Suspension Smith’s Girder/TeleFork

Could this radical, Australian-designed ‘girderfork’ be set to revolutionise dirt bike suspension? Having tested it a few times, Aussie enduro icon, Geoff Ballard, sure seems to think so.

Aussie enduro stalwart, Geoff Ballard, recently lashed out and bought himself a 2021 KTM 350EXC-F WESS edition. Aside from agreeing with us that it’s one of KTM’s best-looking models ever, GB is also a fan of its WP XACT (air-sprung) fork.

But what if Geoff were to get the opportunity to make that WP air fork work even better? Well, that’s exactly what Suspension Smith’s innovative girderfork claims to offer. It’s a prototype design with bump absorption at the top and bottom of the fork legs. And after a bunch of testing – and dialing-in with the help of Bernie from Old-School Builds and Laurie Smith from Suspension Smith – Ballard has not stopped raving about how well the thing works. In fact, he reckons it’s a design the manufacturers would be crazy not to consider for their production machines!

“For me, this design has really reinforced the limitations of a conventional fork, and how the rider is compensating for those limitations. With the Girderfork up top absorbing what the Telefork down below can’t, it creates next-level compliance and traction. In short, it’s amazing!”

Here’s a short edit GB produced about his experience with the design…