The TALAS gets a gold Kashima coating on the stanchions for 2011 and a new two-position travel-adjust switch, giving either 110-140mm or the 120-150mm tested here. The honed chassis and FIT damping cartridge make it light for a travel-adjust fork. But even with a screw-through 15QR axle, overall stiffness suffers slightly in this longer version.
The Kashima coating and a lower compression tune mean small bump performance and traction are excellent. The linear, coil-like stroke and FIT cartridge give consistent control from stutter bumps to square edge slams, with adjustable low-speed compression if braking dive bothers you.
The quarter-turn TALAS lever drops the front for climbing or tight trails and there’s an adjustable threshold lockout too. Our test fork still looks and feels brand new despite being ridden hard continually since last summer, leaving only the price as a real obstacle.
