Already previewed late final fall, Öhlins Racing has been purchased by Italian motorsports brake maker Brembo. It’s been a tumultuous few years for the premium Swedish suspension maker – and the biking trade, as a complete. However Öhlins appears psyched to have been acquired by one other premium model steeped in two-wheel racing, and is optimistic that the revolutionary tech they’ve been engaged on will extra shortly discover its method into suspension elements you and I can really purchase.
Does that imply electronically-controlled Öhlins XC & DH suspension is simply across the nook? We’ll be within the race pits when the season begins to see if we will discover out extra…
Brembo buys Öhlins Racing, restokes MTB improvement
It’s been simply 6 years since US automotive big Tenneco purchased out Öhlins, which then developed into Driv. The Swedish racing suspension model’s distinctive applied sciences have been actually interesting to the automotive elements conglomerate, and Öhlins benefited from another motorsports suspension specialists underneath the identical father or mother. However in the end, an asset administration firm purchased out Tenneco/Driv itself for restructuring in 2022. And possibly Öhlins didn’t match properly into the bigger automotive group?
From 2023-mid 2024 Öhlins restructured its mountain bike suspension improvement to be extra environment friendly, concurrently launching an all-new XC suspension class.
Doubling down on refining their now vast XC to DH vary and on the identical time persevering with to make use of elite MTB racing as a testing grounds, it appeared prefer it is perhaps some time till we noticed extra Öhlins suspension improvements. It’s true that outdoors of XC, their launch of all-new business merchandise appeared to have slowed a bit in recent times. However nonetheless, we preserve recognizing cutting-edge mountain bike suspension prototypes raced on the World Cup circuit.
And now, underneath the auspices of Brembo – a extra innovation-driven father or mother firm, Öhlins means that their newly “reallocated assets and focus will enhance the conversion of racetrack innovation into client merchandise.“
“As of January 2nd, Öhlins Racing is a part of the Brembo Group. The businesses share the identical ardour for innovation, know-how and efficiency; in addition to the will to be the very best at what they do. There’s nice pleasure inside the Öhlins group to now be part of forces with Brembo, a model and firm that matches Öhlins’ ambition to be on the forefront of the whole lot that they do.”
They name it “new beginnings for Öhlins Racing’s Mountain Bike phase underneath Brembo’s possession“.
What ought to we count on?
These statements from Öhlins sound to me like affirmation that they’re excited to show these new XC & DH suspension prototypes that we’ve noticed on the World Cup into actual client merchandise.
What we’ve seen has included Loic Bruni racing DH with a Specialised Demo constructed up with an electronically-actuated Öhlins TTX22 coil shock – presumably each automated and operated by hand.
After which once more a 12 months later on a prototype Demo, once more with Öhlins DH suspension and a few sneaky digital distant controls.
And simply final 12 months with Finn Iles racing an additional developed Demo prototype, once more with electronically managed suspension prototypes, a DH38 with light-weight clamps, and that colourful video game-like distant managed and three coloured indicator LEDs on his prime cap.
Then, although we solely noticed the primary Öhlins XC race forks & shocks in early 2023, by the beginning of the 2024 racing season we already have been recognizing electronically-controlled XC suspension too. These had smaller distant switches, and no distinguished indicator LEDs, however there’s undeniably some prototype Öhlins suspension management occurring in that little black field.
My guess is that we’ll see much more of each of those when the 2025 World Cup comes round. Hopefully, we might even see business variations of each accessible to the general public by the tip of this 12 months…