X-Fusion Shox (Germany) - Press Release: X-Fusion's Andrew Taylor was at Sea Otter earlier this year with a new coil-sprung shock on his Norco, abeit a prototype version that was being used for long-term reliability testing. That same shock, the H3C is still running issue-free on his bike, he told me, and it's now launching at the Eurobike show. If the name sounds familiar, it might be because they used to have an air-sprung shock in their catalog called the H3 that's been long retired, and the H3C is an entirely different beast.

Realistically, X-Fusion knows that their products need to stand out from the stuff that the bigger names sell, so they're concentrating on two talking points: A relatively competitive MSRP, and low weight. The H3C retails for $399 USD, and it weighs 318-grams without a coil spring. Both of those numbers are comparatively low. A large diameter aluminum damper shaft is used, and the shock body tapers down drastically below the preload threads to save more grams.

Adjustments include a three-position pedal-assist that'll come in handy on some bikes, a low-speed compression dial, and of course a low-speed rebound dial as well. It'll only be available for bikes that take Metric or trunion-stye shock, however.