The Swiss suspension fork and shock segment has been quiet for a long time. Now DT Swiss is taking off with a new suspension fork and a new rear shock. The amazing thing: With the F535 One suspension fork presents DT Swiss F 535 One is the first enduro suspension fork with up to 160 millimetres of travel, breaking completely new ground. The F 535 One has already impressed us on extensive test rides, you can find the ride report at the end of the article. The DT Swiss R 535 One damper is available as a counterpart for the rear triangle.
The key data on the new DT Swiss products for 2019:
F 535 One suspension fork
- 130 - 160 mm suspension travel
- 35 mm standpipes
- available in 27.5 inch and 29 inch
- Tyre clearance up to 2.8 inches (27.5 inches) or 3.0 inches (29 inches)
- Fork offset 44 mm (27.5 inch) or 51 mm (29 inch)
- 2078 grams with 185 mm shaft incl. claw
- Adjustable compression and rebound damping
- Remote compatible (three driving modes can be preselected)
- Integrated screw-on mudguard
- Thru axle 15 x 110 mm
- Volume spacer for adjusting the characteristic curve
R 535 One damper
- Standard and trunnion mount
- 266 g in the Lever version
- 291 g with remote
Air and steel in combination
In order to present more than just another enduro MTB fork, the Swiss have implemented several innovations in the new forks. For example, the DT Swiss F 535 One has an air spring with an upstream steel spring (coilpair). In the travel range from 0 to 30 millimetres, the steel spring ensures very high sensitivity, while the air spring is responsible for the range from 30 to 160 millimetres and thus keeps the weight low.
Travel-dependent damping
DT Swiss also goes its own way when it comes to damping and relies on travel-dependent damping instead of the usual speed-dependent damping (Plushport). This technology changes the amount of compression damping depending on how far the suspension fork compresses on impacts. In the initial range of 0 to 30 per cent, the compression damping is very low for high sensitivity. From 30 to 50 per cent, the compression damping is somewhat stronger, but halfway through the range the compression damping becomes significantly stronger, which ensures that the MTB fork is high in its travel and does not dive as much.
Clean design
The eye marrow has a special DT Swiss was also placed on the design. All adjustment knobs and the valve are concealed under removable covers. The Torx T10 spanner for opening the covers is located in the quick-release lever and is therefore always to hand. The spanner can also be used to adjust the compression and rebound damping.
First ride impression of the DT Swiss F 535 One
The F 535 One responds extremely sensitively to small obstacles and offers excellent comfort and traction. The new fork also absorbs larger impacts very well and is very high in its travel on steep sections. However, with two volume spacers in the air chamber, we struggled to utilise the full travel. Even without volume spacers, the travel-dependent compression damping works so strongly from half of the travel that the full travel still cannot be fully utilised. A slightly lower damping support would be desirable here.
