[Closed] Why does no one have DT Swiss forks?

DT EXM 150mm owner here, fantastic fork, Much better than the Fox unit that came on my HT. As soon as I can afford to I will be putting a DT Swiss on that too

Like them but they always seem a bit too expensive for me. Seems the XMM 140s come in at about £500 for the thru-axle ones. Broadly comparable revs can be found at under £300. Plus I know lots of places which work on RS/Fox (TF Tuned, Loco, Mojo etc), not so many for DT.

I've not got them coz they never seem to be on offer. All my [s]forks[/s] parts are bought in sales.

Probably because they are bloody expensive and don't appear on many off the shelf bikes

I don't think DT ever shook off the connection with PACE. When pace sold off that side of the business there were struggling with build and reliability issues. DT did nothing about changing the look of the product and even give the forks similar ID's. They might be totally different inside and be a good forkbut they still look like PACE items to me.

Another fork that falls into this catagory is Magura, they always get good write ups but you never see many around, plus they can cost double that the equavilent RS

mtb is about form over function, ie Rock Shox and Fox. A few a fallen by the wayside because they got a reputation for being crap, Manitou. Some others due to not being oem, not being cheap, availabilty etc just don't appear all that often. DT, Magura, White Bros etc etc.

Cause they are flippin expensive

Mine came on a new bike, XRM 100s. Lovely forks, a whole lot more user friendly than RS XX that I'd test ridden, nice and simple. Am impressed with them.

I know what people mean about the price and I like a bargain but found mine for £450 with Thru Axel which was not much more then the Rev RLT's I had (which turned out not to be quite a 'new' as I thought) and much less then I could get a new set of Floats for. Even at full price they're similar to Fox aren't they?

I had a set of Pace RC40's back in 2006 and loved them. Never had a problem with them so guess my view is not tainted? The DT's might look similar at first look but are very different close up.

Like I mentioned before, performance wise I think my new DT's are better then the other two. Have others tried them and not got on with them or just never even had a look?

I'll freely admit that, as a practising tart, I wouldn't really consider them 'cos they're so bloody ugly.

There's no getting away from their Pace History, where to be fair a bit of development was still in progress while products were released...

They are seen as expensive and a bit more boutique/rare this is perhaps un fair as to be honest Marz/Manitou/RS/Fox seem to be charging the Earth for their more "Mainstream" products too now...

promotion, DT don't seem to push these products half as hard as RS/Marz, they're probably more interested in the higher end OEM market and Aftermarket anyway, but both are a bit of a challenge when your up against the other Big 4 listed above...

Out of interest who is the biggest supplier of bicycle forks (OEM and/or After market?)

I don't think DT ever shook off the connection with PACE. When pace sold off that side of the business there were struggling with build and reliability issues. DT did nothing about changing the look of the product and even give the forks similar ID's. They might be totally different inside and be a good forkbut they still look like PACE items to me.

Another fork that falls into this catagory is Magura, they always get good write ups but you never see many around, plus they can cost double that the equavilent RS

Out of interest who is the biggest supplier of bicycle forks (OEM and/or After market?)

They are eye-wateringly expensive at full price, and as they are OEM on very few bikes you don't tend to see them cheap online.

We dont seem to have customers asking for them for a start.
they are overly expensive, my past experience with them was that they were unpredictable, either ultra plush or never worked properly.

From what Ive seen most people buy them when they are massively reduced on-line.
Dont see them much advertised.
So not much incentive to stock them when you will only sell them when discounted for less than you paid, and nobody is asking to buy them
Same with Magura, we dont bother with any of their kit either.

As above, some of us haven't forgotten the unrealiability of our Pace forks.

Same reason why were not committed to Commencal and Kona. Id like to but no one asks about them and we only sell them at the end of season when discounted.

For me they've never appealed because of price, more limited servicing options and yes, aesthetics. I also suspect their profile is perceived as less 'cool' and possibly 'sick' than Fox and RS.

They apear to be aimed at the XC Race market, which is a bit too niche

Magura Thor's here, but bought in a sale. Very happy with them, a lot of miles and serviced/warrentied easily.

I've bought a few forks, but again only in sales - the rrp is scary on most.

ransos +1 (though in my case, it was friends direct experiences with them)
and unlike when SRAM took over Rockshox, DT Swiss has done nothing to improve this rep in my eyes.

As an aside, does anyone believe there's room in the market for another "Big" fork manufacturer?

That is to say some one other than the big 4 competing for a chunk of the same markets?

Or are other brands (DT, X-fusion, Society, RST, White Bros, Maverick, etc, etc) consigned to either "Niche"- High price, high function, questionable reliability, or simply "cheap"- heavy, basic function again with questionable reliability...
The only exception to both groups perhaps being Magura who seem to have established a very good reputation with a pretty small OEM or aftermarket presence....

Is the market just stacked against DT forks ever becoming big selling, mainstream products no matter how good they are?

This is only really based on my own perception of the forks market, and those in it.

Perception and fact seldom tie up....

I got some XMC130s from the classifieds on here and absolutely love them. Had (albeit a tad worn) Revs on my HT before them and the XMC is waaaay better.

Never considered them before because of price, I wouldn't buy a brand new Fox/RS either but you see more of them second hand and often as good as new.

I didnt know the Pace history. I like the black and white livery a lot, do think you see them more on race bikes, cant remember ever seeing a big burly set.

It's almost certianly price as for the cost of DT's you can get some top of the line RS or Fox. I only bought my Maguras as I found them new for under £300 in the states but I wouldn't pay the £600 they cost here.

Startling difference of opinion between actual owners and those with their heads in the sand harking back to Pace who sold the fork dept, what, 5 or 6 years ago?

I'm more inclined to listen to the owners/users than the naysayers.

Very popular over here in the XC scene, but otherwise non existent from a promotional point of view

XMC 130 user here... half price on CRC, plush as, rare, different to sheep brands, one service a yr...(by Pace out of guilt nowt up with performance)light, stiff.... what's not to like?

cookeaa - Member
As an aside, does anyone believe there's room in the market for another "Big" fork manufacturer?

That is to say some one other than the big 4 competing for a chunk of the same markets?

Or are other brands (DT, X-fusion, Society, RST, White Bros, Maverick, etc, etc) consigned to either "Niche"- High price, high function, questionable reliability, or simply "cheap"- heavy, basic function again with questionable reliability...

X-Fusion seem to be making some inroads at the lower end of the market, they're cheaper (at least in the US) than RS/Fox and getting good reviews.

Unfortunately for them, even if you produce a product cheaply but at a smaller volume, you'll probably still get undercut by OEM/discounted RockShox, and people will always reach for a "premium" brand at a discount before they'll buy something perceived as cheap.

XMC130's here, amazing forks. Best component in my large collection of bikes and components.

I have a set of DT EXM150 forks - they're brilliant. Really stiff, and now even plusher than new, since I just serviced them. Build quality on them seems very good, and nothing like the old Pace forks.

They were also easy to service/work on, once I'd got the correct tool to remove the top caps.

totally loving mine!!

We best not big them up too much as everyone will be getting them then 😉

Forgot to mention earlier, I've had 3 sets of Pace forks in the past which have been faultless. My last pair of RC41 fighters my mates couldn't believe how plush they were....The DT Swiss are even plusher

My last pair of RC41 fighters my mates couldn't believe how plush they were.

Interesting...I had RC41 XCAMs, I much prefer the Fox F120 RLCs I replaced them with.

An added bonus with Fox is that the stanchion hasn't come loose in the crown, thus avoiding a £250 repair. 🙂

This was a couple of years ago but I wouldn't go DT Swiss after watching a chaps RC41 fighters (the v.light 150mm ones?) damper go poop in the Alps - they just didn't seem to be as tough as the RS & Fox forks out there.

Looked nice though (and were light)

I had some 100mm ones on my hardtail and they were very very nice to look at. Incredibly light too but actually felt they were just too light so back to my favourite Fox's.

Iv'e got the Dt carbon XRR 470 rigid 29er forks stiff scary light at 595 grams but they track really really well and smooth out a hell of a lot of trail buzz so much better than the cheap carbon forks and miles better than the on one carbon forks i had my mate marks running the same forks to and he raced d2d for 3rd place without being delicate with zero problems on them so seem bloody strong too

I had a lovely pair of Pace RC36 Pros. Double carbon fibre fork bridges, XT Vs on the back, carbon fibre lowers. Brilliant. I was a proud owner, until all the bolts came undone on the only semi technical bit of the Salisbury Plain Challenge at minus 10 degrees.

Since then I have given up on top of the range, pride of ownership stuff and go for moderately priced reliability. (But they were very nice to look at).

I like the sound of the Society 120mm forks.

Thanks for all the replies. Glad to hear that other owners are as happy with theirs as I am with mine. I know mud sticks but it's a shame people still think of them as Pace as I bet mine do not share a single part with the last Pace forks.

If you have not tried 'em and are in the market for a new set I'd certainly recommend giving DT a go. You might be suprised 😉

Mine are fitted to my Orange 5 btw, so no light weight racing machine.

I'm not really a serial forks buyer but my perception* of them is that they're significantly more expensive than RockShox and Fox- sort of what Assos is to (say) Gore Bike Wear: very nice, but probably not enough to be worth the extra. So they wouldn't be near the top of my shopping list, although I'm sure they're very good.

*This might not actually be true, but perception is everything with these things.

ive had them....they are nice but... not worth what they cost at all, are fugly as hell and i just couldnt get my head around sending anything to pace for a service...

You don't have to send them to Pace for a service. You local shop with a Madison account (so that's all bike shops!) can return them to Madison for a service for you.

Having typed that I'm a happy Pace customer - for both their old forks and their servicing.

Yep no problem at all with Pace servicing here

I think it's because they actually don't really give a damn about british market. Most of my friend who want a light working bike have DT forks. And I will probably go this route in a short time. Right now in my LBS I could buy a brand new 150 mm 15mm axle magnesium DT fork for 480€ (basic version no launch control). Or I could buy a 620 € one with plenty of [s]useless[/s] fancy feature or even a 1200€ Fox float. Seeing as they are about the same in term of performances, have a better finish, why should I buy a fox.
On the top of that you may want to add a couple of things. On the other side of the channel, we are not blessed with the presence of mojo. Fox importer for France is just incompetent (this is as far as politeness allow me to go). Dt on the other hand ableit being a 25 minute SRX ride from home are very good, very knowledgeable and very friendly. Plus the Rep is very nice, not like the homophobic rep from fox france.
So I think it's a unique UK situation where for example Fox have a massive support and an even better service from the importer. Whereas it is completely different in continental europe.

Exm 150 here - great forks. Has anyone got a link to somewhere I can buy the "pin-spanner" I think it's callled in the service video?

had a man buy a bike at work, brought back the forks 2 weeks later. 2 months later, DT Swiss returned the forks 'fixed'. 2 weeks later, man is back, forks are broken. We replaced with Kashimas instead due to all the trouble.

Avoid....! They make decent enough wheels but dont go near the forks

Bugger, better sell mine quick sharpish 🙄

Had my exm 130 for just over a year nothing gone wrong with them had there first service and they still work 🙂 was serviced by pace too.

My pal's got some 150's on his 305, plush as fu*k they are. He had some oil leakage probs but Pace sorted it (albeit with some 'oohing & aahing') they feel a lot nicer than the (Kashima) Floats on my 5.

Don't know about DT but the two Pace RC41 XCAM forks I own are a pleasure to ride

I have EXC 150's which I bought on sale from the US. I bought them for the weight, reliability (200 hour service interval) and the carbon finish. Given how they perform I really have no idea why Fox are so popular; and there certainly was a period when a lot of Fox forks seemed to be going wrong; but could do no wrong in reviews, in the same way that a non-Fox fork would have been slammed. Fickle bunch us mtb'ers I guess. I'll probably get another set when funds allow.

On my second pair of Dt Swiss forks now and absolute love them. Started off with XMC 130's that i got second half off my bro and there still buttery smooth as when they were first bought 4 years ago. I've bought EXM 150's for my new build because of how good the 130's were. There proper fit and forget forks.

I don't understand some of the comments on here. People going on about price when new Fox forks are way more expensive compared to DT swiss and don't need servicing every 15hrs compared to 200hrs service intervals for the DT swiss.

You can't make a comparison between the dampers used by Pace and now used by DT! DT now run 2 types of damper > the single/twin shot style dampers, which were designed purely by DT and launched in 2010, and the LC2 (Launch Control 2) damper, which was based on the the old Pace damper BUT improved and reliability increased, also launched in 2010.

Forget comparisons between Pace and DT forks!

So it seems that one of the main reason that people don't buy DT forks in the UK is the lack of effort DT go to to promote them here and the thought that they're too costly.

Would more people use them if DT had a big promotional push and offered some discounts to retailers or would they stick to RS/Fox?

Must admit I probably wouldn't have looked at them if I hadn't liked my Pace so much.

For my part I simply cannot get over the massive price hike between the 2006 Pace RC41 (£539) and the DT Swiss assembled version (circa £800).

That's my main reason for buying Rockshox and not DT.

Absolutely nothing wrong with Pace design or engineering. In fact, lots right with it. Quality control is where they let themselves down. So different company, different QC = win.

They reason I don't have them is that they were £750 when I was looking, no specials around.

£455 quid

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/36245/DT_Swiss_EXM_150_15mm_Forks_2010

Got my 2011 XMM 140 Twin Shots for £449 from a bike shop in Sheffield. Think they might have some left but couldn't say for sure.