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Magura MX Air Damped Shock.. what happened?

3276 Views 5 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Mr.P, Jan 5, 2010

tacubaya

Discussion Starter · Dec 28, 2009

Anyone has info on what happened to this shock, and how does air damping actually works for long downhill runs knowing that air doesn't have a lot of heat capacity?

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nomütze1

· #2 · Dec 29, 2009

As Magura states on their HP... the MX is postponed in 2010.
Priority is set on other projects, as the feedback from manufactures was little.
However they put the MX in the "refrigerator" for the future.
Though the concept seems to be very promising...
...and is found on roadtrains here in Europe...

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Jayem

· #3 · Dec 29, 2009

To be the devil's advocate, maybe by shelving it or "postponing" it they hope we'll forget about it. I too have a hard time believing there would be enough consistancy due to air expansion/contraction.

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Surestick Malone

· #4 · Jan 5, 2010 (Edited)

tacubaya said:
Anyone has info on what happened to this shock, and how does air damping actually works for long downhill runs knowing that air doesn't have a lot of heat capacity?

Heat should actually be less of an issue in an air-damped shock than an oil-damped shock as air is, for all intents and purposes, not going to change viscosity as its temperature changes.
I suspect the biggest obstacle designing an air-damped shock is that the fluid used for damping is compressible which might make the damper act a bit like a spring in some conditions.
FWIW the rubber air chamber thing does seem like a good idea for air shocks on a bike given the dirty environment they operate in.

That said it's been done (Cane Creek & Englund Total-Air) so obviously it's doable. Is it doable to the the standards of todays high-end shocks though? That's the market that Magura seems to aim for with their suspension products.

I find it weird they try to advertise it by saying the technology is used on trucks. I'm sure most trucking companies are looking for cheap, long lasting parts, not performance (cargo can't complain about a bumpy ride). Most of us are looking for performance and are willing to pay for it.

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tacubaya

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 5, 2010

Temperature changes modify air's viscosity too, just because it barely fluctuates in viscocity (15 degrees per 17.9 micropascal second) doesn't mean it's unaffected by heat.

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Mr.P

· #6 · Jan 5, 2010

Surestick Malone said:
I suspect the biggest obstacle designing an air-damped shock is that the fluid used for damping is compressible which might make the damper act a bit like a spring in some conditions.

That said it's been done (Cane Creek & Englund Total-Air) so obviously it's doable. Is it doable to the the standards of todays high-end shocks though? That's the market that Magura seems to aim for with their suspension products.

+1. Air compresses, oil doesn't. A high force event on the shock can compress the air "damping fluid" making it inconsistent across a range of events.

I tried shim stack mods & volume changes on a Cane Creek AD-5. It was very supple on chatter at speed, but even the smallest drops would bottom it.

It would probably be ok for XC, but still not as good as an oil damped shock.

P

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