Have Orange Bikes given us a spy shot of the first ever Formula coil shock?

Italian suspension brand, Formula, offer a complete range of mountain bike suspension forks, from the Thirty Three single-air XC fork, to the dual air Selva R enduro fork, and the recently launched Selva Coil fork. Also offering a range of brakes and wheelsets, the brand has thus far stayed well away from the matter of rear wheel suspension. Perhaps, until now. To be clear, this is merely speculation, albeit not-too-wild speculation, but speculation nevertheless. We have no confirmation from Orange, whose limited edition Hazzard Racing builds feature the shock, or Formula themselves. Here’s why we think it’s a Formula coil shock.Advertisements

Not just the color purple…

Yes, the purple coil is a nigh on exact color match with the lowers of the Selva R Dual Air enduro fork, but that’s not the only reason we think this mystery shock is an Italian Formula coil shock. And it’s not just because the new Hazzard Racing Orange bikes are spec’d with a Formula fork, either, though the pairing does make a lot of sense.

I don’t know about you but we think the CNC machining style of those adjustment dials and levers look right like those on the damper chamber of the Selva Enduro fork. In fact, as far as we can tell from these images, the blue compression adjustment dial is an exact match. Though the gold lever of the Selva fork used to lock out the suspension isn’t a perfect match in shape, the matching shade of anodising is undeniable.

Regardless of which brand are responsible for this new mystery coil shock, we do know that if and when it comes to market, it should be available in two different stroke lengths, given that both the limited edition Orange Alpine 6 and Orange Switch 6 are sporting it. The mullet Switch 6 features a 210x55mm shock, delivering 150mm of rear wheel travel, while the Alpine 6 features a longer 230x65mm shock, delivering 165mm of rear wheel travel.

We shall see…