Red2 Custom Bicycle: Specialized and �hlins partner to produce TTX shock

Bike giants Specialized have joined forces with one of the highest regarded suspension companies in the world, Öhlins, in a bid to make a fast bike even faster. What Öhlins developed was the TTX, a shock exclusively designed to work with the Demo 8 and Enduro EVO.

Specialized 2014 coverage on BikeRadar

Öhlins TTX: more than just a yellow spring

For 2014, Öhlins set out to create a shock to work perfectly in sync with the Demo 8 with some key goals in mind. These were to provide consistent damping, have simple and easy to understand adjustments and to offer a proper range of adjustment, including more spring rate selection and a narrower, more precise working range of adjustment which complements the Demo 8 and Enduro EVO perfectly.

Unsurprisingly, the TTX uses their proven Twin Tube design. If you’re wondering why this shock looks a little different to regular piggyback shocks, it’s because the layout has been changed slightly. The stout, stumpy chambers increase surface area which in turn helps to keep the oil temperature cooler and less prone to fluctuation. Inside sit two pressurised nitrogen filled nitrile rubber bladders which help to reduce internal pressure and the pressure differential within the shock. This helps to tackle cavitation which can lead to inconsistent damping performance.

Unusually, ohlins have mounted the ttx on spherical bearings to avoid the shaft binding when the back end is loaded laterally in turns or on landings: unusually, ohlins have mounted the ttx on spherical bearings to avoid the shaft binding when the back end is loaded laterally in turns or on landings

Öhlins have mounted the TTX on spherical bearings to avoid the shaft binding when the back end is loaded laterally in turns or on landings

In terms of adjustment, it’s worth noting just how precise the tuning range is for the TTX, starting with the springs that are available in 23lb increments. Then there are 16 different settings of low speed compression, three settings for high speed compression and seven settings for low speed rebound. If that’s not enough, there are offset eyelets to alter geometry too.

To ensure the traction is maximised during cornering and when the bike’s back end is being thrown around, Öhlins have used spherical bearing mounts. While it may seem like the shock is loose when the bike is static, when it’s being thrown into a turn the spherical bearings reduce the amount the shock shaft binds when the frame is loaded heavily, helping to keep movement as free as possible and grip maximised.

As soon as the Öhlins TTX shock combo is available, we’ll have a full review.

Two companies combine

It was at Specialized’s Global Product Launch that we first got word – at least officially anyway - of the collaboration between the two highly regarded companies. Although the prototype Öhlins shock had been spotted bolted to a Specialized Demo 8 at both a Pro GRT race and at the Val Di Sole World Cup, the mystery surrounding the damper shod with its distinctive yellow spring remained until recently, when the full story unravelled in a darkened conference room at the Copper Mountain Resort, Colorado.

Many will recognise the Öhlins name from the Cane Creek Double Barrel shock and their Twin Tube technology which helped produce a shock that really re-set the bar in terms of what was possible with rear damping. And it’s no real surprise when you look back at the Swedish company's history. Öhlins was set up by Kenth Öhlins back in 1976 and since then, they’ve had success in pretty much every sport that requires suspension. You name it, they’ve won it! Starting out in the world of motocross, Öhlins have since worked across various sports including MotoGP, NASCAR, WRC, Le Mans, touring cars, Formula 3000, Supermoto and Superbikes.

Ohlins are masters of what they do, so this slightly different take on a rear damper could well set the new standard in downhill mountain bike suspension: ohlins are masters of what they do, so this slightly different take on a rear damper could well set the new standard in downhill mountain bike suspension

Öhlins are masters of what they do, so this slightly different take on a rear damper could well set the new standard in downhill mountain bike suspension

Both Specialized and Öhlins are no strangers to success. An Öhlins shock was first ridden to World Motocross Championship victory aboard Gennady Moisseev’s KTM in 1978, while Specialized’s first World Mountain Bike Championship title was secured by Ned Overend in 1990. Since then, both companies have gone from success to success, and it’s little wonder that they have teamed up on this project. From Specialized's point of view, they were keen to make the Demo 8 even better.

So how exactly did this collaboration actually come to fruition? Sam Benedict, Specialized MTB Product Marketing manager explains. “It actually started with Mike McAndrews (we call him Mick – director of suspension) back in his days as a Kawasaki race mechanic. He knew Kenth Öhlins back then and kept in contact over the years. When we were thinking of what we could do to improve the traction of the Demo, the idea came up.

"Mick pursued it with his old buddies, and he and Brad Benedict (Advanced R&D test rider and product development) went over to visit the Öhlins factory a year ago. Brad showed them what downhill was all about by going to some DH tracks where they measured all sorts of forces on the bike and with the suspension. From there they started building shocks for Brad and the team (not Factory team) to test. They went through a lot of tuning of the shock as well as iterations of the spherical bearing."