[Korbinm2772]

Iv never had this fork, iv only fox until now. I don’t know if this is normal for these forks but it sags about 20mm under its own weight, except even when I unweight the fork and lift the front end up it still doesn’t come out. The only way I can get this extra travel out is to grab the uppers and push the lowers down. The moment I let go it goes right back in so this travel is not usable. I thought that was interesting because my foxes did that but maybe only 1 or two millimeters, not 20.

also the fork rides super stiff over tech, was wondering how I could get it to ride better. I’m running around 30% sag (not counting the 20mm inside the fork) both compression diles all the way open and OTT all the way sensitive.

it just riders so ruff over rocks, it’s brand new as of the beginning of the year. It is a 170mm 29er and somehow my old 2018 fox 36 performance 160 27.5 rode way better through tech, anytime. Slow speed, fast DH, ect…

My rear is a dvo topaz 170mm travel and I have no complaints. Rides way better than my old fox rear!

 

[WhatsUpcountry]

What pressure are you running? If you're running really low pressure then it's possible that the OTT spring is what's sucking it down. A quick way to check this is to turn the OTT all the way to the minus (less sensitive) and if the fork sucks down significantly less then it's the OTT pulling the fork back down. Also make sure there's not a vacuum in the lowers by using the vent buttons on the lowers.

If it's a new fork it may need a lowers service, a lot of forks are badly prepped from the factory and DVO is no exception. If it's the 36mm stanchion version there's lots of folks on here who had tight bushings which would need to be burnished (I don't know if there's enough of the 38mm forks in the while to say whether or not that's an issue there). New forks also can take some time to wear in so it may resolve itself with time.
The stock damper tune is fairly heavy on the compression compared to other stock tunes I've ridden. if the issue isn't friction from lack of lube or tight stanchions you might want to look at retuning the damper. For me, the fork definitely performs best when ridden hard but YMMV.

 

[p0is0n0ak]

So I have this fork and it should not sag 20mm unweighted. This is likely related to OTT. OTT and air pressure have to match or weird things like you describe happen. I set my 160 mm fork at 20%. To achieve this I have 76# of pressure; for my weight, the DVO set up guide recommends 84#. To set the OTT, I checked the chart for the recommendations at 76# and use that number. (Remember to set OTT with no air in the fork.) The rebound and HSC are also set to the 76# recs; though, I tend to run a slightly faster HSC depending on which trail I'm riding, and I tend to keep the rebound on the slower end of the recs. The fork is really supportive and responsive through rock gardens.

I think 30% is too much sag for this fork and having the HSC wide open likely means you are blowing through the travel and riding in the ramp up. DVO set-up is a different animal, but once you dial it in, the fork is a blast.

 

[Korbinm2772]

So I have this fork and it should not sag 20mm unweighted. This is likely related to OTT. OTT and air pressure have to match or weird things like you describe happen. I set my 160 mm fork at 20%. To achieve this I have 76# of pressure; for my weight, the DVO set up guide recommends 84#. To set the OTT, I checked the chart for the recommendations at 76# and use that number. (Remember to set OTT with no air in the fork.) The rebound and HSC are also set to the 76# recs; though, I tend to run a slightly faster HSC depending on which trail I'm riding, and I tend to keep the rebound on the slower end of the recs. The fork is really supportive and responsive through rock gardens.

I think 30% is too much sag for this fork and having the HSC wide open likely means you are blowing through the travel and riding in the ramp up. DVO set-up is a different animal, but once you dial it in, the fork is a blast.

Thanks, I’ll play around with OTT. I was originally running about 15-20% sag, not counting the 20mm stuck in the fork. It was way too stiff. It’s still stiff but better now that I lowered the air pressure for 30% sag. I am thinking about getting a fox 36 or 38. I miss how sensitive and good my fox absorbed stuff when going through something like a rock garden. Seems like my dvo is just so dam stiff I just bounce around instead of compressing on the rock gardens. Which is why I run both compression open and OTT all the way sensitive to try and get it as soft as I can. It’s great on the flow but I do feel like I can’t charge through rocky sections as fast or hard with my front end bouncing around off rocks. My rear dvo shock feels great on the other hand!

 

[p0is0n0ak]

Yeah, I had a similar thing happen with my Onyx when I first got it. It would sag under it's own weight and have an annoying top out knock. I discovered that my OTT was too sensitive for the air pressure. FWIW, here is my set up:

Fork: DVO Onyx 160 mm
Bike: SC Bronson 4.1
Rider: 210 lbs
Air pressure: 76 lbs/ 20% sag
OTT: -2 turns from full sensitive
Rebound: 12 clicks from closed
HSC: 4-7 clicks from open (depending on trail)
LSC: 0-1 clicks from open (depending on trail)

I have fiddled around with set up a bit and always come back to this base set up. I ride in the N. Bay Area of CA and my main trails are Rockville, Skyline, Annadel, and Tamarancho, all of which feature a mix of hard pack clay, baby head rock gardens, and the occasional loam. I find the fork set up above soaks up big hits like they weren't even there and stays active and supple through the chunder while being stiff enough to muscle up and over larger rocks. I found out the hard way that having my HSC wide open was no bueno- blowing through the stroke behind a square edge rock keeps my wheel from punching over. With the front wheel at a dead stop, my kinetic energy continues on, spilling me to the ground in a very painful imitation of a scorpion.

Oh and I know you probably know this, but it is important to adjust the OTT at 0 psi. I like to cycle through the range a few times before the final adjustment, avoiding the full open or full closed torque. So for me, I wind the OTT in and as soon as I start to feel tension, I back it off 2 turns and air up.

Anyways, good luck. I hope you get it sorted out.

 

[DawnVoyager]

(dupe)

 

[DawnVoyager]

also the fork rides super stiff over tech, was wondering how I could get it to ride better. I’m running around 30% sag (not counting the 20mm inside the fork) both compression dials all the way open and OTT all the way sensitive.

it just riders so ruff over rocks, it’s brand new as of the beginning of the year. It is a 170mm 29er and somehow my old 2018 fox 36 performance 160 27.5 rode way better through tech, anytime. Slow speed, fast DH, etc…

Can sympathize-- seems I have the same "all hits are hard" problem with my Diamond (same damper and similar air spring). Were you able to figure it out?

Have eliminated friction or hydro-locking in bushings/top seals, air spring, and damper. Nothing about any of the settings, including air pressure, seems to touch the issue. All the seals are fine and there's no oil problem. Still to investigate is the shim stack, or maybe something odd about the air spring design or piston position.

There's about 50mm mid-travel that feels great, which is promising.
It feels for all the world as if there's a big volume token above the air piston, but I only found the usual 5mL of oil in there.

Ideas or suggestions for investigation welcomed!

 

[Mr Empty Pants]

If you need another data point I run close to the same as p0si0n0ak, but I have about 10 more clicks of rebound. I went with the recommendations from Ibis for my initial setup and fine tuned from there. Included a pic of the pressure table from Ibis.


I weigh 215lbs.
Bike is a Ripmo AF
Pressure: 70 psi
Rebound: 8 Clicks from open
OTT: 12 Turns
HSC: Two turns from open
LSC: 1-2