Formula 2017 Eurobike
Features / Tue 6th Sep, 2016 @ 9:30 am
Formula have undergone a complete rebranding process this year, as well as launching some entirely new products too. A more modern look to the logo and branding accompanies the Selva fork, Cura brakes and Linea wheelset.
Formula have a deep rooted history that stemmed from the motocross world; they turned their attention to MTB in 1993 when they created the first hydraulic disc brake in the sport. The brakes won countless races with the likes of Nico Vouilloz and Anne Caroline Chausson, among others, riding them. Formula’s heritage is filled with Italian passion, a flare for design and at its core a love of precision engineering.
Selva Fork
At Eurobike this year Formula were showcasing the new Selva fork, this takes the internals from the ridiculously good Thirty-Five enduro fork and adds the ability to handle the new Boost standard. Formula believes in one or two years time this will be the standard on all new bikes. However, they are keeping the Thirty Five in service alongside the Selva to allow riders the choice as this new technology trickles down.
The Thirty Five has won much acclaim, and the team could have just made the stanchions wider to accept the new boost hub format. However, that would have meant the fork would become more flexible. There is a fine line in fork design between stiffness and flex, a fork that is too stiff will be hard work on the rider and feel uncomfortable. On the other hand, too much flex and the front end will wallow around and lack directional stability. Formula completely redesigned the lowers of the fork to ensure they got the best possible balance point between stiffness and flex.
They achieve this by adding a Hexagon Design section to the middle of the lowers, which promotes stiffness and performance without adding too much weight overall. Clever tech inside is the Internal Floating Technology, first seen on the Thirty-Five this allows the fork to have frictionless travel no matter what forces are being exerted on it.
The classic car park test isn’t in the real world; friction builds up as the fork bends and reacts to the terrain it is encountering. By letting the internals float inside the fork, Formula have reduced friction dramatically. It’s clever tech that is easy to see and feel when you have the internals at hand to play with. If you don’t get that opportunity then just take it from us that IFT, as they have dubbed it works, and works well.
The reduced friction not only means the fork works extremely well no matter what gets thrown at it, but it also reduces fatigue on the arms which is critical over long, challenging descents. The IFT system offers improved performance and less stress on you as a rider, both welcome advantages in any situation.
The Selva features plenty of adjustment; low-speed compression is controlled by simply rotating a knob on the fork. High-speed features the same 13 position tuning options, and you can also add a Remote Cartridge Control option so you can control the high-speed compression from the bars. It’s great for those long days in the saddle where you encounter all sorts of terrain. Rebound has a 21 click adjustment and the volume of air in the fork can be tuned by adding oil rather than spacers or “tokens”. The fork ships as standard with w/5cc of oil in it ready to go.
If that’s not enough for the more technical heads out there, Formula have also developed the Compression Tuning System or CTS. This further tunes the high-speed compression via a valve which increases or decreases the flow of oil through the cartridge. The fork ships with the medium valve as standard, riders looking for three forks in one can purchase the addition Firm or Soft valves to limit or increase the amount of movement in the fork according to the style of riding you are doing.
Use the firm valve on race day when you don’t mind dealing with the fatigue, or the soft valve on an uplift day where you want the most out of your fork without needing it to perform uphill too. They can be changed easily in the workshop with a small tool that ships with the valves. Of course, if you don’t want to go down the fork tuning rabbit hole you can just run the fork as it is and tune the high and low-speed compression and rebound with the options that ship as standard.
Cura Brake
Formula’s heritage is the hydraulic disc brake, back in the day they were way out in front in terms of performance and also following and fans. In recent years as other brands have caught up with the technology and increased their performance it would be fair to say that Formula have lost their place at the top of the pile. They are seeking to change that with the new Cura Brake, packing all their years of knowledge into a simple brake that just works.
The Cura has been designed to be fitted and forgotten about; Formula spent years testing and developing it to get the perfect feel. By removing any tuning options, aside from the lever reach, they can control exactly how they feel the brake should behave.
It’s a clean and straightforward design, with a lever attachment that is compatible with both the Shimano and SRAM gear levers to keep the bar clean. For the first time, Formula have also moved away from DOT fluid and are using mineral oil. However, it is their own unique “formula” so the oil has improved properties over not just mineral oil but also the DOT fluid of old.
The brake is powerful and suitable for a broad range of use, from weekend warriors to enduro freaks and even on the World Cup downhill course the Cura is designed to perform. Tech comes in the form of Speed Lock, allowing you to remove and reconnect the hose multiple times without losing fluid or getting air into the system. You can even disconnect the hose and squeeze the lever without any issues! This is useful if you are fitting them to an internally routed frame, or playing with your brakes a lot.
The calliper and lever are made from forged aluminium, which saves on weight, improves the durability and speeds up the production process. Why is that last part important? The more brakes you can produce in a set amount of time the more money you save as a manufacturer, and you can pass these savings onto the customer. Even though these brakes are designed as a top of the range product, they won’t have a top of the range price tag, offering high tech at a great price.
Linea Wheels
Launched a couple of weeks ago the Linea wheelsets feature an entirely new hub design and come in three models to suit XC/marathon, trail/enduro and 27.5 Plus as well as options for boost front and rear and both 29er and 27.5 catered for. The real beauty in these new wheels lies in the new hub design, which was built, quite literally, from the ground up by the team in Italy.
The hub features some smart tech, first up is the Wide Point Design, which puts the bearings inside the hub at 94mm apart, much further apart than a standard hub. This increases the stability of the hub dramatically and puts less stress on the axle and improves the rotation of the wheel.
Next up is the Full Contact Technology which ensures all the parts of the hub are in direct contact with the bearings. It also keeps the bearings housed inside a protected area inside the hub, hugely limiting the amount of moisture and mud that can get in. Formula told us they submerged the hub in water for a week and then took it apart and could find no evidence of water inside the bearings at all. Perfect for a long winter riding in the UK!
Lastly, the hubs have been designed for easy maintenance if you do need to get inside them and clean anything out. Any check ups can be performed at home, and you don’t need a special workshop to get them running smoothly again.
They feature a 4-pawl 60 engagement freehub which will ensure decent pickup and excellent power transfer at all times. The quality in the hubs themselves was very apparent at the show, these aren’t just any old set of hubs, they have been meticulously designed with that famous Formula attention to detail. Coupled with the wider rims designed to be tubeless and ready to go these should be a great wheelset to fit on any bike.
For more information on all the new Formula products head over to their website here: http://www.rideformula.com
By Rou Chater
Rou Chater is the Publishing Editor of IMB Magazine; he’s a jack-of-all-trades and master of none, but his passion for bikes knows no bounds. His first mountain bike was a Trek 820, which he bought in 1990. It didn’t take him long to earn himself a trip to the hospital on it, and he’s never looked back since. These days he’s keeping it rubber side down, riding locally and overseas as much as possible.
