Product Image:
Product name: Vorsprung Telum
Price paid: $1200
Score (out of 10): 10
Review: After chasing the “coil-like” feel enough to know that this state of “perfection” doesn’t exist in the land of the air shock, I ran into the Telum—while looking at a Secus for a more coil-like feel for my fork.
Having considered an EXT E-Storia in the past when building out my Crestline (Troydon talked me out of it), I knew enough to know that the Telum addressed my major concern about being stuck between springs with the Spridex adjustable coil. Being the impulsive person that I am, I pulled the trigger (and bought the Secus at the same time—lol, gotta keep chasing the coil).
The build and wait time was about 4 weeks vs. the stated lead time on the website but that was still well within the range of 6 weeks that I considered realistic. The one thing to watch out for when ordering is to be sure that you get your invite to the Tuning Hub and that you fill out the Tuning Information Questionnaire. Something got out of whack and I didn't get the invite and form till I asked for it when I checked in on the ETA at week 4.
Once it was built and tuned, I paid the balance due (you only have to pre-pay $200 to get the process going) and it was shipped out. Fair warning, I'm in the US and there was some duty/customs stuff that ended up with me having to pay another $128 to get the shock delivered.
The shock arrived pre-tuned and ready to go right outta the box.
View attachment 147324
Inside was the Tuning Report some spare spring adapters (and a spare footstud for my Secus-the guys at Vorsprung really go the extra mile to help out).
All the mounting hardware is already in place-I did ask about swapping out the lower bushing for a needle bearing-it is usually helpful with a VPP-but after getting a primer on what would be required and the fact that there was spherical bearing already installed I passed on even thinking about swapping it out. The QR code on the box sidn't take me to the Install Instructions so I had to root around in my email to find the link to the PDF as it is not on the website with the rest of their manuals (annoying). After confirming that there was nothing special to do to install it, I swapped out my RS SDLX Ultimate (with the new Meg Neg on it - the king can did make a big difference BTW and made it feel, you guessed it, more coil-like...hahaha).
The mounting hardware/bushings were a tad over 30.55mm on the lower eyelet so fitting it into the Cascade link was a little bit of a process but the whole thing got done in about 30 mins so no big deal.
View attachment 147330
After getting it all mounted, I had to see what Vorsprung had set me up with...Definitely more squish! Next step, test ride! I took it on a 20 mile ride to see if I had just made a $1200 mistake or if I was truly headed towards the promiseland.
The ride had a nice mix of technical climbs ans descents that gave the Telum a pretty thorough hammering. The high-speed (at least for me) descents over rock shelves and roots felt controlled and not too harsh; no packed down feeling - it's not like you can float over a washboard of rock shelves at speed though I might open up the HSC a bit. We also did a bunch of rooty and loose technical climbs to get out of the Redwood bowl and the Telum felt very planted; I definitely felt that I had improved traction and a new found confidence or what were sketchy technical climbs...while, one ride is hardly enough time to declare coil nirvana, I can say that I now get the attraction and why every air shock is chasing the "coil-like" feel.
Pros:
- Sick build quality
- Adjustable coil (Spridex) so no getting stuck between spring weights
- Ready to ride straight out of the box thanks to Pro tune and build
Cons:
- Pricey
- Heavier than a air spring
- Lead time for build
Honestly, the only real con is the cost; at double the price of my Rockshox SDLX Ultimate that it replaced its not a cheap upgrade but so far, it feels like it was worth it.
Product name: Vorsprung Telum
Price paid: $1200
Score (out of 10): 10
Review: After chasing the “coil-like” feel enough to know that this state of “perfection” doesn’t exist in the land of the air shock, I ran into the Telum—while looking at a Secus for a more coil-like feel for my fork.
Having considered an EXT E-Storia in the past when building out my Crestline (Troydon talked me out of it), I knew enough to know that the Telum addressed my major concern about being stuck between springs with the Spridex adjustable coil. Being the impulsive person that I am, I pulled the trigger (and bought the Secus at the same time—lol, gotta keep chasing the coil).
The build and wait time was about 4 weeks vs. the stated lead time on the website but that was still well within the range of 6 weeks that I considered realistic. The one thing to watch out for when ordering is to be sure that you get your invite to the Tuning Hub and that you fill out the Tuning Information Questionnaire. Something got out of whack and I didn't get the invite and form till I asked for it when I checked in on the ETA at week 4.
Once it was built and tuned, I paid the balance due (you only have to pre-pay $200 to get the process going) and it was shipped out. Fair warning, I'm in the US and there was some duty/customs stuff that ended up with me having to pay another $128 to get the shock delivered.
The shock arrived pre-tuned and ready to go right outta the box.
View attachment 147324
Inside was the Tuning Report some spare spring adapters (and a spare footstud for my Secus-the guys at Vorsprung really go the extra mile to help out).
All the mounting hardware is already in place-I did ask about swapping out the lower bushing for a needle bearing-it is usually helpful with a VPP-but after getting a primer on what would be required and the fact that there was spherical bearing already installed I passed on even thinking about swapping it out. The QR code on the box sidn't take me to the Install Instructions so I had to root around in my email to find the link to the PDF as it is not on the website with the rest of their manuals (annoying). After confirming that there was nothing special to do to install it, I swapped out my RS SDLX Ultimate (with the new Meg Neg on it - the king can did make a big difference BTW and made it feel, you guessed it, more coil-like...hahaha).
The mounting hardware/bushings were a tad over 30.55mm on the lower eyelet so fitting it into the Cascade link was a little bit of a process but the whole thing got done in about 30 mins so no big deal.
View attachment 147330
After getting it all mounted, I had to see what Vorsprung had set me up with...Definitely more squish! Next step, test ride! I took it on a 20 mile ride to see if I had just made a $1200 mistake or if I was truly headed towards the promiseland.
The ride had a nice mix of technical climbs ans descents that gave the Telum a pretty thorough hammering. The high-speed (at least for me) descents over rock shelves and roots felt controlled and not too harsh; no packed down feeling - it's not like you can float over a washboard of rock shelves at speed though I might open up the HSC a bit. We also did a bunch of rooty and loose technical climbs to get out of the Redwood bowl and the Telum felt very planted; I definitely felt that I had improved traction and a new found confidence or what were sketchy technical climbs...while, one ride is hardly enough time to declare coil nirvana, I can say that I now get the attraction and why every air shock is chasing the "coil-like" feel.
Pros:
- Sick build quality
- Adjustable coil (Spridex) so no getting stuck between spring weights
- Ready to ride straight out of the box thanks to Pro tune and build
Cons:
- Pricey
- Heavier than a air spring
- Lead time for build
Honestly, the only real con is the cost; at double the price of my Rockshox SDLX Ultimate that it replaced its not a cheap upgrade but so far, it feels like it was worth it.
