If you wanted to raise the bar for mountain bike suspension, who would you turn to?
Who designs and creates the world's most advanced suspension?
Penske Racing Shocks creates custom suspension solutions for the world's top automotive race teams.
No off-the-shelf solutions, no mass manufacturing, no compromises.
The reason why we reached out to Penske is whether it's F1, whether it's Indy Car, NASCAR,
they're focused on high-end, full performance, high precision executions.
Jose had described what they were trying to accomplish with the rear shock, which was better performance for climbing,
then also having capability to handle some of the big terrain and downhill stuff and the bumps.
The advantages of working with a partner outside the bike industry
is they're obviously looking at things differently than we are.
So what we're doing with Penske is leveraging all their R&D resources
and turning that into almost an extension of our own R&D capabilities.
I guess the highest category we play in is Formula 1.
Of the 13 teams, we supply typically, 8 or 9 of the teams.
We don't mass-produce shock absorbers.
We supply the highest forms of motor sport, which is very small volumes.
Our racing efforts are everything we do.
The regressive technology was taking off in many markets.
You know, it started in Formula 1, moved to IndyCar.
And in the back of my mind, I knew this regressive technology would really fit well with mountain bikes.
Up to this point, there's never been a shock that truly delivered efficient pedaling
while still responding instantaneously to big impact.
Every so-called solution involved a tradeoff.
RE:aktiv's regressive damping is a new approach to mountain bike suspension.
Most mountain bike damping is progressive or digressive.
But RE:aktiv's regressive damping delivers much more platform or efficiency while pedaling.
But when the rider hits an obstacle, RE:aktiv suspension is engineered to get out of its own way quickly.
So all the rider feels is a shock that is paradoxically supple and efficient with no transition.
When you look inside the shock, RE:aktiv's damper acts differently depending on the size of the bump.
As you peddle over small bumps, there's a high level of platform and efficiency.
However, when a large bump causes the shock to move quickly,
that's when RE:aktiv's damper changes dramatically and gets out of its own way to provide supple control instantaneously.
It feels as if you're shaving the tops off of bumps, and it's unlike anything else out there.
Once we achieve the performance, the features, and so on that we were looking for from the DRCV shock with regressive,
we took it to Fox, and Fox took the design we came up with and refined it to implement it into production,
and the combined effort just has produced an outstanding shock.
One comment that keeps coming back from riders is they're just blown away by the control that's in the system,
and at the same time, how the wheel just stays in constant contact with the ground,
maintaining grip, which again, maintains control.
I truly believe that at this point, with the combination of DRCV and RE:aktiv,
we have the highest performing suspension package in mountain biking.