Just ordered a Ragley Blue Pig frame and want a fork that doesn’t cost the earth and has the ability to drop for extended climbs. I’ve been told that x- fusion basically are as good as Rockshox. Any real world experience out there?

The Pig allows me to run 1 1/8th, tapered or 1.5″ steerer. As the Velvet could come in any of these which would you choose?

Was looking at xfusion last night. The latest reviews seem to be quite favourable.

Indeed they do.

I’ve had the previous model Velvet 130mm on my Kinesis Decade for a while now and I have nothing but praise.

I’ve been doing a lot of steep trails on it recently as I now live in the Austrian Alps and it handles everything I throw at it. Previously I used it around Newbury a lot on long rides.

Not had to do any servicing yet so can’t comment on that.

I have 2 mates with the Vengeance. They in no way match up to a Rockshox- they are by no means a bad product, they’re actually pretty good, but you pay less and get less performance. I’d just get second hand Rockshox.

This months mbr has a review on them give it a 7/10 score with only minor issues etc,for the money don’t think you can go wrong. Buddy of mine has them is pleased with if that’s of any help.
Bats.

I don’t mind spending more on say a Revalation, but I do want instant height drop rather than the u-turn type on Rockshox. As far as I know I’d have to get a Fox for that and circa £750 is too much to spend on this bike.

BTW the bike is to be a play bike with big tyres etc to compliment my Scott Scale race bike.

I don’t want to buy second hand as I’ve done that twice now and always get a rather worn out product.

The revelation dual position works in a similar way to the the new fox talas, as the the fact that you only have to set positions. My xx dual positions are either 150mm or 120mm, very handy for those steep climbs where the front end starts floating all over the place.

Love the idea of that Rev. Reviews pretty damming though.

I love the look of Vengeances, and felt them on the new Enduros, but you can’t buy them barely anywhere here, and so few people have them that none are second hand! I’ve had a search on ebay for about 4 weeks now and none have popped up.

I picked up some 2nd hand vengeance a few weeks back. 2011 HLR model.
Build quality is spot on, good paint tough finish and nicely machined comp adjust protective cap at the bottom. They are extremely stiff as well. In use apart from a bit of initial stiction, they have been superb, very active and the hilo comp adjust means you can keep it plush whilst taking the big hits. I’m very pleased with them, but only had them a few weeks, so cant comment on maintenance. I have taken the lowers off and put some fox fluid on the sponge wipers and greased the seals, stiction appears much better.

I have had Velvet RL2 for few weeks now and they have been really excellent.
The damping feels bit more basic than my previous Fox 32 FIT RLC but Velvet’s are much stiffer feeling, are plusher and the price is excellent. Revelations were not really an option for me as I hate DualAirs and other models were not readily available.

The prices don’t seem that fantastic for either the Velvet or the Vengeance?

Are they any cheaper than say the RS Revelations you can get at Merlin Cycles for around £300???

Not the same model as you’re talking about so not sure how much help this is, but I’m running a the standard Velvet and I’m really pleased with it. I’ve had SIDs, Rebas, Revs and Fox floats in the past (the later 2 15mm & 20mm) and I think the Velvets feel really good in comparison. As stiff as the 20mm Revs (as far as I can push it anyway) and stiffer than all the others and as plush as the rebas (though not quite as plush as the floats). I do really like their simplicity though, as I’m not a fan of the faff of dual air. The damping on the Velvets seems good straight out of the box, but it takes a while to find the right pressure and mine took a while to bed in (though I am light), once they’re there though, they ride great and there’s no faffing! So yeah, thumbs up for me…

Thanks fellas. I’ll give them a go.

Thread resurrection time!! Been looking at the reviews on these forks but I’m really struggling to find anywhere that actually sells them. Think I’ve only found one firm that has them and I’ve never heard of them:-http://www.freeborn.co.uk/x-fusion-velvet-rl-fork-dla-2012
Website doesn’t indicate weather they’re in stock or not and after being bitten by that trick before I’m a bit cautious. So does anyone know of any other sellers??

18 bikes

Hmmm, seems that I have praised them earlier… Currently my opinion is that for the price (1/3 of Fox and way below RS) I think they are good, on an absolute scale just about OK. Mine were warrantied for creaking CSU which was apparently very uncommon for them.

woodchip46 – just got a pair from Freeborn, advert was for the 2012 model, placed order on line in the evening and they rang the next day to say they were waiting on the 2013 model which they would do at the same price but it would take a couple weeks.
Forks turned up with 5 day, running them on a HT, fairly stiff with a 15mm axle (comparable to some Lyrik’s I ran on a previous HT) light, have lockout but no compression adjustment but it feels pretty good, rebound adjustment and the DLA two height position adjustment which changes without having to pump the forks like with a Talas.
I would rate them over RS stuff, but then I am not a fan as I have never been happy with the 4 set I’ve tried.
I had a pair of Fox 180 Talas from Freeborn previously, who seem to be competitive on prices, service appears good and straightforward.

Big fan of the XFusion product, bought some Slants DLA last month and we’ll pleased with them, just a plush as Fox 32Floats and compared to the Fox 34 which I was considering half the price, for the money there’s nothing not to like.

Took my Slants DLA out for their first ride today and they felt great, better than the Fox they replaced.