Formula Nebbia
MSRP: $849.99 USD / €790 / $950 CAD / £680
Adjustments: Air pressure, rebound, compression
Sizes offered:
- Metric:
- 190 x 37.5 / 40 / 42.5 / 45 mm
- 210 x 47.5 / 50 / 52.5 / 55 mm
- 230 x 57.5 / 60 / 62.5 / 65 mm
- 250 x 67.5 / 70 / 72.5 / 75 mm
- Metric Trunnion:
- 165 x 37.5 / 40 / 42.5 / 45 mm
- 185 x 47.5 / 50 / 52.5 / 55 mm
- 205 x 57.5 / 60 / 62.5 / 65 mm
- 225 x 67.5 / 70 / 72.5 / 75 mm
Stated Weight: 472 g (210 x 55 mm)
Intro
Formula just launched the Belva dual crown Enduro fork a few weeks back (and we’ve got one in for review — stay tuned for much more on that one soon) but they weren’t done with new suspension products. The Nibbia is their first-ever air-sprung rear shock, and there’s a lot of interesting stuff going on with its design and Formula’s claims about its performance — including full user serviceability, easy adaptation to different frames, and more. Let’s see what they’ve come up with.
Design
Visually, there’s nothing too wild going on with the Nebbia. It’s a piggyback air shock with what appears to be a fairly average-sized air can (mounted to the piggyback end of the shock), a climb switch, and adjustable compression and rebound. The air shaft has an etched-on sag indicator graphic, and there are some subtle accents in Formula’s signature purple.
But things get pretty interesting internally. The Nebbia uses a pared-down version of Formula’s CTS system — essentially pre-configured compression valves that can be swapped out in just a few minutes to fundamentally alter the base tune of the rear shock. It’s not a new idea for Formula — both their MOD coil shock and various fork offerings use their own versions of the same system — but it’s unlike anything we’re aware of from any other manufacturer. The Nebbia, like the MOD, has three different CTS valves available, with light, medium, and firm compression tunes; Formula says that the range of rebound adjustment on the Nebbia is wide enough as to not require revalving to suit different bikes and riders. All three CTS valves are included with the shock, with an external compression adjuster to fine tune from there. The Nebbia also features a three-position climb switch with “open,” “platform,” and “firm” settings.
Formula has long offered a variety of different air spring variants in their range of forks, including some with independently adjustable negative air springs and/or dual-positive air spring layouts, but the Nebbia keeps things simpler, with a single positive air valve and what Formula calls an air/coil hybrid negative spring. The exact details of how the negative spring pressure is set aren’t specified, but there’s no external valve to set it manually.
The Neopos volume spacer design that we’ve seen in a lot of Formula’s forks carries over to the Nebbia, too. In short, the Neopos spacers are similar in concept to hard plastic volume spacers used by other brands, but are compressible so that their volume decreases as pressure ramps up deeper in the shock’s stroke. The idea is to help improve midstroke support by making the shock ramp up more quickly through the middle part of the stroke, without continuing to do so as aggressively deep in the travel.
The Nebbia is offered in metric sizes (both eyelet and trunnion) to suit the vast majority of modern Trail through DH bikes, with the full range of lengths from 190 to 250 mm (eyelet) and 165 to 225 mm (trunnion) available. That just leaves off the shortest 170 mm eyelet / 145 mm trunnion length, which is typically only featured on true XC bikes, many of which wouldn’t accommodate a piggyback rear shock anyway. The Nebbia also accommodates the full range of standard stroke lengths for all of those sizes, with clip-on spacers handling the travel reduction in 2.5, 5, and 7.5 mm increments (e.g., the 210 x 55 mm Nebbia can be reduced to 52.5, 50, or 47.5 mm stroke). Doing so just requires depressurizing the shock, unscrewing the air can, and adding or removing the appropriate spacer(s).
Formula also says that the Nebbia is user serviceable without any special tools. A basic air can service is recommended every 60 hours of ride time; a full teardown is recommended at 125 hours. Formula does recommend having a service center handle the full teardown, but you can have at it yourself “you are confident and have the correct equipment.”
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) First and foremost, how does the Nebbia perform on the trail?
(2) How well does Formula’s combination of CTS compression valves + wide range of rebound adjustment cater to the full spectrum of bikes and riders out there, instead of using different damper tunes?
(3) And how straightforward is the setup and service of the Nebbia, really? Formula claims they’ve made both especially easy, but we’re curious to find out more.
Bottom Line (For Now)
Formula’s new Nebbia may be their first air shock, but they’re hardly new to air-sprung suspension in general, and a lot of its design and features seem quite compelling on paper. We’re excited to get on one to see if that promise is borne out, and should be making that happen soon. Stay tuned to see how it goes.