Subscribe to Bike Magazine Bike Magazine Print Subscription Bike Magazine Digital Subscription

Now, Hold on a Dadburn Manitou SPV Minute, will ya?

OK, now, in the instance of higher amplitude forces, like rock impacts, the static pressure holding the SPV closed is offset, and it pops open and allows oil to dump unimpeded through the valve, which makes for plush, bump eating mid-stroke performance. But then, as the shaft progresses through its travel, oil is displaced and the pressure exerted on the SPV tries to push it closed again, which creates a progressive hydraulic ramp up against bottoming out.

That’s SPV in a nutshell. There’s a floating piston in the damper, which is controlled by air pressure and volume. The breakaway threshold of the suspension can be tuned by adjusting this air pressure (not to be confused with air pressure as a spring), and the rate of progression toward bottom-out can be altered by changing its volume. The air pressure and volume adjustment is very similar to that found on 5th Element shocks.

Still reading?

So, the Cliff Notes version is that SPV is designed to be stiff for pedaling but still plush and compliant in bumpy terrain. That’s the theory, anyway. There will be three models of SPV forks released sometime this summer, the Minute One, Two and Three (all with 30-mm stanchions and Reverse Arch design, between 100- and 130-mm travel, ranging in weight between 3.4 and 4 pounds, air or coil springs, disc brake only, targeted at somewhere above $500 retail), in addition to two air sprung rear shocks (a 340 gram, four-way adjustable piggyback, and a 255 gram, three way adjustable inline unit), and three coil sprung rear shocks (14-mm diameter shafts, a 350-gram three-way inline, 445 gram four-way piggyback, and a 500-gram six-way adjustable piggyback. All those weights are without springs). At the South Mountain brainwashing session, after we all received mandatory identification tattoos on our scalps, we were set out on Giant VT all-round trailpig bikes equipped with SPV shocks and forks. We were then told to “go out and just ride hard, take stupid lines, and hit big rocks”.

Reader Comments 
Posted Mon Mar16, 2009, 10:49 PM — By jj
whatever
Posted Sat Jan23, 2010, 4:42 PM — By luis miguel
hey.... i have a question about spv in mtb forks......the thing is do you think they work better that a fork with a block sistem...????? mine is a skareb spv it is a good fork ????? thanks

Add Comment
Name (Required):
Email (Required, will not be shown to public):
Comment (Required, max chars: 1024):
You have characters left.