Just like Semenuks custom Boxxer 2 years ago, the boys at SRAM's BlackBox Labs have created another one off Boxxer, this time for Cam Zink.

Every year Rock Shox commissions a new artist or designer to design a sticker pack for the Totem series of forks.  At the opening of the SRAM MTB Experience at Kokanee Crankworx in Whistler, they unveiled that this time around the designer is none other than Geoff McFetridge.  I have been a huge fan of McFetridge's work ever since working with Coudal Partners on the documentary series "Western State" in which one for the featured designers was Geoff.  In talking about the project, SRAM commented "In celebration of the project we asked Geoff to use an actual RockShox Totem for his canvas and paint his iconic characters all over the legs and crown of the fork. "  This one of a kind will be raffled off to some lucky winner.

Hit the jump to check out the Western State episode about Geoff to find out a little about what makes his design tick.

Fox has paired up with Specialized once again to create a new "Auto Sag" feature.  Simply over inflate the shock, sit on the bike and release the air valve and it'll set the pressure just right for your weight.  Genius.

It looks like Cane Creek is following Rock Shox into the DH air shock market with this prototype Double Barrel Air making an appearance at Fort William this weekend.  I am sure more details will begin to trickle out as we get closer to Interbike, but for now check out some of the new bits spotted at Fort Bill over at Singletrackworld.com.

Not a lot of information about it, but Chromag appears to be playing with the idea of a full suspension rig with a steel front triangle and an aluminum rear end.  Looks like a promising design, it'll be interesting to see if it ever comes to light.

While I have seen this many times with Fox DHX Air's and RP23's, I have never seen it with a Rock Shox air shock, let alone in person but on Saturday, opening day of Sunrise Park Resort here in AZ, this is what AZFR Mike-E got to deal with before he even hit the lift.  He pulled his Demo 8 out of his truck, sat on the bike and "pop", instant 100% sag.  Here's to hoping that Rock Shox takes care of it and it isn't a sign of a larger problem with the Vivid Air.

Over the weekend at the US Open, Fox decided it was time to give everybody something to talk about.  During one of the early morning practice runs, they strapped this prototype inverted fork to the front of Gee Atherton's bike and sent it down the hill, and other than giving everyone a little peek at speed, they refused to say anything else about it.

What has been unveiled, as well as a lot of speculation can be found over on PinkBike.com

Fox have been dropping news and details of the 2012 Fox Shox range for a while now and it looks like 2012 is the year of Fox solid gold. New for the 2012 range is that the super slippery golden Kashima coating is available on all forks and rear shocks, the introduction of the new 29er only 34 fork, and the Adaptive Logic Pro-Pedal switch and dial on rear shocks has been changed up a bit.

For more details head on over to the Fox website

RockShox just posted this picture on their Twtter Page, which appears to be the Blackbox Edition Boxxers for all the WC teams and their upcoming Fort William outing.  Guessing the first 2 are for the Santa Cruz Syndicate and the 2nd 2 are for team Specialized Monster Energy, but I guess we'll just have to wait until Fort Bill to tell who is rocking which one of these beauties.

While I generally would probably recommend against having the ano stripped off your new $1600 Boxxer stanchions for the sake of aesthetics, I do salute those who have the cojones to just go for it.  Such is the case with the red custom anodized stanchions on this 2010 Boxxer WC which I have to say, looks pretty bling.

Fox Racing Shox has given it's first official look at the new 2012 RP23 Boost Valve damper featuring it's new "Adaptive Logic" system.  While the shock retains the current 2 position lever like the current RP23 but instead of a Pro-Pedal On/Off setup, the new system provides a user tunable setting in position 1 and a full lock out in position 2. Along with the new Adaptive Logic setup, the new RP23 also sports the slippery Kashima coating.

Check out www.bikeradar.com for more detail info on the inner workings of the RP23 or stay tuned to Fox Racing Shox for more information about this and other upcoming 2012 products.

Rock Shox has done it again.  The Boxxer gets even lighter, aerospace coating, new internals, knobs and an updated Maxle.

The passion for racing has always been the inspiration for Rockshox engineers to develop new exciting products. since its introduction in 1996 the boXXer has won over 10 elite downhill World championships and more than 66 World cup races. fuelling this passion while exploring the limits, the world’s best riders like sam hill, Myles rockwell, steve Peat and Greg Minnaar have been propelled to fame with advanced technology – like special long-travel dh air spring systems.

Motivated by racers to develop the lightest dh fork for any trail, the new 2011 RockShox Boxxer keronite comes with unique features and improvements. RockShox engineers were able to eliminate the paint weight variation that accompanies ordinary paint applications to lower fork legs. however, keronite is more than a color – it is a sealing process, shaving off over 30 grams, and more consistent in weight than painting or powder coating. the light and hard surface finish is commonly used in the aerospace industry as a coating to protect landing gear of airplanes to protect against impacts and damages while landing at nearly 300 km/h (180 mph).

2011 Rockshox BoXXer World cup improvements and updates:

• Boxxer keronite® model is lightest Boxxer made! At 2689 grams, it is also the lightest dh fork on the market
• updated damping featured in World cup and R2c2 models for increased wheel traction
• Redesigned valve for long-travel-specific Mission control dh damping system gives more responsiveness
• Boxxer World cup model receives entirely new Solo Air spring for reduced friction and increased durability
• updated Maxle lite dh for additional stiffness and optimal bearing preload
• New damping-adjust knob shapes and detents for increased grip and engineered for ease of use, with or without gloves.
• decals positioned under clear coat with hard-anodized black crowns for durability

Beyond the light new finish, this grey uber-fork is now more responsive on small bumps creating a bike that will stay more steady and stable thanks to design updates to the Mission control dh damper. the increased responsiveness improves traction and front wheel guidance, largely credited to the redesigned rebound piston valve that has enhanced performance and function to provide increased bike control for the rider.

Tool-free tuning! No tools are needed for on-trail adjustments thanks to repositioned knobs on the upper side of the fork legs. the rider can easily tune the compression for the high speed mode (in 18 clicks) and for the low speed adjustment (14 clicks). No World cup mechanic necessary – just ride, change the clicks and ride again until you go fast.

Topping the race ready details of the new Boxxer Wc keronite are a lightweight pair of hard-anodized black crowns with durable transfer-decals that sit under the protective clearcoat for the ultra clean fit and finish you expect from a pure racing tool. for more info about Keronite® please visit: www.keronite.com

French suspension specialists, BOS have just unveiled their updated 2012 lineup, and to no one's surprise, have released their first air shock, the Vip'R.  A enduro specific shock, the Vip'R features adjustable air pressure, volume, rebound and two selectable compression settings that BOS claims are not "lock outs".  Weight is said to be 20grams less than Fox's RP23 and the Vip'R will be available in 7.5, 7.875" and 8.5" lengths.  Retail price is expected to be 497 Euros ($710 USD).

Also making an appearance in the rear shock category is the Rare Stoy.  Featuring a new Hydraulic Limit just like the Rare Idyll fork as well as a new aluminum push rod, the Rare Stoy becomes BOS' top coil shock for 2012.  Retail pricing is expected to be 670 euros ($950 USD)

The Classic Stoy stays the same but gets a 100 euro price cut down to 570 euro ($810 USD)

The 2012 Deville single crown which was 160mm in 2011 gets bumped to 170mm in 2012 while keeping the same 34mm chassis.  New options include a tapered steer tube as well as a new tool free axle.

For 2012 the Idyll SC replaces the N'Dee for the 180mm single crown freeride market.

For 2012 both the Idyll and the Idyll Rare receive new lower castings which drop nearly 250g from each along with new bushings and seals.  The Idyll Rare will also be getting a pair of matched hard anodized stanchions. (Not shown in picture)

Check out www.bosmtb.com for more information.