Suntour Epicon X2 LO-R Lite fork

Kowalski675

I'm thinking of upgrading my 2007 Carrera Kraken to use for local rides (towpaths, woodland trails, bridleways etc) and winter trail bike (less cleaning and maintenance than my full suss), since it's been hanging unused since buying my Boardman, but without spending silly money. The weak points are the fork (Suntour XCR) and brakes (Tektro Io mechanical discs). What I'd really fancy would be a set of 120mm Rebas, but if I go down the road of spending that much, plus brakes (and maybe wheels, so I could go to a 15mm Maxle) then I'm thinking it would be maybe more cost effective to sell the Kraken (it's mint condition, hardly been used) and put the money into a new bike.



So, I've seen these:

http://www.srsuntour-cycling.com/dstore ... denduse=AM

on Ebay (new) in 100mm flavour for £135. Are they any good? I think they're the same fork as on the 26" Boardman Comp hardtail. I've read elsewhere that they're not user serviceable (which seems to be backed up by the user manula PDF, which says service at dealer in the maintenance schedule chart. I can't find anything in a 120mm flavour for a similar price range.

Brake-wise, anyone have opinions of these (and/or how they compare to the Deore M596 / M615?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190851179624? ... 26_rdc%3D1

:?

supersonic

The brakes are a bargain. The fork is good - but UK seller?

Kowalski675

Yeah, same seller as the brakes actually (I'd not noticed that).

How would you say the fork compares to a Reba in performance? Do you know if it's right about them not being home serviceable?

Opinions on how the brakes compare to the Deore M615? Those are £100 from Merlin - worth the extra?

I hate anything gold, so I'd have to take a hair drier to the fork decals, lol. Unless they're lacquered over... :shock:

97th choice

The fork is decent, and quite lightweight. I think it 'might' be user serviceable, I can remember reading that you could travel adjust them.

I have the m395s on the voodoo, decent entry level shimano

The Rookie

Instead of the Epicon (about the same as Recon, so below a Reba) I'd consider a decent used pair fo forks.

The Kraken is a nice frame, just wish the paint on mine had been half as good as that (see top link in my sig!)

tarbot18

Go for the Epicon's they are not the same as recon's, lot more supple and lighter , closer to reba's in performance id say after riding both.
A doddle to do a lower leg service instructions on their website and on youtube.

The Rookie

The epicon is about 87g lighter (air, 9mm QR, 100mm), but I would say the suspension quality is much the same.

Kowalski675

97th choice wrote:

The fork is decent, and quite lightweight. I think it 'might' be user serviceable, I can remember reading that you could travel adjust them.

I have the m395s on the voodoo, decent entry level shimano

This is the thread I found via Google that suggests they're not home serviceable (4th post down):

http://forums.mtbr.com/shocks-suspensio ... 57692.html

Travel adjust? Internally, presumably? Could I make them 120mm?

Have you tried the M395 in comparison to the more expensive Deores? If the pricier ones are significantly better I'd thought about maybe buying a pair of those, putting them on my Boardman and swapping the Elixir 3s to the Kraken.

Kowalski675

The Rookie wrote:

Instead of the Epicon (about the same as Recon, so below a Reba) I'd consider a decent used pair fo forks.

The Kraken is a nice frame, just wish the paint on mine had been half as good as that (see top link in my sig!)

Apart from a couple of inevitable small scratches the frame's immaculate, and I've always liked the subtle silver & graphite colourscheme. If I do go ahead with upgrading I'll add some of Paragon Tape's excellent helicopter tape to keep it nice.

I figured the Epicon would be around the level of a Recon Gold TK, at a guess. I'd consider a good set of used forks, but it's a lot easier to just click and buy a pair of these than spend ages hunting for a good used set (and unless you know the person then you don't know if/when they've been serviced). A friend has a pair of 100mm Reba dual airs that he'd be willing to sell, but they're on a very small framed 1998 Klein Pulse Comp, so he thinks the steerer will probably be too short.

97th choice

Kowalski675 wrote:

This is the thread I found via Google that suggests they're not home serviceable (4th post down):

http://forums.mtbr.com/shocks-suspensio ... 57692.html

Travel adjust? Internally, presumably? Could I make them 120mm?

Have you tried the M395 in comparison to the more expensive Deores? If the pricier ones are significantly better I'd thought about maybe buying a pair of those, putting them on my Boardman and swapping the Elixir 3s to the Kraken.

travel adjust. I've also read about it in an mbr review. Looks straight forward enough.

Only other shimano brakes I've had would be m485, not really much difference, maybe a bit longer lever throw on the 395's before they bite, but a bit of careful brake resetting helps with that.

Kowalski675

97th choice wrote:

Kowalski675 wrote:

This is the thread I found via Google that suggests they're not home serviceable (4th post down):

http://forums.mtbr.com/shocks-suspensio ... 57692.html

Travel adjust? Internally, presumably? Could I make them 120mm?

Have you tried the M395 in comparison to the more expensive Deores? If the pricier ones are significantly better I'd thought about maybe buying a pair of those, putting them on my Boardman and swapping the Elixir 3s to the Kraken.

travel adjust. I've also read about it in an mbr review. Looks straight forward enough.

Only other shimano brakes I've had would be m485, not really much difference, maybe a bit longer lever throw on the 395's before they bite, but a bit of careful brake resetting helps with that.

Cheers, very useful link. I could change it to the 120mm I want then, goody goody. Question: if you change the travel from 100 to 120, will it increase axle to crown height (i.e. they'll be 20mm more stanchion exposed between seal and crown), or will the length of exposed stanchion remain the same, with the extra travel coming from the stachion being allowed to go 20mm deeper into the lower when compressed?

Ouija

You'll get 20mm of extra exposed stanchion (got two epicons). Good intermediate forks and lightweight. I got mine from fibica for about £130. Down side is that i've never got on with the remote lockout as it tends to click when humping the bike up a hill (i tend to leave it off and spin up hills instead on the two bikes i have with epicons). There are a lot of better forks out there but the Epicons are pretty good for the price range their in.

Kowalski675

Ouija wrote:

You'll get 20mm of extra exposed stanchion (got two epicons).

Cheers, I thought that would be the case. That's what i was hoping, as it would Slacken the Kraken (see what I did there, lol) and move the geometry a little from XC toward trail. It's the crown lockout version I'd be going for (I'm not bothered about remote lockout and it's £15 cheaper). I realise there's much better forks out there (you get what you pay for), the question is whether they're good enough to warrant not spending the extra for something like a Reba (which is, after all, over twice as expensive), given what I'd be doing with the bike (mainly local rides, but I might want to take it round Gisburn at some point). Anyone know how they compare to my RS Sektor TK on my Boardman? Those aren't the best forks in the world, but they're good enough for me, for now at least.

The Rookie

I've always had good luck with used forks, we have 2 sets Manitous going well, one RS Recon XC (Short travel Revelation chassis) and a Magura Durin, the 2 Manitous cost less than £60, the Recons £72 and the Durins £100, so a big saving for what we got, all bar the Magura's have had more than 2 years use with nothing but DIY servicing. My Skarebs for example (and the Durins) have a pedal platform so no need for complicated lockout.

Kowalski675

Iwouldn't rule out used, but it's the time and hassle of finding something (and the possibility of buying something knackered), versus the convenience of clicking and buying something new... I had a look on Ebay, but there was nothing suitable used on there currently.

The Rookie

Kowalski675 wrote:

I had a look on Ebay, but there was nothing suitable used on there currently.

Your ebay Fu is weak my friend - there are dozens that suite your overall requirements!

Kowalski675

Not when I looked, lol. Unless they weren't listed in the right place.

The Rookie

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rock-Shox-Reb ... 35cd4ca864 , that took 20 seconds.....

Prescient

Kowalski675 wrote:

I'm thinking of upgrading my 2007 Carrera Kraken to use for local rides (towpaths, woodland trails, bridleways etc) and winter trail bike (less cleaning and maintenance than my full suss), since it's been hanging unused since buying my Boardman, but without spending silly money. The weak points are the fork (Suntour XCR) and brakes (Tektro Io mechanical discs). What I'd really fancy would be a set of 120mm Rebas, but if I go down the road of spending that much, plus brakes (and maybe wheels, so I could go to a 15mm Maxle) then I'm thinking it would be maybe more cost effective to sell the Kraken (it's mint condition, hardly been used) and put the money into a new bike.
So, I've seen these:

http://www.srsuntour-cycling.com/dstore ... denduse=AM

on Ebay (new) in 100mm flavour for £135. Are they any good? I think they're the same fork as on the 26" Boardman Comp hardtail. I've read elsewhere that they're not user serviceable (which seems to be backed up by the user manula PDF, which says service at dealer in the maintenance schedule chart. I can't find anything in a 120mm flavour for a similar price range.

Brake-wise, anyone have opinions of these (and/or how they compare to the Deore M596 / M615?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190851179624? ... 26_rdc%3D1

:?

The Epicon X2 are great forks from this seller. They adjust from 100-120-140 mm in about 10 mins if you know how to strip them and there is no oil to mess around, just a spacer to adjust. They are home mechanic serviceable and adjustable. The guide is somewhere on google. They are also very light and come in around the 1600g mark.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2013-SR-SUNTO ... 747496f20d

Kowalski675

The Rookie wrote:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rock-Shox-Reba-Dual-Air-/231077619812?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item35cd4ca864 , that took 20 seconds.....

I had another quick look earlier today and found a few possibilities, gonna have a trawl through later. I must've set my filters wrong somehow when I looked previously - I was surprised at the time how few forks there were on there (only 2 pages).

The ones in your link are no good though - steerer's way too short. That listing says that they're internally adjustable to 120mm, is that the case with all 100mm Rebas?

Kowalski675

Prescient wrote:

[The Epicon X2 are great forks from this seller. They adjust from 100-120-140 mm in about 10 mins if you know how to strip them and there is no oil to mess around, just a spacer to adjust. They are home mechanic serviceable and adjustable. The guide is somewhere on google. They are also very light and come in around the 1600g mark.

Those are the ones I was looking at. Just a shame they're not the X1s with the blue decals. Re the servicing, the claim on the thread I posted a link to was that it's not possible to do an oil change as the damper's factory sealed.

supersonic

I'd still get the Epicon at that price - light, quite stiff, adjustable.

Kowalski675

supersonic wrote:

I'd still get the Epicon at that price - light, quite stiff, adjustable.

Aye, seems like a good deal. Not as good a fork as a Reba, but good enough for what I'll be doing with the bike on local XC type rides. Think it would handle trail centre red/black routes (rocky northern type terrain) ok? I've been round Gisburn on the Kraken with the XCR fork, but my wrists took a beating, lol. I just wish it was the X1 version (for the blue decals more than the lighter crown, lol).

Also, do you know if the remote lockout version could be converted to crown lockout by buying one of these:

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/product ... tAodJ0sA2A

or is it not that simple?

97th choice

Trail centre routes are no bother for even entry level forks in my opinion, natural stuff is a far harsher test.

Kowalski675

97th choice wrote:

Trail centre routes are no bother for even entry level forks in my opinion, natural stuff is a far harsher test.

Never been to Gisburn or Stainburn then, lol? It's rocky up here. Proper northern geology. Even for my pedestrian pace the XCR was out of it's depth at both. Much of the time it was a case of pointing it in roughly the right direction and trying to hang on, lol.

tarbot18

Kowalski675 wrote:

97th choice wrote:

Trail centre routes are no bother for even entry level forks in my opinion, natural stuff is a far harsher test.

Never been to Gisburn or Stainburn then, lol? It's rocky up here. Proper northern geology. Even for my pedestrian pace the XCR was out of it's depth at both. Much of the time it was a case of pointing it in roughly the right direction and trying to hang on, lol.

What Kowalski said , if you want to find out a bikes shortcomings take it to gisburn they give good rock there.......

ps Epicon forks are a piece of pi=s to service 20 min job and no oil to worry about.

EricPilot

Kowalski675 wrote:

97th choice wrote:

Trail centre routes are no bother for even entry level forks in my opinion, natural stuff is a far harsher test.

Hi, found this post and thought I'd add my comments on the Epicon. I found a new Epicon fork from a Boardman HT (seller said he wanted a RL fork). At 120mm. Been riding it for almost a year, and its performed well. Been up Llandegla, Afan and Coed Yr Brenin on the red trails and its been great. For me this fork was a bargain for £100 its light, just a matter of getting the Psi just right for the way you ride.