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I do not work for WB, but I live nearby and ride several of their forks. I stopped by to chat a few days ago and heard that they had filed their patent paperwork, which meant that they could stop being so tight-lipped about what they'd been working on.
It also meant that after a year of riding on, loving, and wanting to spout off about how amazing this damper is, not only could I finally spill the beans but I finally knew what it was that I'd been riding on.
When I asked for an explanation of how it worked, I understood it but then I found that I couldn't explain it myself without getting tangled up in words. So I copied this blurb from an email correspondence with one of the powers-that-be at WB.
The new White Brothers damper (initially available for XC application) combines the benefits of a true open bath damping system with an intelligent magnetic valve (patent pending) that prevents bobbing on hills and during sprints but allows the fork to be fully active when it hits bumps.
Open bath damping relies on a relatively large volume of oil, making it immune to unwanted changes in damping response due to temperature/volume effects (e.g., 'fade' during long technical descents). It is equally insensitive to loss of small quantities of oil and provides automatic, continuous bushing lubrication in the damper leg. There is less background stiction in an open bath damper because it does not require as many seals as cartridge or twin piston dampers. The revolutionary new White Brothers damper is one of the few true open bath dampers with both compression and rebound adjustments on the same fork leg.
The heart of the damper is a magnetically-actuated compression valve (patent pending). When the fork hits a bump, vertical acceleration 'shock force' produces a sudden 'spike' in damper pressure. However, this spike or peak in pressure fades quickly--long before the bicycle wheel has finished traveling over the bump. Unlike typical sprung valves, the White Brothers magnetic valve 'senses' the pressure spike and then holds the damper compression circuit open until the bump is finished. This prevents any harshness during the bump. This is the clear advantage of the White Brothers magnetic valve over other advanced bicycle damping systems, the fact that the magnetic valve, once it is activated by the pressure spike, stays open during the entire bump and closes simultaneously with the rebound flow of the oil. This ensures that the White Brothers fork will be fully active during very small and very large bumps, and that the valve will close simultaneously with the end of the bump. Since the magnetic valve works off of the pressure spike and the flow of the oil to be activated and to close, the White Brothers magnetic valve cannot be tricked by different riding situations, thereby providing exactly the performance you want, when you want it. Because the pressure spike does not occur when the rider stands up to climb or sprint, the valve lets very little oil through the compression circuit, eliminating unwanted 'bobbing'.
The magnitude of the pressure spike that accompanies a bump varies with the weight distribution on the bike (e.g., the weight of the rider and gear), so the White Brothers damper has an indexed knob at the crown to adjust the compression response to suit the individual rider.
I'm guessing that there will be several of these available to be demo'ed at the on-dirt in Vegas in a few weeks. I'm also guessing that they will be available for purchase by the end of this year. I know that they will be retrofittable to all current BW forks--the ones that I'm riding were retro'd into my existing forks.
So there you have it. I can't answer tech questions about it, but I'd be happy to chime in about how it responds on the trail, going up, going down, durability, etc...
And I can't guarantee it, but maybe if people ask tech questions here one of the engineers from WB will be able to respond.
MC
It also meant that after a year of riding on, loving, and wanting to spout off about how amazing this damper is, not only could I finally spill the beans but I finally knew what it was that I'd been riding on.
When I asked for an explanation of how it worked, I understood it but then I found that I couldn't explain it myself without getting tangled up in words. So I copied this blurb from an email correspondence with one of the powers-that-be at WB.
The new White Brothers damper (initially available for XC application) combines the benefits of a true open bath damping system with an intelligent magnetic valve (patent pending) that prevents bobbing on hills and during sprints but allows the fork to be fully active when it hits bumps.
Open bath damping relies on a relatively large volume of oil, making it immune to unwanted changes in damping response due to temperature/volume effects (e.g., 'fade' during long technical descents). It is equally insensitive to loss of small quantities of oil and provides automatic, continuous bushing lubrication in the damper leg. There is less background stiction in an open bath damper because it does not require as many seals as cartridge or twin piston dampers. The revolutionary new White Brothers damper is one of the few true open bath dampers with both compression and rebound adjustments on the same fork leg.
The heart of the damper is a magnetically-actuated compression valve (patent pending). When the fork hits a bump, vertical acceleration 'shock force' produces a sudden 'spike' in damper pressure. However, this spike or peak in pressure fades quickly--long before the bicycle wheel has finished traveling over the bump. Unlike typical sprung valves, the White Brothers magnetic valve 'senses' the pressure spike and then holds the damper compression circuit open until the bump is finished. This prevents any harshness during the bump. This is the clear advantage of the White Brothers magnetic valve over other advanced bicycle damping systems, the fact that the magnetic valve, once it is activated by the pressure spike, stays open during the entire bump and closes simultaneously with the rebound flow of the oil. This ensures that the White Brothers fork will be fully active during very small and very large bumps, and that the valve will close simultaneously with the end of the bump. Since the magnetic valve works off of the pressure spike and the flow of the oil to be activated and to close, the White Brothers magnetic valve cannot be tricked by different riding situations, thereby providing exactly the performance you want, when you want it. Because the pressure spike does not occur when the rider stands up to climb or sprint, the valve lets very little oil through the compression circuit, eliminating unwanted 'bobbing'.
The magnitude of the pressure spike that accompanies a bump varies with the weight distribution on the bike (e.g., the weight of the rider and gear), so the White Brothers damper has an indexed knob at the crown to adjust the compression response to suit the individual rider.
I'm guessing that there will be several of these available to be demo'ed at the on-dirt in Vegas in a few weeks. I'm also guessing that they will be available for purchase by the end of this year. I know that they will be retrofittable to all current BW forks--the ones that I'm riding were retro'd into my existing forks.
So there you have it. I can't answer tech questions about it, but I'd be happy to chime in about how it responds on the trail, going up, going down, durability, etc...
And I can't guarantee it, but maybe if people ask tech questions here one of the engineers from WB will be able to respond.
MC
