Fox Live Valve Neo: more fast, less faff

The new version of Fox’s auto-adjusting suspension is here. And it claims to be 20 times quicker than its “closest competitor”.

By “closest competitor” we’re going to take that as meaning RockShox Flight Attendant. Regardless of response speed, the aspect we’re most interested in is whether Fox has moved from its ‘firm-as-default-setting’ stance, or whetyer they’ve gone for a more Flight Attendant-y ‘open-as-default’ philosophy. More about this below.

Oh, it only adjusts the rear shock. Although we would not be surprised if Neo forks will be announced at some point in the future once the system gets even faster. More about this below also.

We are due a Fox Live Valve Neo setup very soon, so in the meantime here’s what we know so far…

In terms of reaction speed, Fox Live Valve Neo reads terrain inputs 400 times per second and adjusts the suspension within 1/70th of a second accordingly.

Neo comms

The wireless communication format Fox uses has been called ‘Neo’. Fox claims Neo to be 100x faster than Bluetooth and 20x faster than its “closest competitor”. This signal speed has enabled Fox to ditch wires.

Fox: “Neo delivers signals from the fork and rear sensors to the controller in around one millisecond. For reference, the latency (delay of data transfer) of Bluetooth can be up to 200 milliseconds.

The whole Neo system in general is apparently also much more fuel efficient than previous Live Valve incarnations, hence the reduction in battery size. Yes, no more small black boxes attached to your bike required.

What is the system comprised of?

Live Valve Neo is made up of four components: fork sensor, rear sensor, controller, and smartphone app.

The fork sensor is mounted to the front brake caliper. Using a built-in accelerometer, it detects the angle of terrain you and the bump force.

The rear sensor is mounted to the rear brake caliper. It just determines bump force (the front sensor already does the terrain angle stuff).

The controller is built into the rear shock, and will switch between two settings of the shock’s compression circuit (Open or Firm) based on data from the sensors. There is no third setting option; “Live Valve Neo can switch between Open and Firm so fast that a ‘middle ground’ setting is not necessary.” A two-position magnetic latching solenoid changes the shock’s compression circuit significantly faster than a motor, and is also pretty much silent. There’s also a tool-free adjuster of the Firm mode (seven positions in total).

The sensors take CR2032 coin batteries. The controller uses a rechargeable battery (same one as used on the new Fox Transfer Neo wireless dropper). If a sensor or controller battery dies during your ride the shock will default to open setting.

The Fox Bike app offers system setup, tutorials, displays the battery level, monitors firmware updates, reports diagnostics and is also where riders can customise the suspension performance to their preference.

When and where Neo changes

Some examples for Fox:

• “Pumping out of corners. The shock may open briefly in the middle of a corner to maintain traction, but bythe time you’re ready to exit the corner, the rear of the bike will be firmer, more supportive, and conducive to pumping for speed.”
• “Getting airborne. If your shock is firm during takeoff from a jump or drop, the Controller will detect that you are airborne after takeoff, and open your shock so it’s ready to absorb when you touch down on the landing.”
• “Riding through a short technical section on an otherwise smooth climb. When climbing, Live Valve Neo defaults to Firm, but after your front wheel encounters its first obstacle, your rear shock can open to absorb the impact, then quickly firm up for power out of the technical section.”

Tunes via phone app

Each Live Valve Neo Tune consists of three states: Climb, Flat and Descend. Each of these states has a force threshold required to open the shock, and a timer for exactly how long it should stay open. If another bump (that exceeds the threshold) is detected during the Open Timer, the timer resets and your shock will stay open.

Neo-equipped shocks will ship with five Tunes. You can create your own within the app also.

Standard – For most rider preferences, in a variety of terrain.

Firm – For riders who prefer a firmer platform, even when encountering small bumps and obstacles on-trail.

Plush – For riders who prefer a softer ride, favouring comfort over efficiency.

Open – Overrides the Live Valve Neo system, keeps your shock Open in all riding scenarios.

Closed – Overrides the Live Valve Neo system, keeps your shock Firm in every riding scenario, except when landing a jump or drop.

Firm or Open as default?

The following is taken from Fox’s FAQ appendix in the press release:

Why do Live Valve Neo shocks always default to a Firm position? Don’t I want my shock to be open when descending?

Creating a system that could default to a Firm position—even while descending—was not easy to accomplish, but we knew it was necessary to capture every moment of efficiency. Live Valve Neo is so accurate and so fast that it can toggle between Firm and Open positions without ever getting in the way of descending performance, even when navigating extremely technical terrain. For riders wary of a Firm shock while descending, Precision Mode can be used to override the system and open a Live Valve Neo shock anytime the bike is pointed downhill.

Why no Neo forks?

Again, from the press release FAQ:

Why did FOX elect not to incorporate a fork into Live Valve Neo?

FLOAT X and DHX Live Valve Neo shocks were designed for the application of Trail and All-Mountain riding, where transitions are extremely quick, and in some cases quite jarring. The overwhelming majority of on-trail efficiency which can be achieved from firm suspension is attributable to the rear shock, and any delay in the Opening of a fork’s compression circuit—even 1/70th of a second—would be noticeable to riders. The insignificant gains in speed efficiency offered by a firm fork are not worth the sacrifice in on-trail performance for the Trail and All-Mountain disciplines.

Pricing and availability

Live Valve Neo is available as an aftermarket upgrade.

Live Valve Neo Product Pricing – a complete system utilises a kit and shock:

· Live Valve Neo Kit: £449.99 (fork and rear sensors, battery, charger, charger cable)

· Live Valve Neo Float X: £1,119

· Live Valve Neo DHX: £1,099

Fox Live Valve Neo

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