FIRST LOOK: Italian Made Suspension From Formula

Back in mid-2012, Formula Italy debuted their first foray into the suspension market; the 33. Although the company has significant experience working with hydraulics and suspension from their moto division, in the mountain biking world, the Formula name has largely been associated with super-lightweight disc brakes. As such, the brand’s announcement that they were delving into mountain bike suspension forks was met with some surprise, particularly given that the market has been well and truly dominated by Fox and RockShox of late. What could the Italians possibly bring to the party that the other brands were not?

As it turned out though, they could bring a lot. Like their disc brakes, the 33 fork proved to offer impressive performance on the trail for its given weight, but perhaps more surprising was just how smooth Formula were able to make 33 fork feel. A combination of exacting tolerances, low-friction seals and a hybrid air/coil spring system offered a very plush stroke and responsive travel. Despite the 33 forks smooth on-trail performance though, it is still targeted as a lightweight XC/trail fork, at a time when many riders out there are looking for something a little tougher and a little longer. 12 months after the 33’s release, Formula dropped its bigger and badder brother; the 35.

“In standard and EX travel options, the Formula 35 fork is the perfect all mountain and enduro fork. The 35mm stanchions give the fork unrivalled stiffness while keeping the fork race-light. Both the 29” and 27.5” models are available in long and short travel versions helping to complete our line-up of great performing forks. Magnesium lowers and a unique removable Integrated Locking System (ILS) 15mm axle keep this fork nice and tidy while the hollow crown and hard anodized aluminum stanchions assist in keeping the weight to a minimum. With 20+ years of hydraulic brake design and manufacturing experience to our credit, we went all out with the Drop-In hydraulic cartridge system with Remote Cartridge Control for maximum adjustment and easy maintenance. The new Remote Cartridge Control (RCC) remote lockout for the Drop-In Cartridge System is a simple, lightweight rigid hose that connects the top of the cartridge to the remote lever on your handlebar.” – Formula Italy

The Formula 35 27.5″ Fork features:

• Lightweight Enduro/All Mountain Suspension
• 35mm Stanchions
• 160mm Travel (internally adjustable down to 120mm)
• Designed for 27.5″ wheels (also available in a 29″ version)
• Air Spring w/Dual Coil Technology
• Drop-In Cartridge w/Satellite Switch Adjustment
• Adjustable Rebound (21 Clicks)
• Adjustable High-Speed Compression (24 Clicks)
• Lockout w/Threshold Adjustment
• 7075 Hard Anodized Alloy Upper Tubes
• Hollow Forged Alloy Crown
• QR15 Dedicated Lowers
• Tapered 1.5″ Alloy Steerer Tube
• Offset: 44mm
• Max Rotor Size: 203mm
• Claimed Weight: 1790 grams
• RRP: $1449

The 35 fork has been around for nearly two seasons now, but there are a host of improvements on this new slider compared to the original model. As you can probably guess from the name, the Formula 35 fork uses 35mm diameter stanchions. It’s a chunkier, longer travel version of the 33 fork, which uses 33mm stanchions and a lighter overall construction. The 35 is no heavyweight though, as Formula have used a combination of tapered tubing and hollow forging to reduce as much weight as possible out of the 35’s chassis. The result is a 1790 gram fork, making the 35 the lightest fork in its class for its given travel. As a direct comparison, the Fox 36 fork has a claimed weight of 1970 grams, while a 160mm travel 27.5″ RockShox PIKE is claimed at 1861 grams. That might not sound like a huge difference, but in the world of Enduro racing where you have to carry every gram with you uphill, shaving a small percentage of weight off each component on your bike can add up to a big difference overall.

The 35 fork uses a dual air/coil spring system to support the riders weight. There’s a small blue cap at the top of the left fork leg that covers a standard shraeder valve, which you use to set up the fork’s primary air spring. Deeper inside the fork though is a coil starter spring. When you push down on the fork, it’s this coil spring that you feel first, with the initial travel being incredibly sensitive. Push further into the travel, and the air spring engages, with a smooth transition that allows for seamless performance on the trail. The 35 fork also uses a coil negative spring, which also helps with the forks supple feel. Given that there are 2 steel springs inside the fork, that makes the 35’s weight all the more impressive, especially when other companies typically use an all air system for both their positive and negative springs.

At the top of the right-hand fork leg is an array of coloured damping dials that form the ‘Satellite Switch Adjustment’. Looking more like a high-tech Italian watch than a suspension fork’s damping controls, the Satellite Switch Adjustment allows you to control the fork’s Lockout (Gold Switch), the lockout threshold (2.5mm hex key in the Black Dial) and High-Speed Compression damping (Blue Dial).

The red rebound adjuster dial sits at the bottom of the right-hand fork leg. Inside this fork leg is what Formula refer to as their ‘Drop-In Cartridge’, which means that the damper is contained in a single sealed unit that can be easily removed from the fork for servicing separately.

The 35 fork runs a dedicated 15mm thru-axle system, with an intriguing axle arrangement. The lever itself is merely a handle for a 5mm hex key, meaning that the axle simply threads into the other side of the dropout and tightens down as per normal. You can leave the lever in place, or you can remove it from the fork completely. On our Avanti Torrent CS test bike, this works neatly with the Syntace rear 142x12mm thru-axle, as both share a 5mm hex key to tighten and loosen the axle. Sweet!

The Formula 35 fork is currently strapped to the front of our 150mm travel Avanti Torrent test bike. Check out the recent issue of AMB Magazine for our first look at this big travel All Mountain rig, which will be followed by our longterm review of the 35 fork in early 2016. Initial impressions indicate that this is one very supple performer on the trail, though we’ll be running through some tuning tests to get the damping dialled in for the front end of the Torrent. How will the 35 fork fair in the durability stakes? Stay tuned for the full scoop!

EightyOneSpices

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Email: info@eightyonespices.com.au

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