NovyParts NOVYA
“I can highly recommend the NOVYA if you want something a little different from a small brand, made in France, and at a decent chunk less than a Fox DHX2...”
Reviewing shocks is a difficult task: many factors affect the shock setup and performance from frame design, shock tune, settings, rider weight, style, and preference, not to mention all of those factors affecting themselves.
‘Off-the-shelf’ shocks are aimed to suit a wide range of riders, to create something average for everyone, which is not a bad idea for large-scale production and sales. But, the reality of this is that along with the lack of information and setup advice offered by many brands, there can be days, weeks or months of guessing games trying to get the shock right for you. Playing around with many factors, going back and forth, messing things up, starting over fresh and even shipping your shock off for a re-tune and a forced few weeks away from your bike.
The NOVYA: made in France and custom assembled specifically for you and your bike.
I always advise purchasing your suspension straight from a tuner avoiding most of that confusion and getting the right tool for the job from Day 1. NovyParts can step in here with their custom-built-to-order units which will be made to suit your bike, you, your riding style and location.
NovyParts might be a new name in the shock market, but Max has been around for decades spending 15 years working for BOS, running his own service centre near Toulouse and is highly praised by suspension techs in the know.
A custom-tuned shock that is made in France is going to cost a fortune right? Nope, €699 will get you the shock and you can opt for a titanium spring for only €99 more, oplus you get a 1year/100-hour service included. Head to the Novyparts website for full technical details and 15x five-star reviews from paying customers.
The horse of choice - this bike has around 6% progression, essentially linear.
My shock was built to suit my titanium Egerie and suit it, it did. An exceptional but simple finish in grey/black with the ti-spring finishing the visual match. The setup was also suitable with NovyParts recommending a 300lb spring which gave me exactly 33% sag for my 74kg (kitted) weight.
On the trail, the custom tune also suited me perfectly, the NOVYA provides exceptional grip and suppleness at low speeds, plenty of support around the sag point to push against and maintain a stable chassis, and superb control in bigger hits and massive bottom-out resistance even on this very linear bike.
The adjusters make changes in noticeable but fine increments which don’t have a massive effect on the characteristics which makes fine tuning easy. Getting a custom-built shock from an expert should put you within a few clicks of perfect from day one, a click here and there (there’s a helpful app, currently only in French language) and you will have a great performing shock and straight into the fun part of riding without months of setup faff!
My clicks are all very close to the centre: rebound is currently at -17/26, LSC at 15/33, and HSC at -1.5 full turns out of 3. I think this is proof that Max did a great job with the tuning as in an ideal world we would always be in the middle of the adjusters.
High and low speed adjusters, plus a small grub screw to lock the spring in place.
That’s about all I have to say about this shock, it does everything I can ask for, and that’s all a shock needs to do - if there’s not much to say it’s a good sign. Many of us get carried away thinking we need the latest and greatest shock tech, but the reality is that a simple coil-sprung shock with the right tune for you will outperform literally anything at any price that is not dialled in correctly.
I can highly recommend the NOVYA if you want something a little different from a small brand, made in France, and at a decent chunk less than a Fox DHX2, EXT, FAST, Ohlins, or Push. Actually, there are only a few shocks that are cheaper like the RS Super Deluxe and DVO Jade.
At a similar price point, there is the Formula MOD which for me and my setup on the same bike didn’t compete with NOVYA, though I’m waiting for a tuned CTS unit as I’m riding the firmest option with compression and rebound fully closed.
Downsides? The only one I can see is shipping back and forth for servicing if you live outside of the EU. It would help to have a climb switch in some situations, and it’s ‘missing’ a plastic sheath on the shock body to prevent spring rub, but there’s no evidence of any rubbing after many days of testing. Apart from those, I’ve had a perfect experience from ordering to riding.
These independent reviews are 100% funded by you guys through my competition website, astonmtb.com August Comps include a custom built-to-order NOVYA + spring including global shipping. More suspension can be won in the form of a €3500 Rulezman package where you could opt for a highly recommended CC Kitsuma from Rulezman for a similar price and get a climb switch at the same time.
To chance to win this NOVYA has passed, but there’s plenty of other cool stuff to win!