Formula Selva C Fork review

This is a 170mm travel Formula Selva C (coil) fork. I opted to go with 170mm version because Formula forks have shorter axle-to-crown lengths for their given travel. So although I’m running 10mm more travel than the bike (Orange Switch 6) is designed for, the fork length is only about 2mm longer.

• Price: from £849.99 (plus £45 for additional CTS valves)
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• From: Elro Distribution
• Tested by: Benji for 4 months

Pros

• Loads of grip and support
• Beautiful damping feel
• Simple DIY custom tuning via CTS valves

Cons

• Recommended spring for my weight was too firm
• Combined low and high speed compression may irk some riders

We live in an age of bouncy duopoly. Almost every mountain biker out there has either a fork with ‘Fox’ or ‘RockShox’ written on it. They are known knowns. And, let’s be frank, aftermarket FoxShox forks work really, really well. They are safe suspension selections.

Why would anyone opt to go with an alt. brand? To my mind, there are two immediate reasons: price and function. (There are also reasons such as weight saving, and just having something boutique for the sake of it, but I’ll skip over those for now).

Price then. Whilst the Formula Selva C’s price tag of £850 is not exactly small change, it is sadly cheaper than premium level enduro forks from FoxShox. It is however the same price as the excellent Marzocchi Bomber Z1 Coil.

Which leaves us with function. Does the Formula Selva C offer any more function performance and/or adjustabilty compared to the aforementioned Marzocchi Bomber Z1 Coil? The relative performance I’ll get into shortly. In terms of adjustment, there’s not a lot in it out-of-the-box. Ostensibly, both forks offer preload, rebound, lockout and a single compression dial (the Selva’s is indexed, the Bomber’s is a stepless sweep).

It’s worth pointing out that the single compression dial sweep on the Bomber just adjusts low speed compression. The 12-click indexed compression dial on the Selva C jointly adjusts low speed compression (LSC) and high speed compression (HSC).

Now then, I can imagine some folk not really liking the idea of conjoined compression adjustment. And it does indeed limit mid-ride setup tweaks eg. tweaking your compression to deal with an upcoming rooty bit, or a super steep slomo bit. Having said that, it is a form of high speed compression adjustment and you don’t get HSC adjustment on a lot of rival forks at all. You win some, you lose some. After my time testing the Selva C, I’m happy to trade in low speed compression adjustment exclusivity if it means I get access to Formula’s CTS tuning options.

Crucially, with the Selva C you get two compression tune circuits to choose from (Gold and Blue). Gold is the ‘cornerstone’ all-rounder setting. Blue is the ‘comfort and support’ setting. Called ‘CTS’ valves (Compression Tuning System), there are actually eight CTS circuits you could opt for in total. They cost £45 each, or you can get the complete set for £205.

In terms of the CTS circuits supplied, the Gold CTS is essentially firmer duirng slow speed forces but still ‘swallowy’ and linear once it’s dealing with bigger impacts. Whereas the Blue CTS is sort of the opposite; very active/supple on slow speed but a bit more ‘rampy’ and progressively damped on bigger hits.

With CTS, it’s pretty much like having the ability to custom tune your bike yourself. You don’t need to the take the fork apart, at all. Just unscrew one CTS and plug in another one.

For whom it may concern, for a lot of the perma-autumnal test period, I opted to run the Silver CTS (‘maximum comfort’). For a lighter rider tackling slippery conditions, this setup offered amazing levels of keep-me-upright traction. I would say that the supplied Blue CTS is very similar. And the supplied/pre-installed Gold CTS is the default cicrcuit for a reason; it’s a brilliant all-rounder. I’d be happy enough just using the Gold CTS all the time if I had to. But I don’t have to, so I’ve been enjoying the CTS swapping. It’s quick, no mess, makes a real difference on-trail and is just… fun to mess with.

Regardless of what CTS was installed, the compression adjustment range on offer was broad. And I find that on coil sprung suspension you can run relatively high levels of LSC without inducing much harshness. You get more support, more feedback. Which admittedly can be tiring after a while but it’s different to the feeling simply being harsh or skittish.

The rebound range on offer is pleasingly broad; for once it is possible to set the rebound too fast.

One caveat I have about these class-leading forks is that the recommended coil spring weight didn’t work for me. At 73kg, Formula suggests a Soft spring (65-75kg) but I ended up running Super Soft (55-65kg). Make sure you buy your Selva C from a place that’s prepared to help you out with trying different springs. It’ll be more than worth it.

In terms of traction, the Selva C is amazing. Those unfortunate enough to have borne witness to several of my preaching suspension sermons will know that I like a coil. It might be my age but I really appreciate comfort and support in times of need. And that’s what coil spring suspension offers me.

Traction is especially noticeable on cambers and corners but it is also during straight line braking where I noticed improvements over rival 35-36mm stanchion forks. Despite the Selva C slightly but definitely flexing backwards under heavy braking there was little to no detectable binding or stuttering to be felt; the suspension action was still free-moving and keeping tyre contact consistently Velcro-like. I’d also suggest that the fork’s slight flex generally helps it track and not-deflect when negotiating rougher corners, cambers and indeed straights.

And I do think their relative slinkiness and minimalist decal aesthetic look really cool to boot.

Overall

Coil sprung forks are few and far between. In reality it’s a two horse race between this fork and the excellent Marzocchi Bomber Z1 Coil. I’m going to give the nod to the Formula Selva C. Both are £850. The Selva packs 170mm of travel into the axle-to-crown distance of a 160mm Bomber. And, much more significantly, the Selva is multiple forks in one package; you can change the essential damping characteristics by swapping out the dinky CTS valve circuits.

In practical terms, I did have my worries about the clockworky-looking top adjusters getting clogged up with muck but that just hasn’t proved to be the case. Back to on-trail performance: just flipping amazing. Fluid feeling, supple AF, bags of support, firm but never harsh, useful on-the-fly damping adjustment.

Review Info

Brand:	Formula
Product:	Selva C Fork
From:	Elro Distribution
Price:	from £849.99
Tested:	by Benji for 4 months

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