Don't know the mechanical side of future shock, but definitely noticeable improvement over no FS, or even Trek's elastometers on their domane series. Im toying around with the idea of an endurance geo road bike and tried both Trek's domane with elastometers, which while I liked the geo, could not tell that their carbon layup or elastometers were really adding anything comfort-wise that couldn't have been achieved with better tires. The FS definitely did take the edge off...maybe no more than what really good, cushy larger tires would do, but better than is typically achieved in the 26's that were mounted on the bike.

That said, someone that road the shock system that C'Dale used to have on the steering tube, right above the fork? It didn't have much travel either, thought it was a similar theory, yet they did not continue manufacturing that ride dampening system.... As much as I appreciated the ride that the FS provided, I've yet to pull the trigger on the bike. I have other road bikes to ride, so guess I'll wait and see a bit longer while I make up my mind, to see if Spec sticks with FS, or this was a 1-2 season experiment.