# Showa is makin mtb forks now!



## milhouse (Jun 22, 2004)

That is a sweet looking fork!


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## finchy (Jan 21, 2004)

http://www.dropmachine.com/news/news.php?action=fullnews&id=207

seems another motocross company is making the jump to MTB i think the forks look sick but i bet manitou is pretty pissed!!!


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## dogonfr (Jan 6, 2005)

Showa & Fox are gonna rock the suspenssion world. If Showa comes out with a fork for the public as a mass production model there are going to be some huge changes. Fox stoped there M/C end of suspension, Cane Creek is using Ohlin, Showa working with Honda.


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## austinb89 (Nov 6, 2004)

sweet, i wonder what there gonna bring to the sport


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## Evil4bc (Apr 13, 2004)

dogonfr said:


> Showa & Fox are gonna rock the suspenssion world. If Showa comes out with a fork for the public as a mass production model there are going to be some huge changes. Fox stoped there M/C end of suspension, Cane Creek is using Ohlin, Showa working with Honda.


A smaller suspernsion company in Japan KOWA made 2 DH forks the mobs and the jisism that THE later imported intot he U.S. a few years ago , thoes forks flat out killed it 
easily the best forks I have ever felt .

Showa makes all the forks for the Honda DH team as well as the real shoks for that crazy Honda DH bike , pretty sure that fork pictured above is the same model the Honda guys were running on their single pivot 4x bikes


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## leddder (Oct 24, 2004)

finchy said:


> http://www.dropmachine.com/news/news.php?action=fullnews&id=207
> 
> seems another motocross company is making the jump to MTB i think the forks look sick but i bet manitou is pretty pissed!!!


that is a sweet looking fork, i like the no-label look


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

love the gold....very clean looking


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## .WestCoastHucker. (Jan 14, 2004)

Evil4bc said:


> A smaller suspernsion company in Japan KOWA made 2 DH forks the mobs and the jisism that THE later imported intot he U.S. a few years ago , thoes forks flat out killed it
> easily the best forks I have ever felt .....


they better have been good, seeing as how they were like 2 grand.......


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

.WestCoastHucker. said:


> they better have been good, seeing as how they were like 2 grand.......


2 effing G's...I am sticking with Marz


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## Sombrio69 (Apr 21, 2005)

that is sweet.


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## dogonfr (Jan 6, 2005)

leddder said:


> i like the no-label look


Dont look forward to it, prototype in stealth.


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## .WestCoastHucker. (Jan 14, 2004)

that fork is just plain ugly.......


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

finchy said:


> http://www.dropmachine.com/news/news.php?action=fullnews&id=207
> 
> seems another motocross company is making the jump to MTB i think the forks look sick but i bet manitou is pretty pissed!!!


Pace forks also used a reverse-arch design.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

It'd be really cool if a company made a DH fork with like Mx internals, like from the Mx shiver....Oh wait a minute...

Marzocchi cartridges are basically the same as Mx cartridges, but some models are simpler with less adjustments. They're always getting better with the RC2 and RC2X cartridges, but they at least try to bring the same kind of suspension to the mtb world.

That said, I wouldn't mind one of those companies making a sick 150mm single crown fork with excellent damping. If they could produce a ~150mm SC fork with better damping than either the fox 36, or marzocchis, then I'd be interested. That'd obviously have to be some pretty damn good damping though. They need to do like Marz does with their forks, start HEAVY and RELIABLE with excellent damping, then get lighter when all that stuff is figured out.


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

.WestCoastHucker. said:


> that fork is just plain ugly.......


no taste


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## ironhorsebike1 (Dec 5, 2004)

isn't that a patent infringement (sp?) with the reverse arch?


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## Rivet (Sep 3, 2004)

finchy said:


> http://www.dropmachine.com/news/news.php?action=fullnews&id=207
> 
> seems another motocross company is making the jump to MTB i think the forks look sick but i bet manitou is pretty pissed!!!


Ahhhhh, kids. Actually Showa first produced MTB forks in 1992 which John Tomac rode to many victories. They actually produced a few different forks during this period but they didn't sell very well. Oh ya, Showa also made all of Treks Mogul brand forks from that time period.


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## .WestCoastHucker. (Jan 14, 2004)

ironhorsebike1 said:


> isn't that a patent infringement (sp?) with the reverse arch?


one day some idiot was too stoned to know what was really going on, slapped the lowers on backward and then they decide to patent it?


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## adamantane (Jan 27, 2005)

it's not how they look on the outside...you can bet Showa mtn forx will take the best from mototcross, like a spring in each fork and perhaps twin chamber in each or catridge in each...either way, crazy adjustability, real performance...not just pogo sticks like manitou etc


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## erol/frost (Jan 3, 2004)

Very cool.


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## kustomz (Jan 6, 2004)

*Castings*

The crown and arch appear to be cast, which is usually done when you plan to make long production runs. I can't imagine them not taking into production with the cost factor, but then the Showa and HRC people have made some pretty far reaching stuff that never was released in the motorcycle world.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

kustomz said:


> The crown and arch appear to be cast


There's no way you can tell if it's cast or not.


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## Dirtdemon (Jan 26, 2004)

I'm sure Showa will raise the bar for performance... as well as price


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## Guest (Dec 31, 2005)

that is sickkkkk love the gold stanchions


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## dogonfr (Jan 6, 2005)

Dirtdemon said:


> I'm sure Showa will raise the bar for performance... as well as price


Well it's not going to be good for the market if the price for suspenssion goes much higher. The little guys like Curnut are pushing the limits for a bike. The big guys like Ohlin are pushing the limit on Gucci for moto. Fox raised it prety darn good when they decided to go full bore for MTB. We gonna pe some poor mofo's if it goes much higher


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## pdirt (Jan 12, 2004)

.WestCoastHucker. said:


> one day some idiot was too stoned to know what was really going on, slapped the lowers on backward and then they decide to patent it?


No, but working on stuff when stoned is pateneted ... I own that one.


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## sortafast (Feb 12, 2004)

SHIVER ME TIMBERS said:


> 2 effing G's...I am sticking with Marz


I saw a THE fork for sale on pink bike awhile back for $350, but then again it was used, and by a canadian. 2 things that, when combined, leave me not wanting to buy.


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## finchy (Jan 21, 2004)

sortafast said:


> I saw a THE fork for sale on pink bike awhile back for $350, but then again it was used, and by a canadian. 2 things that, when combined, leave me not wanting to buy.


whats that supposed to mean!!! go canada!

cough owned usa in jr hockey cough sniff


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## Guest (Jan 2, 2006)

finchy said:


> whats that supposed to mean!!! go canada!
> 
> cough *owned* usa in jr hockey cough sniff


worddd

so how many rookies does it take to win?


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## sortafast (Feb 12, 2004)

finchy said:


> whats that supposed to mean!!! go canada!
> 
> cough owned usa in jr hockey cough sniff


They may own hockey, but used bike parts are another thing. I bought a fork from a canadian a few years ago, cond was stated as very good. Got it, and the stantions were bent. Best friend bought a fork from canadian, cond stated as good. Got the fork and had to do a couple hundred dollars of repairs to get it to function, and it is still not 100%. seller said it had fresh oil, the oil that came out was sludge. Seals were shot and it was missing several critical parts. Moral of the story: dont buy used stuff, especially from canada.


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## dogonfr (Jan 6, 2005)

sortafast said:


> I bought a fork from a canadian a few years ago, cond was stated as very good. Got it, and the stantions were bent. Best friend bought a fork from canadian, cond stated as good. Got the fork and had to do a couple hundred dollars of repairs to get it to function, and it is still not 100%. seller said it had fresh oil, the oil that came out was sludge. Seals were shot and it was missing several critical parts. Moral of the story: dont buy used stuff, especially from canada.


Ibought a Norco frame from a Canadian & it was just as described & had alot of funny emails between us. Moral of story: Canadians are people too


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## milhouse (Jun 22, 2004)

Jayem said:


> There's no way you can tell if it's cast or not.


Sure you can. The crown is too smooth and would have mill marks visible with such a complex shape if it weren't cast. The arch itself looks like it was milled though.


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## DWF (Jan 12, 2004)

milhouse said:


> Sure you can. The crown is too smooth and would have mill marks visible with such a complex shape if it weren't cast. The arch itself looks like it was milled though.


Agree. Crown is a forging. The Arch is the coolest thing about that fork. That's all one piece & some serious 5-axis machining action had it going on there!


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