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Review: X-Fusion Velvet RL 130 suspension fork

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  • 130mm travel.
  • 15mm thru axle.
  • An actual weight of 3.8lb (with thru-axle).
  • External Lockout.
  • External rebound damping adjustment.

Checks all the right boxes, doesn’t it? When looking for a not too long, not too short fork for my 5in trail bike, I came across the longest-travel version of X-Fusion’s Velvet cross country fork and decided to drop the company a line. After all, it looked on paper to be exactly what I was looking for. But how would the Taiwanese company’s flagship compare with the Fox, DT Swiss, and Rock Shox forks that had graced the same bike previously?

Really, amazingly, well as it turns out. Read on to find out more.

Note yet well known in the US, X-Fusion haven’t just come out of nowhere. As the house brand of the manufacturer behind forks most of us have ridden and owned, X-Fusion have a long history in building bicycle suspension, and have clearly incorporated lessons learned on others’ dime in to their own line, which also includes rear shocks and a dropper post. Aimed at both the cross country market (with a 3.25lb, 100mm travel version) and the trail market, the Velvet is X-Fusion’s bread & butter fork.

Out of the box, the Velvet makes a very good impression. The adjuster knobs are all nicely machined and laser etched and the casting is substantial without adding unduly to the fork’s weight. The lowers’ arch will even accommodate 650b front wheels (with an internal travel reducer). The included Syntace X-15 thru axle is a wing bolt like DT Swiss’ RWS- set it once with an a 4mm hex wrench and the lever always lands in the same spot when tightened. There’s even a screw-in hose guide to keep brake hoses from rubbing or catching on the front tire. A substantial shock pump, which looks strikingly similar to Rock Shox’s, is also included. On the scale, the Velvet undercuts not only my 15QR Fox Float 140 RLC by .2lb, but also my (previous generation) 9mm QR RockShox Revelation U-Turn by about the same amount.

Not bad for $410, eh?

While the Velvet lacks some forks’ externally-adjustable compression damping and others’ dual air springs, it can be hard to complain for just over half those forks’ asking price. Setting the air pressure to about 48psi for my 140lb weight means giving up a few mm of travel to an overly stiff (for light riders) negative spring- something that X-Fusion have addressed for 2012 forks. On the trail, the Velvet does an excellent Fox impression: a little bit reluctant to move over gravely bits (making it feel racy or a little bit harsh, depending on your preferences) but very smooth once in motion. A mildly progressive spring curve means that I’m able to get full travel without blowing through it. While I’m not big enough to really test a fork’s torsional stiffness, I was surprised to find the Velvet’s fore-aft stiffness to be among the best I’ve ridden.

Though it can’t match a modern Marzocchi’s hovercraft impersonation or the small-bump sensitivity of some dual air RockShox forks, the gap with the latter is surprisingly small- and may well not be noticed by riders packing another 20lb. For anyone who isn’t, my hope is that the lighter negative spring coming for 2012 will help improve small-bump sensitivity at low pressures. A self-adjusting rebound adjuster healed itself before I could fix it- X-Fusion thought that my experience was the result of an unusually loose detent spring and would have been easy to remedy if needed.

Remarking to a local shop owner, former suspension engineer, and riding buddy on just how impressed I was with the Velvet, he asked “would you be as blown away if it cost $800?” The answer, of course, is no- $800 is a lot of money, and there are some very good options at that price. That said, X-Fusion are punching well above their weight with the Velvet. Sure, the etching on the X-15 thru axle is upside-down and the lockout lever’s implies more adjustability than its two available positions, but nothing that I’ve ridden within $200 even comes close- and ultimately the Velvet feels every bit as good as some forks costing a good deal more than that. The 130mm travel option is an unusual one (80, 100, and 120mm configurations are also available), but would be a great upgrade for 120mm bikes like Trek’s Fuel EX or Giant’s Trance X, allowing the rider to take advantage of the current generation of 15mm trail wheels. It’s light, too, for a trail fork, helping to keep all-day bikes’ weight under control and making the shorter travel and QR versions a good way to shave some serious weight from almost any sub-$2k bike. Given my experience with the Velvet, the big guys had better look out..

marc

www.xfusionshox.com

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stratosrally
stratosrally
12 years ago

650B fans have been digging this companies forks for a while now, as well as those from White Brothers. It’s interesting that the big players in front suspension have been denying support for their forks that have been used with a 650B wheel, even though many riders have checked tolerances and used them with no problems. Way to be supportive, guys – especially since (as you pointed out) something as simple as a travel limiter would typically take care of any lingering concerns.

Fine with me, though – I’m riding rigid!

Jasper
Jasper
12 years ago

makes you wonder how fox and DTswiss can keep a straight face while charging twice as much for the same component.

Greg
12 years ago

Are they really a Taiwanese company? They’re based in Santa Cruz! If they manufacture in Taiwan, then they’re just like almost every bike company out there.

s
s
12 years ago

X-Fusion forks truly are incredible for the cost.

The Taiwanese company that owns them is called Apro-Tek. Their SC locations is their global marketing headquarters.

Vodalous
Vodalous
11 years ago

They’re a subsidiary of a Taiwanese company.

Terry
Terry
11 years ago

The remote operation mechanism for my brand new fork does not function as it should. It is severely flawed in design and operation. My bike mechanic, Mike Colonna, from Edge Outdoors, advised that John Valera, X-Fusion Shox sales/service manager, is instructing him to use a steer tube reamer to modify the remote to work as it already should. This tells us that the remote, and how it was designed to work with the shock, is the result of poor design and an issue dealt with frequently (given the response and instructions to remedy). Being that the remote assembly (your product) is to blame for this significant product malfunction and the result of design flaws, I think it would be more appropriate to correct this with a new, improved remote assembly; one appropriately suited for its intended placement, and the purpose/product for which it was designed. This is not an issue that the mechanic should have to repair, even modify the new shock to make the hardware work properly. Additionally, this is a new shock installed on my new race bike. I sold my other bike when this one was built with the X-Fusion shock. I cannot afford to be inconvenienced by sending the shock back to you, and thereby not having one available for me to use (I race every weekend).

Biketopia
9 years ago

Many “low-end” forks are suprising people with the internals and the quality. Everybody now loves the suntour high-end forks for the low price and great work and the grease instead of the oil in the lowers. But it’s nothing new the rst forks have grease in the lowers for some good years and it’s a good easy to service standard. Also everyone should know that RST forks are the same as Manitou but the manitou forks have the oil in the lowers. And the Marzocchi was made by suntour

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