxle axle or Magura's own Torx secured shaft with its T25 wrench that plugs into the open axle end but it's 180mm or larger rotor only.

Magura's Fork Meister Concept has added new seals and bushings to the proven chassis for a smooth feel from the box. It's well supported through the mid stroke, so full travel use is appropriate rather than excessive even in fully open mode.

The structural stiffness helps keep it supple under high braking or cornering loads so while it's heavy in race terms you can be really aggressive with your overtaking lines on the TS8. The remote lever for the DLO damping control is also much neater and easier to use than previously.

Add solidly reliable long-term performance under aggressive riders and it's an impressively competent, tight tracking short travel trail fork. We'll be plugging in the unique gradient sensing Elect electrically actuated damper (420$ upgrade) for testing next too, so keep watching these pages to see how that pans out.

Travel 100mm (80 and 120mm available)
Wheel size 29in (26in and 650b available)
Weight 1720g

PRICE 1150$


Labels

Popular posts from this blog

KONA SHRED

With a reputation for no-nonsense ruggedness and a background in the always progressive and punishing riding of Canada, Kona have been building hardcore hardtails for longer than almost anyone else. The Shred is the most expensive bike on test but it’s a proper trail tank.

READ MORE >>

Cannondale Trail SL 29 SS

The fat aluminium tubes are a constrast to the skinny items seen elsewhere in the test, but this rigid Cannondale uses them to create one of the most old-school - and lightest - rides here.

READ MORE >>

NS Bikes Metropolis bike

There aren’t many companies like NS Bikes, whose entire product range is designed around getting rad, ripping corners and boosting jumps. The Polish brand are passionate about freeride and have gained a reputation for building heavy-hitting,wellspecced and reasonably-priced bikes. This latest incarnation of their Metropolis dirt jump rig follows in this vein, with a doublebutted 4130 chromoly frame and an array of reliable kit. The frame mixes MTB and BMXtechnology, using a threaded bottom bracket and Race Face AEfect two-piece crankset in combination with horizontal dropouts and an integrated headset and seat clamp. A Manitou Circus Elite fork gives 100mm of air-sprung travel, with a 20mm front axle to maintain stifness. The Metropolis rolls on 26in NS Fundamental rims, fitted with Kenda Small Block 8 tyres. We reckon the combo of chrome frame and tan-wall rubber looks pretty rad too! The full build weighs a fairly robust 12.13kg , but it should have no problem shrugging of s...

READ MORE >>

Marzocchi 350 NCR fork

Italy's most famous fork manufacturer aims directly at the high profile, high performance enduro race scene but it needs patience to reveal its potential.

READ MORE >>

YT Tues downhill bike

The new Tues downhill bike is here – and won a World Cup on its first outing While a number of big brands have launched 29er downhill bikes,YT Industries are sticking with proven 650b wheels – for now, at least. The latest Tues comes in five sizes (S-XXL), with the biggest sporting a reach of 495mm. Head tube and chainstay lengths now vary between sizes, to put the rider in a better position on the bike. The S-L bikes have 435mm stays, while the XL and XXL are a shade longer, at 440mm. Reach is longer than last year on some sizes, including the XL ridden to victory by Aaron Gwin at this year’s openingWorld Cup round.A reachadjust headset can be used to tailor the fit further. YT have also made subtle but significant changes to the suspension. The initial stroke is said to be more sensitive, while there’s more mid-stroke support, to sit the bottom bracket a shade higher when on track.YT have decreased end-stroke progression, by five per cent, to make tackling really big hits th...

READ MORE >>