FIRST RIDE REPORT

FOX LIVE VALVE NEO

FASTER THAN THE BLINK OF AN EYE

Words by Cole Gregg

Just a few weeks ago, Fox Dropped the Transfer, their Neo first wireless dropper. Today FOX Factory expands on the Neo product line, with the Float X Neo and DHX Neo coil shock. We managed to log some time on the trail and speak with the Fox Factory crew to learn more about the system, so keep on reading or check out the video to learn all about it and find out how it performs.

ABOUT THE NEW LIVE VALVE NEO

WHAT IS NEO? | Neo is an all new wireless protocol developed in-house by FOX’s mechatronics team. Neo’s wireless protocol is 100x faster than Bluetooth, making it the undisputed king of speed when it comes to wireless data transmission. The information actually just takes 1 millisecond to transmit to the controller, and the extra 25 milliseconds is for the actuation of the hardware.

To do this FOX has essentially taken a Bluetooth like signal and stripped it down to the bare bones. Think of a production car compared with race car – the race car will only have what is absolutely needed, and Neo is the same with only the signal to complete the task at hand. Neo does not need to transmit audio or video files, it’s just simply an on/off signal. This stripped down ultra-low latency signal allows for the rear shock to respond near instantly.

THE SHOCKS | Both the Float X Neo and DHX Neo feature a new 2-position magnetic latching solenoid, which receives gyro and force data from sensors determining what compression mode to enter. FOX brings over the majority of internals from the non-NEO Shock, providing the same feel and compression tuning capabilities with the addition of the on-the-fly wireless actuation.

What is different on these shocks – besides from the magnetic solenoid and battery packs – is that there is no manual lock out lever. This is all controlled by the Neo system. Instead, on the shock there is a firmness dial for how much of a “locked out” feel you are after. There are separate valve circuits for low speed compression and this firm mode. You still get 11 clicks of low speed compression, and separate rebound speed adjustment. There is still no high speed compression adjustability at this time.

Both shocks are quoted with a 125-hour service interval. This is precisely tracked within the FOX Bike App, and you can even schedule service appointments within the app.

SENSORS | For Neo to provide terrain data to the shock, there are two wireless sensors on the bike placed at the brake calipers. The front sensor delivers terrain angle and bump force experienced by just the front wheel. The rear sensor only transmits bump force to the controller since angle is already determined by the front sensor.

These sensors can read the terrain at up to 400 times per second providing accurate data to the controller ultimately being analyzed and sent to the shocks solenoid with instructions on how to react. There is also the option to decouple the sensors and only run a rear sensor to achieve different lockout behavior based on rider preferences and the terrain. The sensors are front and rear specific and should not be swapped around.

Since these sensors are wireless, installing on your bike is quite seamless as long as your calipers are on the spec list Fox provides. Nearly all of the major brands’ calipers are compatible, as long as there are no outboard hose fittings or protruding bleed fittings.

TUNES | With Neo constantly reading the terrain there is a wide scope of tuning options for how you want the system to interpret the terrain and actuate. Each of the five preset tunes provided by FOX have three states of action, Climb, Flat and Descend. These states have different force thresholds to open the shock and a timer for how long it should stay open. The timer can be overridden by another compression event keeping the shock open, and as soon as no compression event is detected the shock will firm back up. The timing between these events are dictated by the profile of tune you opt for.

Tune Outline:

• • Standard – For most rider preferences in a variety of terrain
  • Firm – For riders who prefer a firmer platform, even when encountering small bumps
  • Plush – For riders who prefer a softer ride, favoring comfort over efficiency
  • Open – Overrides the system to keep the shock open at all times
  • Closed – Overrides the system to stay locked out at all times, except when landing a jump or drop.

Furthermore there is an advanced tuning mode in which you can customize bump force and angle sensitivity to get a specific feel out of the system. Tunes can be saved and uploaded for specific riding zones you frequent. Riders can also share tunes with other FOX Neo users allowing for an endless rabbit hole of finding the perfect feel.

As mentioned above, in addition to the digital tuning of the system, the compression adjuster on the shock will dictate the position of the shim stack within these modes. This further fine tunes the ride characteristics.

BATTERY LIFE | With a 15 to 20 hour life, you are for sure going to get more than a few rides off a single charge for the shock. For some this may be a bi-weekly habit, and others a monthly one. The battery charges on a specific doc with a USB-C cable included with the post. Charge times are around 1.5 hours from empty. The front and rear brake sensors utilizes a commonly found CR2032 battery, and are expected to last around 12 months of consistent use. Within the FOX Bike App, you can see live battery percentages. If you do run out of battery while on a ride, the shock will default to open and act as normal without firming up.

To save battery life, the system will power down after 5 minutes of inactivity. To power back on there is a “Shake to Wake” function. After 45 minutes of inactivity the system will completely power down requiring the power button to be pressed to turn back on.

FOX BIKE APP | All of the system’s information and tune parameters are shown and controlled within the FOX Bike App. The app will display connected devices and battery life. The app is where initial pairing and set up will take place with step-by-step guides to get you rolling. There is a garage within the app that you can store profiles for multiple Neo-equipped bikes with a dashboard of what components are paired to that bike. Being able to track usage hours to stay on top of service intervals, I think is a very cool adaptation the application offers. Once the bike is all set up and your tune profile is selected, you do not need to have your phone with you on the trails to use the system.

PRICING AND OPTIONS | To set up a bike for Live Valve Neo, you must purchase the “Live Valve Neo Kit” for $ 399 USD / $ 534.65 CAD / £449.99 GBP / € 499 EUR*. This includes the sensors required to feed the information to the Neo system for the lockout to operate.

You can then purchase your choice of Live Valve Neo Float X or DHX shock in a wide variety of fitments. The Float X Neo retails for $ 999 USD / $ 1399 CAD / £1119 GBP* / € 1299 EUR* and the DHX for $ 949 USD / $ 1269 CAD / £1099 GBP* / € 1249 EUR*.

THE WOLF’S FIRST IMPRESSION

When it came to getting FOX Live Valve Neo out on the trail, I was pretty skeptical of the system at first. Allowing technology to control what I am feeling from the trail just seems so foreign to me, as I am sure it does for many others out there.

Setting up the system was painless. Once the app was installed and everything was on the bike, all it took was a few quick presses of the buttons to finalize the connection, not only to the app but the sensors to the control module on the shock. The steps to do this are very clear and easy to follow. That is a big win for this product, before even talking about what it does on the trail.

As someone that is a self-proclaimed terrible climber, I will take any extra advantage I can get when it comes to going up gnarly, technical terrain. It was immediately apparent the advantage this system offered me. Being able to put power down without the bike wallowing into its travel, yet instantly getting soft to provide more traction when it was required was really cool. There were some sections of trail I rode that had roots across the trail and then about a 2 bike length smooth spot and more roots. In the time between the roots, the system firmed up and gave me a solid pedal platform, then it opened up as again soon as that front wheel hit the roots.

You know when you are riding along and either plop off a small log or go into a pretty decent sized hole, you can get a bouncing rebound effect after the initial compression? Well Neo solves that. There was a downed log on the trail we had the first test ride on and when coming up to the log the system was firm, hitting the log with the front wheel opened the shock and stayed open through the back wheel hitting the log. The magic happened on the landing. The rear wheel touched down with a soft forgiving feeling, and before the shock rebounded and compressed again, the system was already back into being firm. This was due to the trail being smooth and no compression event being detected by the front wheel. Had there been another log in that same space, the system would have stayed open. The continuous bobbing when climbing up a multi-directional trail with braking bumps gets old pretty fast. Neo smooths that out and allows you to push harder on sections where you may have been recovering from the bounce.

For this launch article, I only had a small amount of time on the shock so I did not get a chance to really play with the custom tunes. Keep your eyes out for our long-term review! I started my ride in the Standard mode on the app and then switched to Firm, leaving the firmness dial on the shock in the same position. The change between the two modes was very noticeable. In standard the shock would take a little more time to lock out after a compression event, and would open up faster when that front wheel sensor hit a bump. When in the Firm setting, everything was sped up, resulting in a much firmer feel overall. No surprise there.

My biggest concern with the Neo system was how it would alter the bikes characteristics on the descents. A fear of mine was that it would stay firm when trying to push through a lip, causing a loss of balance and overall decreasing my confidence on the descent. I am happy to say that such a thing did not happen. Neo lived quietly in the background, with just a nudge of support here and there on punchy climbs between features. It was honestly quite surprising how dang well the system integrated into my ride. With the ability to custom tune how the system interacts with the terrain, I can see why racers would have a big advantage with this shock over its analog cousin.

The Ari Delano Peak I was riding is already a very efficient trail bike, so the additional impact of the Neo system was not as noticeable as I think it would be on a big gushy coil-sprung enduro sled. This is where I feel the most value for the system lives. Being able to set the bike’s spring rate and compression settings solely for the descents and allowing Neo to take over for the climbs is a really cool option that I think will really take the industry by storm. Even bike manufactures can start developing kinematics around using Neo, maximizing descending performance without needing to stress over how the linkage works for the climbs.

Yes, Neo is a big investment. Yes there are more batteries to charge. But no, it does not suck. It’s quite the opposite actually! Neo is another tool in your “skillbox”, another edge in your riding, and it’s also pretty fun to fiddle around with. So go out and get that big travel “Super Enduro” bike you have always wanted, and you will never have to think about how gushy it is on the way up the hill. We are very excited to spend more time on this system and play with the custom tunes, put it on different bikes and just live with it on normal daily rides.

Price:
Live Valve Neo Float X – $ 999 USD / $ 1399 CAD / £1119 GBP* / € 1299 EUR*
Live Valve Neo DHX – $ 949 USD / $ 1269 CAD / £1099 GBP* / € 1249 EUR*
Live Valve Neo Kit – $ 399 USD / $ 534.65 CAD / £449.99 GBP / € 499 EUR*

Website: Ridefox.com/pages/neo-technology