The wait is finally over. EXT is proud to unleash the Vaia, a dual-crown inverted DH fork, distinguished from all others in its class. This groundbreaking product breaks away from familiar suspension design and is packed with innovation and cutting-edge tech for the gravity focused MTB world. While the Vaia completes EXT’s DH lineup, it’s thoughtful design and adaptability simultaneously lends itself to aggressive enduro bike and e-bike applications as well. With travel options from 170mm to 200mm, and the ability to change between 15mm and 20mm axles, the Vaia is both a powerful and versatile contender in the MTB market
Technology and Features
While the Vaia completes EXT’s DH lineup, it’s thoughtful design and adaptability simultaneously lends itself to aggressive enduro bike and e-bike applications as well. With travel options from 170mm to 200mm, and the ability to change between 15mm and 20mm axles, the Vaia is both a powerful and versatile contender in the MTB market.
Thanks to a proprietary cam stem design, developed with Mojo Rising, the Vaia offers two offset options (44 and 48 mm) with only one stem and crown, allowing for personal adjustment of steering geometry. The fully machined double crown is made from 7075 aluminum.
Floating Bushing
We have implemented technology derived from our motorsports heritage to provide optimal bushing performance, via floating bushings.
The new DU bushings in the Vaia fork are manufactured to precise tolerances for each assembly and works seamlessly with our specially formulated EXT oil. This combination ensures zero stiction and exceptionally low friction, even under high side loads.
Like in MX, our unique DU guiding system, featuring a specially designed long bushing overlap, provides maximum guidance and optimal torsional rigidity for the stanchions. We’ve named it the CGB (Continuously Guided Bushing) system, which also boosts dynamic stiffness. Optimized inner volume design ensures maximum lubrication for floating bushing systems.
This technology inherently allows for optimal bushing overlap that increases throughout fork travel but also has the advantage of incorporating a radial float capacity, that constantly adapts to any forces exerted onto the fork tubes by the wheel. As such this small degree of float may be percetible while unweighting the system from a static state, such as lifting the front of the bike in the parking lot. However, in actual use this is not detectable by the user.
Wheel Axle