Suspension school · Brand-Specific Technology

DVO and OTT: Off The Top Explained

Tuning small-bump sensitivity separately from support

On most air forks, one pressure has to do two jobs: hold you up in the mid-stroke and stay soft enough to absorb small bumps. DVO's OTT (Off The Top) system, the feature behind the brand's bright green hardware, splits those jobs apart.

What OTT Does

OTT is an adjustable preload on a coil negative spring. Winding it on makes the negative spring push harder against the air spring at the top of the stroke, so the fork breaks into its travel more easily and feels suppler over small bumps, without lowering the air pressure that supports you deeper in the travel.

How to Adjust It

• The adjuster is a 5mm hex socket at the base of the air spring leg
• The range is around 14 full turns, with 6 clicks per turn
• DVO recommends adjusting two full turns at a time, then re-riding
• Clockwise increases sensitivity
• The effect is confined to the early stroke and has faded by roughly 30 percent travel

Which Products Have It

• Diamond D1 and D2 trail and enduro forks
• Onyx SC D1 single crown enduro fork
• Sapphire D1 trail fork

Setup Method

• Set air pressure and sag first, with OTT wound mostly off
• Add OTT two turns at a time until the first part of the travel feels supple and the front tyre grips on small chatter
• If the fork wallows or sits low off the top, back OTT off
• Re-tune OTT whenever you change air pressure by more than a few psi, because the balance between the springs shifts

OTT is the same idea as the negative-chamber tuning Öhlins and Formula offer with air, done instead with an external coil preload. It is one of the most genuinely useful adjustments on any fork, and also one of the most commonly ignored, so if you have a DVO fork and have never touched the hex at the bottom of the leg, that is your first job.