Fox Dwell Valve Neo Brings Quick Wi-fi Suspension Management to Air or Coil Shocks

On the floor, the overall thought of Dwell Valve Neo is identical, nevertheless it goes about it in a extra easy and common method. Most clearly, the system is now with none wires. That’s because of Fox’s in-house wi-fi communication protocol which is claimed to ship indicators from the fork and rear sensors to the controller “in round one millisecond.” Fox factors out that the latency, or delay of knowledge switch for normal Bluetooth may be as much as 200 milliseconds.

That pace means a Dwell Valve Neo system can sense a bump after which open the controller on the shock in about 1/seventieth of a second.

You’ll additionally discover that the Neo system doesn’t embrace any electronics for the fork, solely a fork sensor that’s appropriate with many various brake calipers. The place the unique Dwell Valve system tried to lock out and management the fork in addition to the rear shock, Fox has designed Neo solely across the Float X and DHX rear shocks that are meant for Path and All-mountain driving. They declare that almost all of on-trail effectivity is gained from the rear suspension, and “any delay within the Opening of a fork’s compression circuit — even 1/seventieth of a second — could be noticeable to riders.”

In comparison with Gen 1 Dwell Valve, Neo additionally features a new high-flow solenoid with a 2-position magnetic latch. That is stated to maneuver quicker than a motor, with the additional advantage of being quiet. Fox additionally states that pitch detection has been improved, particularly for path switchbacks with an incline sensor constructed into the fork sensor.

Consequently, Dwell Valve Neo can also be appropriate with almost any suspension fork, not simply these from Fox. Merely mount the fork sensor to the entrance brake caliper, and also you’re all arrange entrance. There’s additionally a sensor mounted to the rear brake caliper. Together with the rear shock, Neo consists of simply three bodily elements – 4 in case you contemplate the Fox App (which isn’t wanted whereas driving).

Dwell Valve Neo additionally depends on the identical lithium battery and charger that’s used for the Switch Neo, with USB-C charging. These batteries have a claimed run time of 15-20h on the Dwell Valve Neo shock, whereas the sensors make the most of commonplace CR2032 coin cell batteries which have a life expectancy of about one 12 months.

Just like the Switch Neo, Dwell Valve Neo has a Shake to Wake characteristic which is able to activate routinely when the bike strikes and the suspension is compressed. The controller will flip off routinely if nothing occurs for 5 minutes. The battery stage is displayed on the system energy button with 4 coloured LEDs, and in case you occur to fully drain the battery whereas driving, the shock will default to the open place.

How Dwell Valve Neo Works

The Dwell Valve Neo shocks solely have two modes, Open and Agency. As a result of the system can change backwards and forwards virtually immediately, there’s no want for a center setting. With a sensor on the entrance and rear brake, every solely transmits a sign when the shock must open.

After receiving that command, Neo opens the 2-position magnetic latching solenoid and permits the shock to work unimpeded. At that time, Neo additionally begins a timer. If the sensors transmit one other sign to open throughout that timer, it resets and begins once more. If the sensors don’t ship any extra indicators as a result of the path has smoothed out, the timer expires and the solenoid closes to agency the shock. The controller can also be programmed to detect when the bike goes airborne, instantly opening the shock to soak up the touchdown.

Fox Bike App

You don’t want it when you’re actively driving, however the Fox Bike App lets you customise the suspension, save suspension settings, and even monitor service primarily based on precise use.

Neo-equipped shocks embrace 5 inventory tunes, every with three states for Climb, Flat, and Descend. Inside every one among these states is a drive threshold that it’s a must to surpass to open the shock, and a timer for a way lengthy the shock will keep open. Customary tune is the one which shall be for many riders in all terrains. Agency and Plush tunes permit riders to err to the firmer or plusher aspect for his or her liking, and Open retains it open on a regular basis, whereas Closed retains it closed on a regular basis besides when touchdown a drop or bounce.

Along with these 5 tunes that are arrange and able to go, riders can create their very own tunes utilizing Precision Mode to individually management each metric. The app can retailer infinite tunes, and you’ll share them with pals all over the world by the app.

Evidently three ‘Lively’ tunes are shortly accessible by the button on the rear shock, whereas further tunes may be loaded by the app. The shock additionally has a tool-free Agency Mode adjuster with seven positions to manage the firmness of the shock platform when the solenoid is closed.

Chilly Climate Efficiency

Fox particularly calls out chilly climate efficiency with Neo stating, “The Dwell Valve Neo Controller will enhance the power utilized by the solenoid throughout colder environmental temperatures to make sure sustained exercise within the system.” This sounds prefer it makes use of extra energy to create warmth which is able to maintain the oil at a constant working temperature. Fox does state that chilly climate use will drain the battery quicker.

Shocks

Initially, Dwell Valve NEo shall be accessible on the Float X air and the DHX coil shocks in each commonplace and Trunnion eyelet mounts. To us, it makes the DHX coil particularly intriguing contemplating it ought to supply an unimaginable steadiness of coil efficiency and pedal platform, whereas solely including 22g over the air shock.