Forbidden Druid - Avinox Powered

I was surprised to see, that the curve on the dreadnoughtv2 is even higher, although is has more stroke and travel to run into compared to the druidv2... Did you have a special tune on the ext for the dread then? On my Druidv2 the original SuperDeluxe basically had the same "issues" with blowing through travel as the Intend Hover I have in it now.. The feeling in the travel is good on both though.. Maybe it just uses the travel pretty well..
I will try the Vivid, but have an Intend here to test as well with a tune for the core model..
Curious how you get along with intend hover. I am strongly leaning towards getting the Intend flash 35 and the hover is intriguing to match.

That being said, the stock SD on the lite feels really good. I do use the full travel multiple times per ride. It has 4 volume reducers stock , but there are the option for 4 more from what I have gathered.
 
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How do you like Maxima so far?

I am trying Maxima. I've been a Shimano XT fan before.

After trying Maxima a while, I don't think I like Maxima as much as I hoped for because the bite point becomes shorter as I ride rather than giving me consistent bite point that is the same as how it was at the beginning of ride. Given both levers are doing similar, I am thinking that it is normal behavior of Maxima perhaps.

And also it is very powerful to the point that I ended up locking wheels more than I hoped for. While many people complains about Shimano XT to on/off, I've never had any problem to modulate brake before. I am hoping it is just adjustment that I have to make and it will be fine after a while.
The Maxima has been really great so far. I did have some leaking issues with the braided metal hoses it came with, however I replaced the lines and fittings with the kevlar ones and they have been pretty great. I did a week at whistler with them and they felt good and consistent throughout the whole trip. I also think YMMV based on pad/rotor combo. For that trip I was running HS2 rotors with the TS power+ pads, however when I put the maximas on my druid core, I switched the rotors out for the TS 200mm HD rotors and I'd like to say bite point is marginally more consistent however that could also just be placebo effect.

I do think they are a night and day upgrade from Shimano XT/saint as I've always had issues with wandering bite point on every Shimano brake I've ridden. The power is also much more easily accessible with less effort on the maximas which is likely why you are locking up your wheels more easily/often. I think there is definitely a learning/adjustment curve to the maxima feel with how quickly it can lay down power, but once you get the feel for them they are really great. Plenty of situations where I could brake very lay and still maintain plenty of control and traction with the maximas. If you are having issues with wandering bite point on the maximas, may be worth rebleeding the system and doing the caliper bleed to make sure your system is free of any air
 
I have the tier 3 which came with maven base and I am very impressed. They have been super consistent plenty of power zero fade and all with a 200 rotor. So far I have clocked up 350 ks and 12000 metres of elevation. I have 170 airshaft in the zeb and one additional volume reducer making a total of 2. Still playing around with the shock. Bottoms out more frequently than I am comfortable with. 28% sag. But might try some volume spacers and see what that does. It's only the bigger hits that don't feel so great drops to flat etc. The smaller stuff it feels really good
 
I have the tier 3 which came with maven base and I am very impressed. They have been super consistent plenty of power zero fade and all with a 200 rotor. So far I have clocked up 350 ks and 12000 metres of elevation. I have 170 airshaft in the zeb and one additional volume reducer making a total of 2. Still playing around with the shock. Bottoms out more frequently than I am comfortable with. 28% sag. But might try some volume spacers and see what that does. It's only the bigger hits that don't feel so great drops to flat etc. The smaller stuff it feels really good
I agree, I'm running the vivid air in the core 3 build and it defininitely has hard bottom outs on bigger hits, even with the HBO turned up. But I'm just waiting for mounting hardware to run my other coil shock and hopefully that will smooth out the rear end. Already had to warranty the Fox Podium on my bike after a handful of rides sadly but the front end is definitely noticeably more unsettled compared to the podium, what a shocker.
 
I agree, I'm running the vivid air in the core 3 build and it defininitely has hard bottom outs on bigger hits, even with the HBO turned up. But I'm just waiting for mounting hardware to run my other coil shock and hopefully that will smooth out the rear end. Already had to warranty the Fox Podium on my bike after a handful of rides sadly but the front end is definitely noticeably more unsettled compared to the podium, what a shocker.
A coul is part of my plan but for now I just plan to get a good rhythm with the bike. Overall I am super happy and feel like once it's fully dialed this thing will be a real weapon. Sad news on the podiums but it seems you are not alone. X2 all over again. How did they not have this sorted?
 
A coul is part of my plan but for now I just plan to get a good rhythm with the bike. Overall I am super happy and feel like once it's fully dialed this thing will be a real weapon. Sad news on the podiums but it seems you are not alone. X2 all over again. How did they not have this sorted?
I agree, it's pretty crazy how they are having major issues with a fork at this price point. It works great on trail but I have heard stories of other guys on multiple warranty replacements and I fear that may continue for a while until there is a more permanent fix. Fox is sending me a brand new fork but I may sell it anyways since I ordered and intend fork recently to try.
 
A coul is part of my plan but for now I just plan to get a good rhythm with the bike. Overall I am super happy and feel like once it's fully dialed this thing will be a real weapon. Sad news on the podiums but it seems you are not alone. X2 all over again. How did they not have this sorted?
Hi, sad to read you having troubles with the podium. I got one a month ago and so far 0 issues. The fox representative told me this was a second run and the initial issues were solved. The fork works like magic and so far is dry as a bone. good luck to you
 
I'll never stop saying it... if you want a USD fork, buy a Bright Racing shock ... it's unrivaled by anything! Leave the marketing on the shelf.
 
I have the tier 3 which came with maven base and I am very impressed. They have been super consistent plenty of power zero fade and all with a 200 rotor. So far I have clocked up 350 ks and 12000 metres of elevation. I have 170 airshaft in the zeb and one additional volume reducer making a total of 2. Still playing around with the shock. Bottoms out more frequently than I am comfortable with. 28% sag. But might try some volume spacers and see what that does. It's only the bigger hits that don't feel so great drops to flat etc. The smaller stuff it feels really good

I think I read a Pinkbike article where they said they liked the Maven base more than the ultimate. I think it has a bearing instead of a bushing at the lever for lighter free stroke.
 
I'll never stop saying it... if you want a USD fork, buy a Bright Racing shock ... it's unrivaled by anything! Leave the marketing on the shelf.
The thing is all this emergent suspension brands have not any support beyond Europe, and that’s where the appealing ends. I live in Chile. A brand is as good as its customer support. I can buy Fox spare parts at my local shop and do maintenance my self at home, even a full damper rebuild. In the event of a warranty claim, I can be talking directly with a representative same day personally.

On the other hand Fox took a no compromise way with this USD fork, where rigidity and friction where a priority and weight wasn’t. And so far the fork has delivered.
 
Bright do USD fork since 2012... not an emergent suspension brands and have lots of customer in USA.
Real F1/motogp italian suppliers and tech.
 
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What. A. Thing.

Obviously the Avinox system is good, plenty torque power bla bla bla. But the actual bike rides incredibly good. Never ridden anything that's given me as much confidence, even my Deviate with EXT shock.

Jumps so well, Stable, planted. Doesn't feel too cumbersome even with the long CS and wheelbase on the tighter stuff. Shop added a couple bits as well that I wasn't expecting, Peatys valves and Burgtec stem. Highly recommend Cycle Highlands.

Think I may still do a 40/50 Fatbar though and the stock grips are crap but expected that. Have some Peatys enroute to sort that out, Think I'm around 30% sag or just under on the rear and feels good, No pedal or chain ring strikes but wasn't on anything super chunky. Expect I may have to add a bit more air once I get back on the steeps.

Think that's as low as you can slam a 240 oneup though, shimmed it down to 220 but will see when I'm home if I can get the actual post lower.

For anyone still waiting. Hold Out, It's worth the wait for sure.

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The dead stroke has been significantly reduced on the GR4 but I'm pretty sure you'll still like them. I do miss the longer lever from the v4 though.
Yeah, the power lever seems to be almost identical to the old v4 lever I think.. I like the idea to have 3 differently shaped levers for the evo hope brakes lineup.. Too bad you cannot choose one when buying and it always comes with the standard one. I did choose the Smoke/black variant as well to match smoke colored pedals and accessories :D I got some TRP RS05E 203mm discs though.. Centerline on t3 are crap.. And really wanted some discs with at least the same height on the friction area to match the 15mm height of the hope brake pads.
 
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zero sag, nothx
my god... incredible how some stupid old information could damage a brand world wide.
Bright has normal sag but dont eat travel.
You can tune the cartridge with anti dive system very stiff or standard commercial way but in any case the performance are next level!
 
Curious how you get along with intend hover. I am strongly leaning towards getting the Intend flash 35 and the hover is intriguing to match.

That being said, the stock SD on the lite feels really good. I do use the full travel multiple times per ride. It has 4 volume reducers stock , but there are the option for 4 more from what I have gathered.

I hope I dont run into the same issues as on the druid. Probably rather hard to get a different linkage for the core in the near future if at all at some point.
Intend just release their Flash38 with thicker stanchions.. But even for my 95kg of body weight I would rather choose the 35... more than 2600g on the fork is just not needed... My Intend Edge on the Druid weighs a little bit over 2100g and was stiff enough, the flash35 is a little bit lighter than a ZEB.. I ll swap the edge into the core to test if thats enough for the combined weight.
 
I hope I dont run into the same issues as on the druid. Probably rather hard to get a different linkage for the core in the near future if at all at some point.
Intend just release their Flash38 with thicker stanchions.. But even for my 95kg of body weight I would rather choose the 35... more than 2600g on the fork is just not needed... My Intend Edge on the Druid weighs a little bit over 2100g and was stiff enough, the flash35 is a little bit lighter than a ZEB.. I ll swap the edge into the core to test if thats enough for the combined weight.
I pinged cascade components to see if they had any plans for a linkage . They said “not currently”, but I bet if enough of us line up for it, they might. The linkage on this bike is fairly large though. It wouldn’t be cheap or light

I agree on the fork. Intend actually recommend the edge for me, but I am leaning flash 35 even so. I would be super curious how you get along with the edge on the core
 
I can hopefully say something about both the hover and edge on the core in 5-7 days :)
Was thinking about asking cascade as well. Regarding the size of the linkage it really might be heavy. Not sure how much space is behind the seat tube but shortening the lever there might not be possible at all, therefore the lever in front of the pivot point has to be made a bit longer to push the overall leverage curve a bit downwards but thats a lot of theorycrafting when I have not even ridden it yet :D
 
I can hopefully say something about both the hover and edge on the core in 5-7 days :)
Was thinking about asking cascade as well. Regarding the size of the linkage it really might be heavy. Not sure how much space is behind the seat tube but shortening the lever there might not be possible at all, therefore the lever in front of the pivot point has to be made a bit longer to push the overall leverage curve a bit downwards but thats a lot of theorycrafting when I have not even ridden it yet :D
Tbh.. the progression is good. And with the hbo on the stock shocks bottom out isn’t jarring. I am more used 170mm of travel and not using it all except on big hits. This bike just uses travel more effectively (140mm for me right now ), and “feels” better most of the time while going the same speeds or faster in my car o. I don’t want to over index and tune out bottom outs at the expense of that feel .

Super curious your results with intend!
 
To be fair, not everyone has the possibility to try different brakes or more expensive ones altogether. I liked my XT 4pots on moderate trails as well, when I had nothing to compare them to.. on long descends with lots of consistent braking they were tiring to use. The Tech4 Hope were a huge improvement on modulation and armpump as in I had none after switching at all anymore.
 
Yeah, the power lever seems to be almost identical to the old v4 lever I think.. I like the idea to have 3 differently shaped levers for the evo hope brakes lineup.. Too bad you cannot choose one when buying and it always comes with the standard one. I did choose the Smoke/black variant as well to match smoke colored pedals and accessories :D I got some TRP RS05E 203mm discs though.. Centerline on t3 are crap.. And really wanted some discs with at least the same height on the friction area to match the 15mm height of the hope brake pads.
I orded the longer power lever from a US dealer... we'll see how that goes.
 
To be fair, not everyone has the possibility to try different brakes or more expensive ones altogether. I liked my XT 4pots on moderate trails as well, when I had nothing to compare them to.. on long descends with lots of consistent braking they were tiring to use. The Tech4 Hope were a huge improvement on modulation and armpump as in I had none after switching at all anymore.
I've a darkness in my heart for the xt's.
Purchased so many bikes that came with the 8120's as part of the spec.
Tried every which way to bleed them to get rid of the wandering bite point., assuming I was the issue, as I'd read online that it could be done.
I then had the opportunity to try some of these expertly bled shimano 4 pots that the owners claimed were perfect. They wandered all over the place in reality. You don't know better, until you do.
Trp/hayes/hope are a revelation in comparison.
 
I think so too ;) I used some variants of the 4 pots on different bikes 7120s, 8120s.. even together with xtr rotors.. that combination on long steeps was extra spicy.. discs warped like crazy while fingers were numb :D But to be fair again, they do work and imho better than most of the SRAM stuff. Tried Mavens once, dont like them.. RSC code even more so.. entry lvl stuff is way worse.. I actually liked the DB8 when I got them cheap (under 60$) for a hardtail.. And don't get me started on those plastic magura brakes... :)
From what I tried though, if you don't have the money for hope, trp... those cheap 6120 oder 7120 shimanos do work alright.
 
To be fair, not everyone has the possibility to try different brakes or more expensive ones altogether. I liked my XT 4pots on moderate trails as well, when I had nothing to compare them to.. on long descends with lots of consistent braking they were tiring to use. The Tech4 Hope were a huge improvement on modulation and armpump as in I had none after switching at all anymore.
I upgraded back to SLX brakes from Maven Ultimates. The Mavens had the worst wandering bite point I've ever experienced in any brake. Maybe I had a faulty pair or didn't do the piston massage process right.

Ironically, had a base spec e-bike come with Sram DB8's, read they were trash, put them on my commuter and they've been flawless for a few years. So I will definitely give the Maven Base an open minded assessment (whenever —if— I ever get the eDruid).

For fans of Shimano brakes, I find TRP are a nice step up with a very similar ecosystem and the pads are compatible too.
 
Email them and see what they have to say. Could be a mixup.
I emailed Forbidden for this and they said that the table is still valid while the title is their typo "ROCKSHOX SUPER DELUXE ULTIMATE" instead of "VIVID AIR". The rebound value is quite different from what RockShox TrailHead recommends, so I will try this for my next ride to see if it feels better.

 
I emailed Forbidden for this and they said that the table is still valid while the title is their typo "ROCKSHOX SUPER DELUXE ULTIMATE" instead of "VIVID AIR". The rebound value is quite different from what RockShox TrailHead recommends, so I will try this for my next ride to see if it feels better.

They sent me the lite setup and it’s for the super deluxe and has different pressures. I think it’s just a misnomer on the one that you posted
 

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They sent me the lite setup and it’s for the super deluxe and has different pressures. I think it’s just a misnomer on the one that you posted
Did you bump the front travel to 160mm? I feel like that balances the bike better even with the lite's 140mm rear. Makes me wonder how good the core would be with 170mm up front but that may make the cockpit feel cramped.
 
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