A New Fork - DT Swiss OPM Team Edition

I’ve recently been lucky enough to ride a couple of different bikes, which has provided me with the opportunity to compare them against my own Stumpjumper HT. One area where this has really opened my eyes, is the performance of the suspension fork on the other two bikes. Or actually that should be how harsh the ride of my existing Rock Shox SID fork is in comparison. My Rock Shox is fitted with Specialized Brain Fade technology which locks the fork out until the inertia valve detects a bump, at which point it opens to allow the suspension to move. The Brain does a good job of differentiating bumps on the trail from rider input, but it isn’t fool proof. When out of the saddle I like the fork to lock out securely to avoid it ‘bobbing’ up and down, therefore I have the Brain setting fairly firm. This might be a factor in the perceived harshness. To try and maintain the small bump sensitivity what I have ended up doing is using the Brain Fade adjuster more like a convention lock-out, rather than set and forget as it is intended. I back the setting off for descents and turn it up for the climbs, but this largely defeats the purpose of the ‘automatic’ Brain. I have heard that Specialized team riders requested the Brain fade dial was moved to the top of the fork for this very same reason. On race day one of my weaknesses is technical riding and my experiences riding with more supple suspension got me thinking that a more capable, compliant fork might help improve my lap times.

I hit the world wide web for reviews and user feedback on lightweight, compliant cross country forks. The MBR forum repeatedly, time and again came back with the same response, which eventually lead to the decision to swap out my existing Rock Shox for a DT Swiss OPM ODL. That’s a whole lot of acronyms!

OPM : One Piece Magnesium
Describes the lightweight magnesium fork lowers with their distinctive reverse arch. Reviews rave about the advantages of the stiff chassis when tracking through rough terrain.

ODL : Open / Drive / Lock-out
Describes the three compression settings. What attracted me to the fork was the number of reviewers who have commented how supple the fork is descending in Open mode. Drive mode offers increased damping support for technical trails and climbing under power. The lock-out is for bob free climbing and out of the saddle sprints. These modes are selected using the handle bar mounted remote lock-out, which is described on several websites as the best in the business.

This all comes in an extremely race friendly sub 1500g package. As well as the positive reviews, a certain Nino Schurter rode this fork to the 2015 World Championships - and if it is good enough for him....!

Having made the decision, my Rock Shox went onto ebay and all was looking good until the DT Swiss fork went out of stock world wide overnight! Now I didn’t have a bike and with suppliers quoting expected delivery dates like August I thought it was going to be time for plan B. However, at the last minute my contact at Strada Wheels discovered the lesser known Team edition fork in stock at UK distributers Madison. (Thanks Darren!) 300 of these limited edition forks are being made and only a  handful are making it to the UK, so it seems I have lucked out!

DT Swiss OPM O.D.L Team Edition

• 100mm travel
• Weight: 1458g including 15mm axel and handlebar lock-out.
• Carbon tapered steerer
• 15mm RWS axle
• SKF bushings
• Team Edition decals
• Supplied with shock pump

Review coming when I have had a chance to put it through its paces.