14 Real-World Experiments with FOX Live Valve 12

How does FOX's new electronically-controlled mountain bike suspension work? It's time for some experiments. Join Vital MTB Tester Dylan Stucki as we abuse and rally it through over a dozen riding scenarios.

You can learn more in Vital MTB's in-depth Live Valve ride report and at www.ridefox.com.

Credit: Brandon Turman
Related:
FOX
Forks
Rear Shocks
Dylan Stucki
Suspension
Electronics
12 comments

View replies to: 14 Real-World Experiments with FOX Live Valve

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Pedal4life
5 years ago
How about when your pumping thru rollers(you know the ones where the trail has gotten flatter but you’re not ready to pedal yet)will the system just open up and soak up any energy I just put into the bike.
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dstucki
5 years ago
The system is designed to only read feedback from the trail, not the rider. So in that scenario, the system will remain stiff unless you encounter a bump of a high enough threshold.
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TRex
5 years ago
Nice job keeping those giraffe knees in (for the most part).
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brimmergj
5 years ago
Would have been interesting to compare each test in the highest and lowest settings.
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Tristan_Mayor
5 years ago
How come you did all this test with the lowest threshold setting?
Surely it would be better tested in maximum setting - to see if it actually works
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bturman
5 years ago
Cheers, Tristan. This video is best viewed on a desktop in 4K to catch all the changes. Unfortunately the light was a bit harsh while filming which makes several of the indicator changes tougher to see.

This was a fun learning experience for us – we had no true visual indicator of how active it is/isn't until downloading the footage and creating the video. Turns out threshold setting one is indeed open most of the time on descents, which contain the features that are also the most fun to film/watch.

As you can read the in-depth feature, Dylan prefers the first threshold setting. Even so, throughout the video the Live Valve system opens and closes an estimated 100 times. The first smooth climb shows 15 changes in a matter of seconds! Done manually, that'd be a LOT of lever pushing and much less focus on the trail. On the sprint/pedal toward many of the "experiments" it's active, and nearly every time Dylan turns around and heads back to the camera the system instantly kicks in as well. The "Power Up" test was super interesting as it kicked in several times on the techy flat/uphill bits after the big up.
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BiNARYBiKE
5 years ago
Looks impressive overall but that lack of predictability is a near deal breaker for me (as if three grand weren’t a deal breaker already). I’d like to think that when descending I’m constantly loading and unloading my suspension in anticipation of what is coming next. Seems really weird to be unsure of exactly how your suspension will react. And he’s using it in the lightest setting most of the time? What’s the point? I’m having a hard time deciding what I think of this. It’s impressive tech and does seem applicable to XC. Time will tell!
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MPH24
5 years ago
I agree this predictability things is a big deal, but this appeared work incredibly well for the first go.

I wonder if in the future they will offer more a "gravity" setting where more emphasis is placed on the angle of the bike (i.e. going down) and have more of delay towards flat/uphill settings in their algorithm.
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Jdub004
5 years ago
I think the power down into a big hole test was most relevant to my riding style
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