Externally, little has changed with this latest EXM100; the chassis is both light at 1,490g (about the same as RockShox's rival SID Team) and feels as precise as any current 100mm-travel cross-country fork.
DT’s reputation for smooth, supple and spike-free action had a false knock when our first fork arrived with some faulty internals, but our second one is spot-on. It’s an easy fork: add air then use the Twin Shot damper to dial in the ride you want. The first position locks the fork down to shorter travel mode by effectively locking the first part of the rebound. We used this a little but otherwise left it fully active.
We opted for 9mm open dropouts – although a QR15 option is available for added stiffness – and when used with DT’s own bolt-through quick-releases the union between fork and hub is particularly solid. We had about four hours of riding before we felt our test fork’s bedding-in period was over, and it was well worth the effort as it became noticeably more supple and responsive.
The force required to initiate the stroke on the EXM100 is higher than on the Fox TerraLogic F100, but once going it moves with great fluidity to consume any trail irregularities. Get it going fast and mistime a water-bar hop, for example, and the high-speed damping shows its quality as the fork sucks up the hit. DT have spent a lot of time refining the internals and we’ve come to rely on them to pull us out of trouble.
If you’re considering an F100 or a RockShox SID and feeling flush, this is a contender. The EXC100 is lighter at 1,170g but you’ll pay nearly £200 more and give up a little stiffness, as its stanchions are 28mm diameter.