DT Swiss' 32mm tanchion, lightweiight trail fork, the XMC100 exudes the same class and confident attitude that has made the new RockShox SID such an immediate hit.
Carving through singletrack, the DT Swiss fork invited you to ‘ride’ the front tyre more than usual, which just made the twisty bits feel even more dynamic.
The XMC can be asked to do too much – as can any 100mm travel fork – but you have to go a lot further to find that limit than ever before.
The 100mm XMC weighs 1510g, while the new SID Team with the same travel is 1475g.
The Swiss are coming!
When DT Swiss bought Pace’s fork business, expectations were high that any quality control gremlins would be chased away.
The bulk of the DT Swiss-labelled XMC100 chassis is essentially the same as when it left the Pace drawing board, with a carbon fibre lower leg assembly.
DT left the Pace signature hollow carbon rear arch, cast magnesium drop-outs and forged alloy crown alone.
The legs, however, are now properly sealed and don’t ‘sweat’ suspension fluid, like some old Paces had a habit of doing.
Bearings are smooth and the seals, while effective, are not strangling the slippery stanchions. Consequently, stiction is low, with the fork leaping into action with ease.
The fork never feels uncontrolled, though, or as if it’s moving without due cause.
The Launch Control feature (which is another Pace carryover) allows you to set the height of the fork for long climbs. It’s easy to use, but not ultimately that useful on a fork with just 100m of travel. If we were DT, we’d ditch it on the 100mm XMC, and keep it on the longer 130mm model.