Fork upgrade Suntour or Rockshox

mark_fogel

Time for a new fork!

I am after something light ish which can take handle gnarly trails, I was initially looking to buy a Rockshox Sektor Gold with the motion control damper however few people told me that Suntour offer similar performance at a cheaper price.

I was hoping to get some opinions which is better and why? Suntour Epixon or Rockshox Sektor Gold?

Thanks!

POAH

what is your budget, what travel, steerer and axle size?

mark_fogel

POAH wrote:

what is your budget, what travel, steerer and axle size?

I don't really really want to spend much more than £300 if don't have too.
650b 130-140mm travel 15m axle and I think its tapered steerer not sure on size unfortunately as not removed the old one from the bike and cant find any info online.

POAH

can get a manitou mattoc comp for 279 from CRC and you can adjust the travel down to 140 internally

mark_fogel

POAH wrote:

can get a manitou mattoc comp for 279 from CRC and you can adjust the travel down to 140 internally

Excellent thanks!

mark_fogel

POAH wrote:

can get a manitou mattoc comp for 279 from CRC and you can adjust the travel down to 140 internally

Just out of interest, say my frame has been designed for 130mm fork and I choose to install the 150mm Manitu. I have enough spacers under the handle bars to drop them 20mm. I understand that the HA would be slacker, and the BB will be a little higher. How would this affect the handling of the bike?

I already have offset bushings which lowered the BB a bit and this improved the ride quite a bit however I did have to add a bit more pressure into the rear shock as climbing became difficult with the front wheel lifting and wondering all over the place.

Would lowering the handlebars 20mm help with front wheel control?

supersonic

The longer fork (crown to axle) will slacken the head and seat angle further - the slacker head angle will add stability on the downs, but uphill you will get a bit more wander, especially with the slacker seat angle when you are seated. As you already have slackened it with the offset bushes, this may start to feel a bit much.

philcubed

Could look on https://www.merlincycles.com/suspension ... =price-min plenty of forks for under £300. Rockshox reba etc

mark_fogel

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I would really love that Mattoc fork however I do not have the tools or the space to work on reducing the travel but I think a 140mm fork should work ok for me.

I found this though:
http://www.xfusionshox.com/products/for ... series/rl2

Seems like a cracking price and its about 0.5 kg lighter than my current fork Sektor Silver TK

I cant seem to find any reviews or information online on this, is this a decent fork the the money?

POAH

space - your kitchen, tools you hardly need anything other than a couple of allen keys and a 24mm socket. piss easy to do.

RockmonkeySC

Worth noting that 20mm difference doesn't always translate to a 20mm difference in axle to crown length (the important measurement for geometry).
It could be anywhere between 5mm and 35mm different from your fork