Suntour forks: piece of sh1t or not that good - discuss

nomadicbry
nomadicbry Posts: 223
edited February 2010 in MTB general
Son's bike came with Suntour forks (XTC i think) what a crock of the prvierbial brown stuff they are. Three rides at GT and theyre knackered, stiff as hell and little or no movement. His arms and shoulders are aching today after going down the entire red route at GT on what was effectively a rigid bike.

3 months old bike, 3 major outings to GT and the shock is wrecked.

Are bike companies taking the piss installing these on all sub £500 bikes or what? Surely the manufacturers know if you're spending more than a few hundred quid on a bike you'll be taking it on proper trails and therefore should fit a fork which can at least last longer than a few runs down red routes by a 12 year old

Suntour never ever buy anything with Suntour on it
Enough bikes to open a bike shop but always room for one more...
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Comments

  • *AL*
    *AL* Posts: 1,185
    nomadicbry wrote:
    Suntour never ever buy anything with Suntour on it

    The Suntour Epicon (2010 Carrera Fury) is a great fork for a £500 bike...
  • freeride-mike
    freeride-mike Posts: 553
    Been using suntour XCR LO 100mm forks for around 4-5 months now and other than replacing the spring with a stiffer 1 ive had no problems and quite like them :wink:

    never tried the XTC so cant comment :?
    CUBE ltd 2012,reba sl, XT, saint, DMR, spank, current xc/am ride

    GIANT boulder, marzzochi EXR, LX/alivio, DMR, spank, retro build
  • nomadicbry
    nomadicbry Posts: 223
    actually XCR sounds like the ones...that's encouraging to hear Mike...taking it back to the LBS this week
    Enough bikes to open a bike shop but always room for one more...
  • furby
    furby Posts: 200
    Keep cleaning and oiling them more than most forks, keeps them working a little better.

    I have the XCM's at the moment, cant wait to get them replaced.
  • piker
    piker Posts: 353
    +1 for the epicon,great fork.Have to agree about budget spring models though,mate had a genesis with xcr i think and that was bad,he was forever stripping it down and it let the genesis down otherwise a good bike.
  • Briggo
    Briggo Posts: 3,537
    Had a Suntour XCR LO on my old GT XC2, now on my Stumpy the Fox 130RL feels worlds apart to it. (first air shock for me)

    Obviously price difference tells the story but the feel on the trails is just amazing and shows the Fox is worth every penny in comparison.
  • freeride-mike
    freeride-mike Posts: 553
    nomadicbry wrote:
    actually XCR sounds like the ones...that's encouraging to hear Mike...taking it back to the LBS this week

    Are they the lockout version?? i know it sounds daft but u can have them semi locked aswell as locked which on mine gives u around 25mm of stiff travel :D

    there by no meens a top class fork but TBH ive had a set of rock shox and 2 pairs of rst's in the same price bracket and i prefer my XCR's so far.....
    CUBE ltd 2012,reba sl, XT, saint, DMR, spank, current xc/am ride

    GIANT boulder, marzzochi EXR, LX/alivio, DMR, spank, retro build
  • biff55
    biff55 Posts: 1,404
    you want better ? you pay more.
    my bike came with suntour xct , piece of crap compared to the recons i replaced with.
    but the recons are only standard on bikes costing £ 1k plus.
    they were only ever designed for pootling around on light trails and paths.
    they wont last long with any sort of technical riding.
  • richg1979
    richg1979 Posts: 1,087
    the epicons are the only ones that are anygood all the others are fit for the bin.
  • ilovedirt
    ilovedirt Posts: 5,798
    nomadicbry wrote:
    Suntour never ever buy anything with Suntour on it
    couldn't agree more, swap his forks out with some rockshox toras, much better
    Production Privee Shan

    B'Twin Triban 5
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    My XCRs lasted a fair time, they did die but only from neglect.
    Uncompromising extremist
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Suntour make a vast range of forks, from the ultra budget which we see a lot of, through to expensive kit.

    You can't tar them all with the same brush, much like we don't judge RockShox on the Dart series - the Epicon and Axon are good forks.
    GT ZASKAR CARBON TEAM

    VOODOO CANZO

    Come and see me at https://www.facebook.com/biketyke/
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,675
    sounds like it is full of water.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • Sarnian
    Sarnian Posts: 1,451
    I have some Axons In the shed, they are not bad fork was thinking of selling them though.
    It's not a ornament, so ride It
  • tsenior
    tsenior Posts: 664
    got some cheap xct with a v stiff spring on my hardrock..they are VERY stiff and when i've bottommed them out the rebound is alarming! (I dont weigh much and the prelaod adjuster seems to do f-all now).

    maybe try a softer (?) spring if your sons similarly lightweight .

    am going to repalce them when the penny jar is full but they've held up ok with regular long rides on pretty rocky terrain (N wales) as others have said you get what you pay for....
  • Bluemoon39
    Bluemoon39 Posts: 168
    nicklouse wrote:
    sounds like it is full of water.

    Yep, this happened to my XCR's, only realised when they froze solid one morning.

    Turn bike upside down and keep pushing/pumping the front wheel up and down, mine squirted loads of water out ot the top seals. You can also unscrew the bolts at the bottom of each leg which will let out some water.

    Got rid of mine after 12 months and upgraded but they did me fine as a starter fork. They never seemed to be any worse than my mates Dart 2
    Mongoose Tyax Super 2008 with just a few upgrades...
  • blister pus
    blister pus Posts: 5,780
    nicklouse wrote:
    sounds like it is full of water.

    This

    My old XCTs have taken so much punishment, I do and have done stuff on mine 140mm travel riders do, so there is no way I'm going to slag them off. But what I had to do was put new seals on them and new stiffer spring (I was a heavier rider) because the downside to them are they are cheap, prone to filling with water. They ain't no £200+ Rockshox as has been pointed out.
  • nomadicbry
    nomadicbry Posts: 223
    Sounds like a common issue. Yeah I've got the lock full of
    Compared to my rockshox recon uturn which have been outstanding I'm seriously disappointed in them
    It seems to have happened when the weather has got seriously colder (Up here in the frozen north it's been minus stupid Celsius for most of the winter) I’ll try turning the bike upside down and pumping the wheel as you suggest Bluemoon.

    Gonna try and get the bike back to the bike shop it was bought from it's due it's free service in any case.

    yeah once the penny jar is full I'll definitely be buying him better shocks...however money is not something in abundance at the moment so it'll have to be a bodge a job if the bike shop don't fix until I can buy him new forks.

    Cheers for all the comments and thoughts. Much appreciated
    Enough bikes to open a bike shop but always room for one more...
  • Buckled_Rims
    Buckled_Rims Posts: 1,648
    I've still got my XC60 on my hack bike. They fill with water, rust like hell, but still work...just.

    If you're son's doing XC riding, just upgrade rather then mess around with them.
    CAAD9
    Kona Jake the Snake
    Merlin Malt 4
  • Dirtydog11
    Dirtydog11 Posts: 1,621
    edited February 2010
    nicklouse wrote:
    sounds like it is full of water.

    Which will eventually cause them to rust from the inside out :lol: . I got rid of mine on safety grounds.

    Up to now we've established Suntour make two decent forks the Epicon and the Axom neither of which I would have as there are better options available from other manufacturers.
    Kinesis Maxlight XC

    Orange 5 AM Custom
  • blister pus
    blister pus Posts: 5,780
    Not necessarily. Get them seen to early. See what the lbs can do / offer, my seals and spring cost next to nothing because my lbs has a spares box the size of the Congo. He sorted me out for not much at all and they've been running happily ever since.
  • Dirtydog11
    Dirtydog11 Posts: 1,621
    Buckled_Rims wrote:
    I've still got my XC60 on my hack bike. They fill with water, rust like hell, but still work...just.

    If you're son's doing XC riding, just upgrade rather then mess around with them.

    They're the ones I had and they're not serviceable. Have you considered what the inside of that fork must be like.


    I bet that rust is eating through your stantions. Nah...... I'm sure they be alright.
    Kinesis Maxlight XC

    Orange 5 AM Custom
  • joshtp
    joshtp Posts: 3,966
    just undo the bottom allen key bolts and pull them apart, drain out the water, and greas everything well. shou;d get them going again for a bit.....
    I like bikes and stuff
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    joshtp/mbukman wrote:
    just undo the bottom allen key bolts and pull them apart, drain out the water, and greas everything well. shou;d get them going again for a bit.....

    Exactly, if they're XCRs they're incredibly easy to service, there's really no more to it than joshtp describes. Oh, but pop the bushings/seals out and clean then thoroughly too.
    Uncompromising extremist
  • freeride-mike
    freeride-mike Posts: 553
    considerded replacing my xcr's because they were too soft but after tracking down a stiffere spring at £10 and the forks only costing me £65 brand new i cant complain when u consider the price of darts and there no better!! :wink:
    CUBE ltd 2012,reba sl, XT, saint, DMR, spank, current xc/am ride

    GIANT boulder, marzzochi EXR, LX/alivio, DMR, spank, retro build
  • Aldo001
    Aldo001 Posts: 251
    Ah so that was what was wrong with my forks this morning... I washed them after my sunday ride, then it was well into the minuses overnight and all of yesterday. On my way to school it was like the lock-out was turned to halfway! They were fine on the way back though. I need to do the things suggested to get the water out asap...
    My Carrera Kraken 09
  • cavegiant
    cavegiant Posts: 1,546
    If you are up north.

    Send him down t'pit t earn his keep. Get im to buy is own forking forks
    Why would I care about 150g of bike weight, I just ate 400g of cookies while reading this?
  • nomadicbry
    nomadicbry Posts: 223
    Cavegiant we're in the real north... Scotland as we like to call it...We'll leave mills and pits to the southerners ...Thatcher shut all ours anyway

    However, trying to find him a nice wee 16 hour a day job in Suntour's Chinese sweatshop as clearly their XCR forks are made by iindentured 12 year olds suffering from sleep deprivation ...I might get a free pair of the epicon forks and his 5 grotes a week will help pay off my outlay on his bike
    Enough bikes to open a bike shop but always room for one more...
  • specialeyes
    specialeyes Posts: 542
    tsenior wrote:
    got some cheap xct with a v stiff spring on my hardrock..they are VERY stiff and when i've bottommed them out the rebound is alarming! (I dont weigh much and the prelaod adjuster seems to do f-all now).

    maybe try a softer (?) spring if your sons similarly lightweight .

    am going to repalce them when the penny jar is full but they've held up ok with regular long rides on pretty rocky terrain (N wales) as others have said you get what you pay for....

    Same on my 2010 hardrock! Tried to find them online but they dont even show on the suntour website. Maybe One of those cases where parts are subcontracted to other companies and a few stickers are applied, like my "cane creek" headset made on behalf of cane creek by another company!
    Hardrock Sport Disc

    Cotic bfe
  • clodhoppa74
    clodhoppa74 Posts: 331
    i'm in no way a hardcore or technical rider, but i've had few, if any problems with mine. sure, now the brakes are upgraded the forks will be the next upgrade, but they've done me fine for a year or so, seem to do the job. they do, i believe, have a 12 month warranty though, unless, of course, you've been doing downhill, hardcore stuff, which i believe the sticker o them tells you not to.

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