 Hello guys, and welcome to the channel. As promised, I'm gonna give you my full review on the Raven cartridge kit from MX Tech. It is a bit overdue, I know, but I wanted to test them out in as many conditions as possible to give you my typical steps to podium and trustworthy review, so let's get to it. So right off the bat, I truly believe the Ravens are the next technological leap in Front Forks. It is quite a statement, but you'll understand where this is coming from. So to start with, the adjustability of the Ravens is second to none. They are by far the most adjustable forks on the market. They have around 50 clicks on compression to play with, and let me tell you something. They make anyone reconsider a need for a rebound, and I'm actually speaking against myself as a tuner, but that's the truth. The true trial by fire these close cartridge forks would have to undergo was actually really gnarling terrain. Where usually the natural stiffness of the pressurized system sacrifices some comfort. And so I did, and to my surprise, and to a big friend of mine who joined me, Pedro Duranje, who has some WP-AER forks set up for Enduro, we actually found the Ravens as comfortable as the Air Forks. Yes, that's comfortable. It's ridiculous, but it's what we felt actually. What I found as I fiddled with the clickers was that the valving was really, really good. And the clicker range allowed me to do anything, anywhere from riding really tough terrain to doing an occasional motocross training without actually feeling I was breaking the forks. And to not even mention what you can do once you actually decide to revalve them, if you wish so. With the amount of different circuits you can change, if you get them to an experienced and knowledgeable tuner, you can have an unbelievably surgical setting for your needs. Second of all, what got my attention once I started riding was that the Ravens managed to combine something that I thought was impossible with the traditional close cartridge technology available. They combined a comfort of open cartridge forks with the stability of close cartridge systems. The initial part of the stroke is so plush, but as soon as you hit an unexpected rock, for example, you have that typical close cartridge behavior where they really hold up and don't blow through the stroke. Well, there is a design explanation for this. So MXTech opted for a smaller diameter of the piston rod, generating less oil displacement through the base valve. This allows a plusher feel on the initial part of the stroke, really similar to open cartridge forks. But since the Ravens are pressurized and have the hook valve at the end of the stroke, you'll never feel them blowing through the stroke or actually bottoming out. That's what I call clever stuff. It truly is and it's really worth mentioning. Another detail that I overlooked from the beginning and only gave its deserved value about the Ravens was the safety they provided. So to give you some context, a few weeks before recording this video, I had a really scary crash and I genuinely think the Ravens spared me a few broken bones thanks to the hook valve. So I came off a corner, fourth gear pinned and when I realized it, I was actually heading to a massive rock and simply couldn't steer away. I did what anyone would do. I used all the brakes, leaned back and braced for impact. Well, surely enough, I hit the rock, of course, and went completely over the bars. Luckily, I came out of it completely unscathed. However, El Shandr, who was right behind me and he was riding a Yamaha 4 stroke, hit the same rock and wasn't that lucky. He ended up with a broken wrist. I truly believe the hook valve absorbed a huge amount of the impact and spared me at least my wrists because the forks were so compressed with all the braking that I know my KYBs, for example, and I freaking love those forks, wouldn't have enough suspension stroke to absorb that amount of energy. There was some damage to the bike, but I walked away clean as a whistle. Sometimes we focus so much attention on comfort and performance that we overlook safety. But the truth is that if you ask anyone from a weekend warrior to a pro athlete, I'm betting that all of them will rather have gear busted than a broken bone. Just saying. Well, last but not least, the attention to details on the car bridges. They are beautifully made carriages, machined all around, and the clicker adjustment system is so refined. I really loved it. You have a nice Allen key instead of the typical flat screwdriver screws that end up screwed. There's no way around it. And regarding the installation, it was literally plug and play. I only had to fasten one single bolt. That's it. However, there are some details that I wasn't very fond of. First off, a mech-steck suffers from something that is quite common in our sport and industry, which is lack of documentation on the products. The physical information or instruction sheets that came with the kit wasn't the best, but to be fair as well, they were one of the first ravens to be installed on the ZF Sax forks. What happens in those scenarios is that you end up having to reach them out to confirm some small details. It's usually more nagging for them than actually for you. So what it is, what it is, you have to clear all of your doubts, obviously. Then there's the compression assembly that requires special tools to take it out. I understand that this can simply be a technical direction they have taken. Not all OEMs want people to take everything apart easily, but in my opinion, manufacturers should make products as easy to take apart as possible. It not only makes it easier to develop a community around the product, but also shows transparency between the OEM and the customer base, and I think that's really important. Again, this is not a flaw, but rather a diverging opinion on the direction they followed. Lastly, you have to keep in mind that depending on how your ravens come valved and how you have your stock shock set up, you might feel the bike unbalanced. What do I mean by that? Well, the ravens have a different damping character compared to stock stuff, and that can cause an imbalance of the front compared to the rear. It took me a while to figure out the ratio of clicker adjustments I had to make on the rear considering the clicker adjustments on the front. This is something that MX Tech isn't necessarily to blame, since it depends on how you have your shock set up, but you should have that into consideration when buying. This actually isn't something wrong about the ravens, but in regards to anything you buy aftermarket. And so that's it! I hope you enjoyed the video, and if you have a set of ravens with different feedback or have any questions about them, share them in the comments below, please. Thank you for watching, and of course, don't forget to subscribe. Cheers!