Budget air fork

karljeff72
karljeff72 Posts: 64
in MTB buying advice
I want to upgrade the forks on my bike,I currently have a set of Suntour XCM bog standard coil forks and I have found 4 budget air forks that I like the look of.
The first being the one I may sway towards is the Rock shox Judy


Then there are the Suntour Epicon

RST f1rst

Manitou markhor


They're all around the same price mark ,think the Manitou's are the most expensive.
What would you go for?


Comments

  • steve_sordy
    steve_sordy Posts: 2,453
    I have no experience of any of those. I would be swayed by larger diameter stanchions as they will be stiffer. Other than that I would have to rely on the reviews on the net.
  • reaperactual
    reaperactual Posts: 1,185
    I'd choose Rockshox coz I like 'em, prefer the brand and always been reliable for me.

    I see the the Suntour has a remote lockout so would get them except I like a clean uncluttered cockpit and never felt the need to lockout via a lever.

    Wouldn't buy the RST as they seem like cheap eBay imports but don't know anything about them.

    Wouldn't choose the Manitou purely because I don't like the look of the rear mounted lower fork bridge.

    I reckon the fast black coating makes all of them look good but that's personal preference. The only benefit over your original forks maybe all a bit lighter and easy to tune for individual needs.

    As mentioned by Steve, wider Stanchions would make the most difference with regards to stiffness and better feel compared to your current forks. Don't imagine anyone will have owned all four sets to know the subtle differences in performance etc to give a comparison so reading online reviews are where my decision would be made.
  • JBA
    JBA Posts: 2,852
    The Suntour Epicon is no longer made, so whatever you have found is old stock. It was replaced by the Epixon a few years ago. You should know that as you recommended it to someone a couple of months ago! ;)

    The Epixon would be my choice - 9mm drop outs, air spring and 32mm stanchions. However, I believe it is only available with a tapered steerer so you'll have to check it will fit your head tube.
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  • karljeff72
    karljeff72 Posts: 64
    Cheers for the comments,the Judy's are in stock in 6 weeks so they say,I have a stock alert with bike-discount de and for £145 seems a good price.
    But had to find some alternatives just in case it goes tits up :D

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