Sea Otter was the place to be if you had a prototype suspension fork this year. MRP joined in on the action with a fork that wasn’t inverted, but was a new chassis size for the brand.
We’re told the fork with 38mm stanchions is only a prototype for now, and MRP has no launch date at the moment – but it does give an indication to what may be coming. The fork uses the FullFill air spring, and will be offered in 29″ only with a 44mm offset. The production fork should have a quick service oil port so you can quickly relube the foam rings under the stanchion seals without taking the fork apart.
We’ll also see auto casting valves, which are like the pressure relief valves you’d find on other fork castings, only these will automatically bleed when any pressure builds.
Lift V2 & Ramp Control V2
Moving on to products that are actually available, MRP has new V2 versions of their Lift drop-in damper and Ramp Control drop-in external air spring control. Both have been updated with better control over the adjustment range for better performance. The Lift V2 has a larger compression adjustment range and improved rebound control thanks to an updated compression assembly shim stack, needle, and valving. The Ramp V2 has a new sprung valve design that is easier to fine-tune the entire range of 16 positions which adjusts the ending stroke progression with the equivalent of 0-4 Tokens.
Noken
You’ve heard of fork Tokens, so how about a Noken? MRP points to the origin of the fork Token, when many forks needed help increasing the compression ratio to make them more progressive. They feel that now many of those forks have gone too far into the progressive direction, and now need help becoming less progressive.
Enter the Noken. This air spring top cap increases the air spring volume, and reduces the compression ratio to make a more linear air spring. The Noken adds the volume equivalent to 1.1 Bottomless Tokens for a RockShox Zeb and 35mm forks, or 1.5 volume spacers in a Fox 38. Tokens reduce air volume, the Noken increases it.