Triple Clamp brands

layenpipe25 wrote:

Who makes a good set of triple clamps these days for a reasonable price? Other than changing offset are there any added benefits?

layenpipe25 wrote:

Who makes a good set of triple clamps these days for a reasonable price? Other than changing offset are there any added benefits?

Luxon MX wrote:

What bike are they for? What would you like different from your stock clamps? There are a lot of Triple clamp options out there: Xtrig, Neken...

What bike are they for? What would you like different from your stock clamps?

There are a lot of Triple clamp options out there: Xtrig, Neken, Ride Engineering, DP Racing, Bud, Pro Circuit, Applied, BRP, Scar, Kite, probably some I'm forgetting, and of course Luxon. Some offer nothing more than bling (color anodized), others offer that plus various other features. Some main considerations in a clamp:

Strength
Really not an issue these days. A well designed set of clamps will be plenty strong assuming they've hit a reasonable stiffness target. If a particular manufacturer's clamps aren't strong enough, you'd hear about it quickly, in here or elsewhere. In most cases, a broken set of clamps is the result of a major get-off, huge case, etc. This isn't necessarily true for bar mounts, though. More on that below.

Weight
Clamps should be as light as possible given that they're strong and stiff enough. Often times aftermarket clamps are about the same weigh as stock or heavier. If they're lighter, they typically give something up to get there, most notably stiffness.

Stiffness
For most people this is the least understood aspect in clamps by far. It's rare that riders, testers, the media, or anyone really truly understands it and it's clear from how they describe it (or typically don't adequately describe it). Most aftermarket companies will tell you they've "optimized stiffness" or have "optimal flex characteristics" or some other such nonsense. They never tell you what changed (more or less stiff? And in which conditions - torsion, bump, lateral, longitudinal? How is it optimal?).

The key to stiffness in clamp design is: maximizing vertical stiffness (bump) so the forks don't deflect and bind, maximizing torsional stiffness for steering precision and feel, and maintaining suitable flex longitudinally to help absorb bumps and vibrations. All these stiffness goals conflict with one another and are further compromised by compliance in the bar mounts as that has a major influence on feel as well. And it's important to note that stiffer clamps sometimes feels more plush to the rider as it allows the forks to work better than a flexy clamp that causes them to bind. Beyond that, you can't listen to someone who's tested clamps and noted on their stiffness without understanding the rest of their bike setup. Everything flexes - wheels, tires, forks, clamps, bars, chassis, axles, etc. If they've got some stiff A60 rims, a-kit forks, different tires, or anything else, it's all going to have an effect. If you want to understand the effects of clamp stiffness it really needs to be a back to back test on the same bike with a similar setup as yours.

Bar Mounts
Are the bar mounts the same as stock? Rubber mounted or solid? Some new "improved" design or same as stock? Do they fix a problem that the stock ones have; often twisting (most all rubber mounts) or bending (all current stock KTM/Husky mounts)? The key to a good bar mount design is having one that doesn't twist or bend from a minor crash, yet absorbs vibrations and bumps nicely. And it shouldn't weigh a ton! For example, the Xtrig mounts perform quite well, but they're nearly twice the weight of similar performing mounts.

Additional Features
Often times, aftermarket clamps are nothing more than machined copies of stock, with some very minor differences, and anodized to look nice. Pro Circuit is a great example of this. Nothing stands out about the design, they're on par with strength, stiffness, and weight of stock but with no extra features. But of course they have the cool factor because of the name... Lots of brands are similar to this, with only a few offering a unique design/advantage. Some are again similar to stock in design, but thinned up throughout so they're lighter. The downside of this is that they're flexy, which is rarely desirable.

Notable standouts with additional features are Xtrig (split fork tube clamp design, some offer adjustable offset, nice bar mounts, but otherwise very similar to stock and rather heavy), Neken (the air/spring bar mount versions - similar to stock otherwise and heavy due to the mounts), and Luxon (strong rubber mounted bar mounts with a topology optimized design, much different than stock - typically lighter stiffer and stronger than stock, but that's bike dependent).

Price
If you're looking for something that hits the mark on all the above points, it's not going to be cheap. Expect to pay on the order of $800 for a nice set of clamps with bar mounts. If you're just looking for anodized bling, you can probably find a set for something like $500 with bar mounts, or cheaper if they use the stock bar mounts. But why spend the money unless you can get some real performance benefit?

Obviously the Luxon clamps are the best available (we may be a bit biased though )! But really the best clamps are dependent on what bike you're putting them on, what features you're looking for, what trade-offs you're willing to make (stiffness, weight, bar mounts, etc.), and how much you can afford to spend. If you can provide more details I and/or other Vital members can point you in the right direction.


Edit: All that and I forgot to address the offset!

Offset can have a significant effect on handling. It's very bike dependent and these days the manufacturers have gotten it pretty close with their stock clamps. That said, it can still be an advantage to change it in some cases. Again, it's heavily rider, style of riding (moto, off-road, etc.), track condition, and bike dependent. Few people are going to buy multiple sets of clamps with different offsets and change them depending on what they're riding that day. Even the adjustable offset clamps like Xtrig are rarely touched once a rider finds the offset they like. As I said earlier, the manufacturers have done a pretty good job finding out what the right "happy medium" offset is for most people and most riding. You'll probably only want to change offset if you're doing something rather different from the norm.

layenpipe25 wrote:

Who makes a good set of triple clamps these days for a reasonable price? Other than changing offset are there any added benefits?

Luxon MX wrote:

What bike are they for? What would you like different from your stock clamps? There are a lot of Triple clamp options out there: Xtrig, Neken...

What bike are they for? What would you like different from your stock clamps?

There are a lot of Triple clamp options out there: Xtrig, Neken, Ride Engineering, DP Racing, Bud, Pro Circuit, Applied, BRP, Scar, Kite, probably some I'm forgetting, and of course Luxon. Some offer nothing more than bling (color anodized), others offer that plus various other features. Some main considerations in a clamp:

Strength
Really not an issue these days. A well designed set of clamps will be plenty strong assuming they've hit a reasonable stiffness target. If a particular manufacturer's clamps aren't strong enough, you'd hear about it quickly, in here or elsewhere. In most cases, a broken set of clamps is the result of a major get-off, huge case, etc. This isn't necessarily true for bar mounts, though. More on that below.

Weight
Clamps should be as light as possible given that they're strong and stiff enough. Often times aftermarket clamps are about the same weigh as stock or heavier. If they're lighter, they typically give something up to get there, most notably stiffness.

Stiffness
For most people this is the least understood aspect in clamps by far. It's rare that riders, testers, the media, or anyone really truly understands it and it's clear from how they describe it (or typically don't adequately describe it). Most aftermarket companies will tell you they've "optimized stiffness" or have "optimal flex characteristics" or some other such nonsense. They never tell you what changed (more or less stiff? And in which conditions - torsion, bump, lateral, longitudinal? How is it optimal?).

The key to stiffness in clamp design is: maximizing vertical stiffness (bump) so the forks don't deflect and bind, maximizing torsional stiffness for steering precision and feel, and maintaining suitable flex longitudinally to help absorb bumps and vibrations. All these stiffness goals conflict with one another and are further compromised by compliance in the bar mounts as that has a major influence on feel as well. And it's important to note that stiffer clamps sometimes feels more plush to the rider as it allows the forks to work better than a flexy clamp that causes them to bind. Beyond that, you can't listen to someone who's tested clamps and noted on their stiffness without understanding the rest of their bike setup. Everything flexes - wheels, tires, forks, clamps, bars, chassis, axles, etc. If they've got some stiff A60 rims, a-kit forks, different tires, or anything else, it's all going to have an effect. If you want to understand the effects of clamp stiffness it really needs to be a back to back test on the same bike with a similar setup as yours.

Bar Mounts
Are the bar mounts the same as stock? Rubber mounted or solid? Some new "improved" design or same as stock? Do they fix a problem that the stock ones have; often twisting (most all rubber mounts) or bending (all current stock KTM/Husky mounts)? The key to a good bar mount design is having one that doesn't twist or bend from a minor crash, yet absorbs vibrations and bumps nicely. And it shouldn't weigh a ton! For example, the Xtrig mounts perform quite well, but they're nearly twice the weight of similar performing mounts.

Additional Features
Often times, aftermarket clamps are nothing more than machined copies of stock, with some very minor differences, and anodized to look nice. Pro Circuit is a great example of this. Nothing stands out about the design, they're on par with strength, stiffness, and weight of stock but with no extra features. But of course they have the cool factor because of the name... Lots of brands are similar to this, with only a few offering a unique design/advantage. Some are again similar to stock in design, but thinned up throughout so they're lighter. The downside of this is that they're flexy, which is rarely desirable.

Notable standouts with additional features are Xtrig (split fork tube clamp design, some offer adjustable offset, nice bar mounts, but otherwise very similar to stock and rather heavy), Neken (the air/spring bar mount versions - similar to stock otherwise and heavy due to the mounts), and Luxon (strong rubber mounted bar mounts with a topology optimized design, much different than stock - typically lighter stiffer and stronger than stock, but that's bike dependent).

Price
If you're looking for something that hits the mark on all the above points, it's not going to be cheap. Expect to pay on the order of $800 for a nice set of clamps with bar mounts. If you're just looking for anodized bling, you can probably find a set for something like $500 with bar mounts, or cheaper if they use the stock bar mounts. But why spend the money unless you can get some real performance benefit?

Obviously the Luxon clamps are the best available (we may be a bit biased though )! But really the best clamps are dependent on what bike you're putting them on, what features you're looking for, what trade-offs you're willing to make (stiffness, weight, bar mounts, etc.), and how much you can afford to spend. If you can provide more details I and/or other Vital members can point you in the right direction.


Edit: All that and I forgot to address the offset!

Offset can have a significant effect on handling. It's very bike dependent and these days the manufacturers have gotten it pretty close with their stock clamps. That said, it can still be an advantage to change it in some cases. Again, it's heavily rider, style of riding (moto, off-road, etc.), track condition, and bike dependent. Few people are going to buy multiple sets of clamps with different offsets and change them depending on what they're riding that day. Even the adjustable offset clamps like Xtrig are rarely touched once a rider finds the offset they like. As I said earlier, the manufacturers have done a pretty good job finding out what the right "happy medium" offset is for most people and most riding. You'll probably only want to change offset if you're doing something rather different from the norm.

layenpipe25 wrote:

Who makes a good set of triple clamps these days for a reasonable price? Other than changing offset are there any added benefits?

Luxon MX wrote:

What bike are they for? What would you like different from your stock clamps? There are a lot of Triple clamp options out there: Xtrig, Neken...

What bike are they for? What would you like different from your stock clamps?

There are a lot of Triple clamp options out there: Xtrig, Neken, Ride Engineering, DP Racing, Bud, Pro Circuit, Applied, BRP, Scar, Kite, probably some I'm forgetting, and of course Luxon. Some offer nothing more than bling (color anodized), others offer that plus various other features. Some main considerations in a clamp:

Strength
Really not an issue these days. A well designed set of clamps will be plenty strong assuming they've hit a reasonable stiffness target. If a particular manufacturer's clamps aren't strong enough, you'd hear about it quickly, in here or elsewhere. In most cases, a broken set of clamps is the result of a major get-off, huge case, etc. This isn't necessarily true for bar mounts, though. More on that below.

Weight
Clamps should be as light as possible given that they're strong and stiff enough. Often times aftermarket clamps are about the same weigh as stock or heavier. If they're lighter, they typically give something up to get there, most notably stiffness.

Stiffness
For most people this is the least understood aspect in clamps by far. It's rare that riders, testers, the media, or anyone really truly understands it and it's clear from how they describe it (or typically don't adequately describe it). Most aftermarket companies will tell you they've "optimized stiffness" or have "optimal flex characteristics" or some other such nonsense. They never tell you what changed (more or less stiff? And in which conditions - torsion, bump, lateral, longitudinal? How is it optimal?).

The key to stiffness in clamp design is: maximizing vertical stiffness (bump) so the forks don't deflect and bind, maximizing torsional stiffness for steering precision and feel, and maintaining suitable flex longitudinally to help absorb bumps and vibrations. All these stiffness goals conflict with one another and are further compromised by compliance in the bar mounts as that has a major influence on feel as well. And it's important to note that stiffer clamps sometimes feels more plush to the rider as it allows the forks to work better than a flexy clamp that causes them to bind. Beyond that, you can't listen to someone who's tested clamps and noted on their stiffness without understanding the rest of their bike setup. Everything flexes - wheels, tires, forks, clamps, bars, chassis, axles, etc. If they've got some stiff A60 rims, a-kit forks, different tires, or anything else, it's all going to have an effect. If you want to understand the effects of clamp stiffness it really needs to be a back to back test on the same bike with a similar setup as yours.

Bar Mounts
Are the bar mounts the same as stock? Rubber mounted or solid? Some new "improved" design or same as stock? Do they fix a problem that the stock ones have; often twisting (most all rubber mounts) or bending (all current stock KTM/Husky mounts)? The key to a good bar mount design is having one that doesn't twist or bend from a minor crash, yet absorbs vibrations and bumps nicely. And it shouldn't weigh a ton! For example, the Xtrig mounts perform quite well, but they're nearly twice the weight of similar performing mounts.

Additional Features
Often times, aftermarket clamps are nothing more than machined copies of stock, with some very minor differences, and anodized to look nice. Pro Circuit is a great example of this. Nothing stands out about the design, they're on par with strength, stiffness, and weight of stock but with no extra features. But of course they have the cool factor because of the name... Lots of brands are similar to this, with only a few offering a unique design/advantage. Some are again similar to stock in design, but thinned up throughout so they're lighter. The downside of this is that they're flexy, which is rarely desirable.

Notable standouts with additional features are Xtrig (split fork tube clamp design, some offer adjustable offset, nice bar mounts, but otherwise very similar to stock and rather heavy), Neken (the air/spring bar mount versions - similar to stock otherwise and heavy due to the mounts), and Luxon (strong rubber mounted bar mounts with a topology optimized design, much different than stock - typically lighter stiffer and stronger than stock, but that's bike dependent).

Price
If you're looking for something that hits the mark on all the above points, it's not going to be cheap. Expect to pay on the order of $800 for a nice set of clamps with bar mounts. If you're just looking for anodized bling, you can probably find a set for something like $500 with bar mounts, or cheaper if they use the stock bar mounts. But why spend the money unless you can get some real performance benefit?

Obviously the Luxon clamps are the best available (we may be a bit biased though )! But really the best clamps are dependent on what bike you're putting them on, what features you're looking for, what trade-offs you're willing to make (stiffness, weight, bar mounts, etc.), and how much you can afford to spend. If you can provide more details I and/or other Vital members can point you in the right direction.


Edit: All that and I forgot to address the offset!

Offset can have a significant effect on handling. It's very bike dependent and these days the manufacturers have gotten it pretty close with their stock clamps. That said, it can still be an advantage to change it in some cases. Again, it's heavily rider, style of riding (moto, off-road, etc.), track condition, and bike dependent. Few people are going to buy multiple sets of clamps with different offsets and change them depending on what they're riding that day. Even the adjustable offset clamps like Xtrig are rarely touched once a rider finds the offset they like. As I said earlier, the manufacturers have done a pretty good job finding out what the right "happy medium" offset is for most people and most riding. You'll probably only want to change offset if you're doing something rather different from the norm.

layenpipe25 wrote:

Thanks for sharing all the great knowledge! The bike is an '06 YZ250. It came with an '05 front end so I am building up a...

Thanks for sharing all the great knowledge!

The bike is an '06 YZ250. It came with an '05 front end so I am building up a new(correct) front end. I have been shopping used OE triple clamps, mostly off old yz250fs that are being parted out, but I thought maybe I would go the aftermarket route instead of putting my money on fleebay. With aftermarket, I like that I don't have to press out the already beat up steering stem and swap it over to the 250f clamps.

Not sure if I want to go 22 offset or leave it 25. I love riding track, and a bike that corners, but I often find myself doing several desert trips throughout the year with my married friends on their ktm desert bikes.

Thanks again!

layenpipe25 wrote:

Thanks for sharing all the great knowledge! The bike is an '06 YZ250. It came with an '05 front end so I am building up a...

Thanks for sharing all the great knowledge!

The bike is an '06 YZ250. It came with an '05 front end so I am building up a new(correct) front end. I have been shopping used OE triple clamps, mostly off old yz250fs that are being parted out, but I thought maybe I would go the aftermarket route instead of putting my money on fleebay. With aftermarket, I like that I don't have to press out the already beat up steering stem and swap it over to the 250f clamps.

Not sure if I want to go 22 offset or leave it 25. I love riding track, and a bike that corners, but I often find myself doing several desert trips throughout the year with my married friends on their ktm desert bikes.

Thanks again!

Meister wrote:

Vital discount? Lol

Meister wrote:

Vital discount? Lol

Luxon MX wrote:

VITAL-2019

kunk wrote:

How do you order the 22 mm offset? I don’t see an option for different offsets.

layenpipe25 wrote:

I have a set of 08 YZ250f forks that I will be using. My goal is to get a set of your clamps. You can tell...

I have a set of 08 YZ250f forks that I will be using.

My goal is to get a set of your clamps. You can tell that some real ingenuity went into the design. Awesome work! However, I want to make sure I like the 22mm offset before going all in. I found a used set of 22mm ride engineering clamps for cheap in my area that I want to buy and try. They came off a 2017 yz250. Although, I noticed RE's website shows their yz clamps fitting 05-19. I am worried they didn't account for the change in size on the upper fork that you mentioned. I believe in 2015, right? . I called them and they were unaware of any change in the forks. Is it too small of a change for it to be an issue with fitment?

layenpipe25 wrote:

The guy selling the ride engineering triple clamps, is also selling a performance lowering link for another $100. Is this something I should consider switching to...

The guy selling the ride engineering triple clamps, is also selling a performance lowering link for another $100. Is this something I should consider switching to 22mm offset?

Meister wrote:

Vital discount? Lol

Luxon MX wrote:

VITAL-2019

FIREfish148 wrote:

Y’all still got that discount? 🤣

layenpipe25 wrote:

Who makes a good set of triple clamps these days for a reasonable price? Other than changing offset are there any added benefits?

Luxon MX wrote:

What bike are they for? What would you like different from your stock clamps? There are a lot of Triple clamp options out there: Xtrig, Neken...

What bike are they for? What would you like different from your stock clamps?

There are a lot of Triple clamp options out there: Xtrig, Neken, Ride Engineering, DP Racing, Bud, Pro Circuit, Applied, BRP, Scar, Kite, probably some I'm forgetting, and of course Luxon. Some offer nothing more than bling (color anodized), others offer that plus various other features. Some main considerations in a clamp:

Strength
Really not an issue these days. A well designed set of clamps will be plenty strong assuming they've hit a reasonable stiffness target. If a particular manufacturer's clamps aren't strong enough, you'd hear about it quickly, in here or elsewhere. In most cases, a broken set of clamps is the result of a major get-off, huge case, etc. This isn't necessarily true for bar mounts, though. More on that below.

Weight
Clamps should be as light as possible given that they're strong and stiff enough. Often times aftermarket clamps are about the same weigh as stock or heavier. If they're lighter, they typically give something up to get there, most notably stiffness.

Stiffness
For most people this is the least understood aspect in clamps by far. It's rare that riders, testers, the media, or anyone really truly understands it and it's clear from how they describe it (or typically don't adequately describe it). Most aftermarket companies will tell you they've "optimized stiffness" or have "optimal flex characteristics" or some other such nonsense. They never tell you what changed (more or less stiff? And in which conditions - torsion, bump, lateral, longitudinal? How is it optimal?).

The key to stiffness in clamp design is: maximizing vertical stiffness (bump) so the forks don't deflect and bind, maximizing torsional stiffness for steering precision and feel, and maintaining suitable flex longitudinally to help absorb bumps and vibrations. All these stiffness goals conflict with one another and are further compromised by compliance in the bar mounts as that has a major influence on feel as well. And it's important to note that stiffer clamps sometimes feels more plush to the rider as it allows the forks to work better than a flexy clamp that causes them to bind. Beyond that, you can't listen to someone who's tested clamps and noted on their stiffness without understanding the rest of their bike setup. Everything flexes - wheels, tires, forks, clamps, bars, chassis, axles, etc. If they've got some stiff A60 rims, a-kit forks, different tires, or anything else, it's all going to have an effect. If you want to understand the effects of clamp stiffness it really needs to be a back to back test on the same bike with a similar setup as yours.

Bar Mounts
Are the bar mounts the same as stock? Rubber mounted or solid? Some new "improved" design or same as stock? Do they fix a problem that the stock ones have; often twisting (most all rubber mounts) or bending (all current stock KTM/Husky mounts)? The key to a good bar mount design is having one that doesn't twist or bend from a minor crash, yet absorbs vibrations and bumps nicely. And it shouldn't weigh a ton! For example, the Xtrig mounts perform quite well, but they're nearly twice the weight of similar performing mounts.

Additional Features
Often times, aftermarket clamps are nothing more than machined copies of stock, with some very minor differences, and anodized to look nice. Pro Circuit is a great example of this. Nothing stands out about the design, they're on par with strength, stiffness, and weight of stock but with no extra features. But of course they have the cool factor because of the name... Lots of brands are similar to this, with only a few offering a unique design/advantage. Some are again similar to stock in design, but thinned up throughout so they're lighter. The downside of this is that they're flexy, which is rarely desirable.

Notable standouts with additional features are Xtrig (split fork tube clamp design, some offer adjustable offset, nice bar mounts, but otherwise very similar to stock and rather heavy), Neken (the air/spring bar mount versions - similar to stock otherwise and heavy due to the mounts), and Luxon (strong rubber mounted bar mounts with a topology optimized design, much different than stock - typically lighter stiffer and stronger than stock, but that's bike dependent).

Price
If you're looking for something that hits the mark on all the above points, it's not going to be cheap. Expect to pay on the order of $800 for a nice set of clamps with bar mounts. If you're just looking for anodized bling, you can probably find a set for something like $500 with bar mounts, or cheaper if they use the stock bar mounts. But why spend the money unless you can get some real performance benefit?

Obviously the Luxon clamps are the best available (we may be a bit biased though )! But really the best clamps are dependent on what bike you're putting them on, what features you're looking for, what trade-offs you're willing to make (stiffness, weight, bar mounts, etc.), and how much you can afford to spend. If you can provide more details I and/or other Vital members can point you in the right direction.


Edit: All that and I forgot to address the offset!

Offset can have a significant effect on handling. It's very bike dependent and these days the manufacturers have gotten it pretty close with their stock clamps. That said, it can still be an advantage to change it in some cases. Again, it's heavily rider, style of riding (moto, off-road, etc.), track condition, and bike dependent. Few people are going to buy multiple sets of clamps with different offsets and change them depending on what they're riding that day. Even the adjustable offset clamps like Xtrig are rarely touched once a rider finds the offset they like. As I said earlier, the manufacturers have done a pretty good job finding out what the right "happy medium" offset is for most people and most riding. You'll probably only want to change offset if you're doing something rather different from the norm.

FIREfish148 wrote:

Y’all still got that discount? 🤣

Luxon MX wrote:

yep, it's just VITALMX

Soul Indigo wrote:

Great post. How is the topology design optimized? 🙃