安装了自定义暂停装置TFX悬架技术on我今年的铃木DR650那I took the bike across Europe doing sections of the TET and taking part in enduro training weekends, a Hungarian Baja race, and the Dinaric Rally 2021. While the bike is a little maimed and mangled after the last rally race, the one thing that has saved my skin multiple times was the suspension: TFX built me a custom, fully adjustable suspension that works in three different scenarios – traveling on road with a fully loaded bike and riding graded off-road trails as well as doing single track or rally races on an unloaded bike.

当我第一次安装TFX震惊和叉子斯普林斯时，我觉得我有一整套新的自行车而不是悬架升级：它在路上和路上处理得更好，转变得多，并带走了粗糙的越野部分我从来不知道它拥有的新敏捷性。被黑暗的魔法着迷，TFX在我的老殴打博士上表演了，我想了解更多关于他们的信息：谁在TFX后面，他们如何设计和建造他们的自定义暂停套装？当运气有它时，我有机会在上周巡回韦特的TFX悬浮科技实验室。

Here’s what happened.

魔法地毯哲学

从光滑的design of my shock and the elegant logo of the company, I expected TFX headquarters to be housed in a brand new, shiny, glass-walled office building or a large bustling factory. Instead, founders Hans-Dieter Fischer and Alex Meijs greeted me in front of a nondescript industrial place on the outskirts of Weert, a small Dutch town; first order of business was lunch – a meal of fried cheese and fries smuggled right across the Belgian border a few minutes away – and an introduction to Hans’ home-brewed beer with Alex explaining the inns and outs of nearby Belgium’s lunch cuisine.

尽管在快速轨道上成为国际公认的品牌，但汉斯和亚历克斯仍然在同一个办公室闲逛，借助只有一名工程师和两个机械师设计产品，甚至包装成品悬挂套装自己：经过十年后存在，TFX悬浮液仍然是一个两个人的表演，一个痴迷的个人拍摄他们设计的每套冲击。“在我的前雇主，Technoflex，折叠之后，我们开始TFX成为一家全新的公司。我们想做的事，以及我们仍在每天思考的是，正在建立一个暂停，如此完美，骑手会觉得他或她漂浮在魔法地毯上而不是骑自行车。这是我们的使命。我认为每个骑手都应该暂停定制和调整它们;we test every new product under extreme conditions such as racing, but we believe every single rider out there needs to have a bike that’s fully adjusted to them and their style of riding”, Hans told me as we finished lunch and got up to take a look around.

Inside the TFX Suspension HQ

TFX HQ的一切都是用荷兰Flair，比利时酷和德语精确组织的：研讨会看起来更清晰，更加组织，而不是会议室，所在的空格，存储的空间，存储的零件和组装的暂停组更多出厂化，似乎TFX已经制定了一个相当顺利的过程，允许他们在短短五天内为几乎任何自行车，Quad或SSV建立自定义暂停。“如果我们匆匆忙忙，如果它不是一个非常罕见的项目自行车，我们可以在24小时内完成它”，汉斯说。

“当我在二十多年前在Technoflex中陈述时，我应该在销售中，但能够出售冲击，你需要确切地知道他们的工作方式，所以我开始作为机械师的生产线，所以我可以了解进程的一切。当亚历克斯和我开始TFX时，我仍然是头部设计师和工程师，我们工作的方式是：每当一辆新的自行车出来，无论制作和模特如何，我们都会到我们的车间，将其分开，看看暂停。Then, we completely rebuild it, ride the bike, test everything out, and add it to our database, and when a customer orders custom suspension for that make and model, we already know what needs changing and factor in the rider’s weight, height, luggage weight if it’s an ADV bike, the type of riding they do, and so on. Then, we get to work”, Hans explained. TFX currently has over 1,500 motorcycles in their database and can build a custom suspension set for just about any bike – and if the bike requested isn’t in the database, they’ll go and find one or do an entirely custom job.

“The main difference between a custom shock and a stock shock is that stock is made for The Average Person, and the thing is, that person doesn’t exist. We believe that a bike’s suspension should work in a certain way, it needs to keep the bike in balance at all times, regardless of the rider’s weight, riding ability, added luggage, or added pillion passenger. So with a custom suspension, all of that is factored in, and as a result, the bike is more balanced and stable, handles better, and gives the rider more control and a feeling of ease when riding. For me, the most exciting part of building custom shocks is hearing how riders get a completely new feel of their bikes. I get to work with riders, racers, and travelers from all over the world, and that’s an awesome feeling”, Hans explained.

What was supposed to be a quick visit became three hours of hanging out and chatting with Hans and Alex, and if there’s one thing I took away from the experience – aside from the glorious Belgian lunch and beer tips – was that TFX truly is obsessed when it comes to custom suspension. If I ever lay my paws on that dream KTM EXC 500 someday, it will definitely have TFX suspension; and in the meantime, I’ll keep putting the fully TFX-ed DR through its paces and see where it leads.