The best fork you've never heard of
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- čas přidán 6. 06. 2024
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I've heard Suntour's high end stuff is great. I mean, if Reynolds can use it at Darkfest, that's a pretty high standard. But I reckon they've poisoned their brand name by selling pogo stick forks for entry-level bikes. That's what 99% of people know them for.
You know that wher some one is gets money for ride something his going to ride on it even when he dosnt like it?
@@pawel102 No, I've never heard of that, because I live on Uranus.
I think they need to create a new brand for their high end stuff. Kinda like how tecktro have TRP for their high end stuff.
@@nebnollock5198 Yeah, I was thinking the same.
@@mattgies you really impressed me.
The Suntour 38 is definitely a solid piece of kit, especially for $835 USD. If anything, it's the name that lets it down. "Durolux" sounds like a household vacuum cleaner, or a garden mower. 👍‼️
$435USD in China for the black coloured model, 180mm travel.
Are there differences between the black and grey?
Dunno man "Durolux" sounds way better than "SiD sl ultimate"
Why would you get this when a Fox 38 Performance Elite is around 600 usd?
Because Durolux is easier to maintain (no fork oils needed), durable & performs just as well as other known forks in the market today.
I have no experience with high end Fox or Rockshox forks, but I do know my Durolux 36 & AION 36 out perform mid level Rockshox Yari & Revelation forks. AND for less money, AND they have a super cool integrated fender! no more zipties
I have the yari. Might as well upgrade to durolux. Popular fork here in PHilippines in terms of Price/performance ratio
The main reason the high end suntour forks aren’t that popular it because of the bad rep that their lowest end forks get
Been running a Durolux 36 on my Cotic Hardtail for years and it’s holding up great. No complaints and it’s the older coil negative vs the newer all air builds.
I rode SR for quite a while, the reason why i currently have a lyric in my bikes is only that i could not find a axon or durolux for a good price when i built the bikes. Something you need to know about SR: they are EXTREMELY sensible with pressure. you allmost don't feel 5 psi +/- on a lyric,zeb or 38, but on an axon its the difference between "bottom out all the time" and "OMG - way to hard"
I'm with you on this. I could play with even +/-3psi increments and they actually do something. Same with the compression and rebound damping, and the best part is they're set and forget. The LSC is so communicative that you can actually pick an LSC that fits your riding style and keep it the same for both hardpack jumps and muddy tech.
Biggest advantage to these forks is the ease of service. No oil baths, and you can change the travel by adding/removing a spacer fairly easily.
Not on the newer EQ forks. To adjust the travel on those, you have to buy a new air shaft similar to how fox, and rockshox do it...
But the service is easier on suntour forks...
I think “looks wise” the fork looks freakin rad! Loving the colour for sure!
I picked up the Durolux 36 for my current hardtail build and got it on a discount coupon they had on their site for it. I did a bunch of research and decided it was as good as any other fork out there after seeing the riders out there who use it knowing they are putting it through a lot harder workout than I probably will.
I've had a Durolux 36 for three years, and it's holding up great. The big thing for me was the price - with the discount codes on the website, I spent less than $700 on it, shipping and duty included. I know that's not always available, but it's worth checking into.
Nice Review!
I'd add that you can buy m4 bleeders usually found on motocross stores to replace the bolts, and to add a little bit of oil in the lowers, 3ml is fine, and you'll get the same performance as the other 38's. Maybe add a silicon seal instead of the rubber seal.
The air spring is just like the others that still use two chambers with "bottom out tokens" and I'll take 200grams instead of creaking CSUs every day!
Cheers!
Love the look of the grey fork on your bike!
Good review sir. SR Suntour makes solid products for sure. I found a new takeoff 2017 Aion 35 and after adding 4 volume spacers and changing the negative coil spring the fork was mint. Scored a KoM with it on the front of a hardtail on a local black. It also took big hits at Snowshoe, Bryce and other trails without skipping a beat. I'm on a Fox 36 with the new rig and I haven't been able to get it dialed like the Aion. Which made me thoroughly appreciate the simplicity of the Aion.
Nice review Nic. For an unsophisticate like myself, I pretty much followed all that you had to say about the fork. Well done!
It's always worth trying suspension outside of the big 2. I'm on an MRP Ribbon Air and love it! I am curious about running the dual crown Bartlett on something wanting 180mm of front travel...
Ribbon was my first upgrade back then. very nice piece for a trail bike , I somehow have a relationship with it, so it is still on my shelf. I thought of the bartlett too, so nice to see companies thinking out of the box. sadly it uses the same damper as a Ribbon , which is nice for easy trail riding but cannot handle the rough stuff. also impossible to tune. the negative pressure adjustment is also useless
I'm still rocking a 2009 RS totem coil fork, love it!
I've been using a Durolux 36 on since 2020 on my main bike. I got it for less than $450 and it's been fantastic. Easy to service, change the travel, rides nice. Best value fork out there, imo.
Love these vids!
Very cool set of forks! 🔥
would be interesting to see you try dvo suspension. new 38mm dvo fork coming soon
Not Durolux related, though I did run them on a Warden a couple of years ago, super underrated. Buuutttt, I did recently change my Zeb to 180 on my Chilcotin. Set the rear shock in Neutral. So far it's amazing.
My 38 did the same thing, where I kept changing to find the feel I wanted. I just got it back from my bike shop. There was way too much Grease, and the negative air chamber wasn't getting enough air. I haven't tried it yet, but fingers are crossed.
I think too many riders snub their noses to brands that aren’t “mainstream”. The snobbery is real in MTB, unfortunately.
Thanks for giving a good, honest review on “budget” parts.
there's a reason for that, warranty support is way better on the bigger brands especially for fox and rockshox
@@jamble7k just went and looked this up. SR Suntour warranty seems to be on par with Fox and Rockshox, at least for forks. And I genuinely think that 9/10 cases is just pretentious snobbery.
In my opnion, there may be several factors on why people may pick other brands than Suntour. For example, it feels like the graphics on the Durolux seem outdated and lacking style. Also I think it comes down to people seeing the brand Suntour being on cheaper forks which a lot of time don't perform very well and that scares away the customers from purchasing their higher end forks.
I love the gray fork on the purple frame 😍
Nice. Thanks for this. Love it. Would happily try this fork. Sounds like it wouldn’t feel much different than the Zeb …and it’s also concrete grey! Sick.
Öhlins review time?
Hans Rey rides those forks.
The higher end Suntour forks are actually pretty nice. I have the 35mm Aion and it's a better quality fork than the 35mm Rockshox found on the lower spec Specialized Levos. It feels really nice. If you are looking for value for money rather than the highest possible performance then the higher end Suntour forks are a great option.
the brand suffers from making a lot of not so great OEM stuff.. I had 2 full suspension bikes with 12cm front and rear travel made by suntour.. not a fan.. but usable
I've always wondered how good the higher end suntour forks are because I saw Kyle Warner and other pros sponsored by them. It's good to have an unbiased review.
That temperature sensitivity could be oil related, i'm sure other oils would improve that. Sounds like a solid suspension over all.
I confirm, if u change the oil, the problem it's "solved"
@@mijaiscares8580
That's what i thought🤙
i can confirm this as well.
I do like the gray on the fork. That could look really good on some bikes.
Interesting. Useful review, thanks! 🤩
That bike has very high performance to cost ratio. I wonder how long Santa Curz and other brands can offer terrible value builds when they can't just coast on there marketing/past innovations. So many bikes out there kick ass right now, its a great time to be a rider.
it does offer good value but its also super ugly, to each their own 😂
great video. you should give a DVO set up a go, I love my onyx!
i'm a big fan of the OTT on my Diamond! Not the lightest but solid forks.
First thing I noticed wa the matte gray. I like it.
I've heard of those :) Looks great!
Great review, I love the honesty, I hope one day you could review the new Fox 38X2 or the new Belva from formula.
Great Video Brother, I appreciate that........🤝🏾🇺🇸💪🏾👍🏾
Finally someone I can relate with when it comes to the clicks on fox forks I can’t tell the difference either it’s like a waste of time clicking and clicking
There is so much great suspension out there at half the price of the big two. Thanks for showcasing this one, I have been wondering what are they about since they pop up here and there but never really got into checking them out. My thought was that they are very cheap and good platform for custom tuning.
Probably, because I am already riding the best, the underdog, Manitou Mezzer.
I would be very intrested in a Bos Suspension test. I don t know if you get those in Bc though because its an Italian brand but who knows maybe you get a chance to try. It would be somthing very unknown in the Bc area atleast for my nowledge. Was a good video as always keep it up:)
Nice kickstand
Definitely not a scientist over here… the warm weather vs cold weather- sounds like it could be an oil issue and not necessarily the fork.
Here's what I want to know: Maybe it's not quite up to a grip 2 38 or a zeb charger 3, but what about a zeb charger 2 on a steep discount.
Until the higher end Suntour forks come stock on higher end bikes the only place we’ll see them is on Pro & Influencer bikes. It’s going to be tough to break into that market segment. I wish them luck because more choice is more better.
More and more people are on a duolux, I've been running my for a while and it's amazing
north shore billet do a +17mm mount. I've been using one on a fox40 with a 220mm rotor for a while now.
You can oil bath pretty much all of the Suntour forks to really boost their performance, though I will say I only have had experience with their lower end stuff
My old $35 Epixon easily outdid my current/new Recon after oilbathing it, and was only bested by my full on Pike with an airspring upgrade
@@TheBaconChannel69 Get foam fork o-rings for the diameter of your stanchions, usually 32mm, install them like you would higher end forks (there should already be slots for them), and put in 5-10 ml of fork oil in each leg. Works well for things like the Raidon, XCR air, etc
They just need to design some cool cheap (but GOOD quality) stickers to place on them and it will sell like chocolate chip cookies!
I think the grey legs and crown are the sickest thing about them. Each to their own I guess!
while it's probably not worth it to spend an extra $500 tu have a slightly more "refined" fork than the durolux because the difference is pretty small and they're all great forks, most mountain bikers will definitely spend that money to have the Fox name on their bike and even more so for the shiny kashima coat. at the end of the day, all the products are so great nowadays that it's really a matter of looks and feel, but more looks
Totally. Marketing is insanely powerful.
I bought a fox 38 Factory 29" for around what you paid for that suntour fork.
Lots of deals still out there, shop around.
Awesome epik beautiful bike lovet
The rebound was way over damped on the suntour air fork I had.
How has the hs2 rotors been with your Shimano brakes? Looking to upgrade to thicker rotors
so far so good
Been running Suntour forks and shocks on almost all the bikes I’ve built up myself… have nothing bad to say about them, the value for money ratio is better than anywhere else…
I've had two Auron forks (2015 and 2019), my experiences have definitely mirrored yours. both forks were definitely over damped for me as a lighter rider, small bump sensitivity is not as good as a Rockshox or Fox, but like you said, the feel of the fork on big hits is incredible. Also, the harder you ride these forks, the happier they feel.
Another thing worth noting. The 2015 Auron is still on one of my bikes, and it still doesn't creak at all (neither of the forks have any creak). They are super reliable and easy to service.
Running a 2015 Auron still. I have no complaints.
The best fork ever made is the Fox Vanilla coil 32R 140mm open bath. The most durable, plush, nimble, tough etc…..fork ever made!
Gotta agree...I still have a 32 van on an old Santa Cruz chameleon frame.
It's still gas unreal sensitivity and I love the sound of the damper.
@@lucideuphoria7092 open bath is the best. Never ever have any stiction.Today’s Fit cartridge is utter garbage, not enough oil and causes way to much stiction. I have the Fox Vanilla coil 32R 140mm since brand new ( 2000 $ ) when I purchased it and been riding it hard for many years with absolutely no problems. But I maintain the crap out it and no fork today compares to it. The marzzochi zr 1 coil comes close but that is made by Fox anyway. And 32 inch diameter for the stanchions are the best.
As today i believe Rockshox has not competition!
Even if you get the lower ZEB model to match the price of this Suntour.
I went from FOX 38 factory to ZEB ultimate i could not be happier, im just an old weekend warrior and I could feel the performances difference. 👊👍👍
😮😮
But.... Does this suntour use twin DU bushings and foam upper seals?
Even there $200 raidon forks have metal bushings and foam rings under the seals. Only the OEM xct/xcm forks use plastic bushings.
no you are right. The grip2 vvc is underdamped and just not a great damper. The spring on the 38 is good though. But the Mezzer Pro beats them all both in damper and spring area, and it has a HBO. No reason to get anything else really.
Why this version is not readily available in Asia? 😂
Hi Van, sorry, i'm a bit off-topic but can you suggest me a few nice trail to do after Lord of the Squirrels? I have only one day of riding and i would like to make most out of it. Your help would be much appreciated, thank you
I don’t really know that zone very well, best to check out trail forks.
@@VanCan ok thank you
from a zeb user riding bike that done have butter cups now do feel worse to me now like my dh bike has the 2019 boxxer and that is realy nice but if stuff gets super fast my hand start to die
Everybody dreams of Fox 34's this has not convinced me even though I ride Suntour Sr's!
At the end Nick said any questions in the comments Can you some That sunshine do you have and send it to the UK please it’s been raining here for 5 days😂😂
When I got my glory 4y ago it had a air shock run that for 6 months didn’t like it switched to a coil it’s been like that for 2 years now she is mint
I really do not like the gray, and I wonder if it has an oil bath. I had the AION once and it used grease for lube... easy to service but the bushings gave out early and generally felt sluggish
SR Suntour forks do not come with oil, stock. However, they all have slots for foam rings and even have the proper oil volume and viscosity in the service manual for when you decide to bathe it in oil. Their EQ forks also suffer from the same problem as Fox forks; they're over-greased from the factory so the transfer ports are clogged.
@@mangoshake my AION 35 evo boost might have been pre EQ, idk, but the lack of oil bath on any fork was odd to me and I believe that's what contributed the most to the bushing failure
Always seems like these forks are a little loud when I see videos of people riding them. MRP kinda has the same sound too, seem to hear the “squish” quite a bit more.
Suntour makes some of the best COMPETITION hardware for bikes regardless of price.
I've been wondering about these forks. I noticed Sam Reynolds riding that one as well. BTW, your left forearm looks just like my forearm looks right now ... Did you happen to go OTB in 'double black' rock garden like I did? 😜LOL
Less of a garden of rocks and one really big one
@@VanCan Same surface, different shape! 🤣🤙
What do youean they sent you a lighter tune?
Most high end suspension has a range you can adjust the damping with the dials. You can set this range internally to be more or less damped
tried every tune etc on my 38 factory but a basic out of the box z1 coil feels so much better so the z1 will stay and I'll sell the 38 factory if anyone is interessted
In the future, I'd recommend Cane Creek. I'm running the Helm MK2 and it's butter, I also like how CC run their company, makes their products, and treats their customers. Good to know SR Suntour is reliable. Great vid mate.
Wildly expensive in comparison, though.
Could one solve the overdamping issue on the cheap by just switching to a lighter weight oil?
Talking about liking different kind of stuff; this video is different than your usual content.
Man you really got cut up from that fiver crash
That was from a different crash 😅
no wonder it's not as popular as it should outside of asia.
at most we can get 38s for just around $550. while 36 is at $400-450
almost half of the cost vs leading brands fox/rockshox.
good fork but a lot heavier than fox 38 or zeb
THe problem is it that suntour get a bad name for the low end forks that are abysmal and the fact that the colour is ugly. No doubt on the performance though.
Sr Suntour gets a bad wrap because they are on so many low end budget and box bikes.
That fork looks out of place on that bike though. Don't know if it's the colour or the 38s
Low end forks are just low end. You can't expect a great new fork for
suntour's "high end" stuff is called DVO
and DVO coil Jade X is an amazing piece.
Yes they make their forks. But the brand it self is not by them, the only make the forks, but the DVO folks were from Marzocchi they started their own brand DVO. But yes Sr su Tour makes their forks, thus their rear shock was copied over to Sr Suntour lineup.
This fork should be compared to the Domain. I think they’re probably similar weight and price point.
Domain is $600aud/$400usd, way cheaper and better
@@janeblogs324 the word "better" and "motion control" should not be in the same sentence.
Here in Spain the Durolux is very popular between all mountain riders, I think also in the rest of Europe specially in Germany. Many people ride it in high end bikes
I don't hate how it looks, I just don't think white belongs on forks. unless you have a white bike, but why would you have a white MTB?
SR Suntour has been making great forks for ~15 years. Back in 2010 my first real air fork was SR Suntour Epicon 130mm. It was one of the lightest, cheapest and best performing budget fork on the market. Cheaper versions of durolux or even AION outperform RS Recon/RS 35 etc.
My first ebike came with a Raidon 32 fork on it because of supply chain issues and the damper died after a month 😂
I reached out to their support and they never replied. Their product lineup is also insanely, annoyingly complex and confusing. They really need to simplify things and step their customer service before I'd be willing to try another product of theirs.
I am stickin with the fox factory
It's pretty well known. Well in our part of the world I guess. 😆
A dude commented on Facebook he did not service his Durolux for 2 years, and it still did not have issues and no creaking. Which sounds promising. He knew he abused it but he prefers it over Fox. I think it was 36mm version. I saw a review that said it did not creak too.
A bad thing with Sr Suntour for me now seems to be it's nearly impossible to get them in Norway. Only bikester had them and it's been out of stock for months. But if I buy it from them shipping is in 2 days. And no added value tax bill afterwards as it registered in Norway I just pay the price on there. But prices tend to be high on some products not even adjusted down to the rest of the market so when they do a sale on some products the on sale price is the regular price elsewhere. 🤦 But don't remember the fork's prices. Bu 5out of stock on almost tall models. 🤦
but isnt the zeb basiacally same priced and better? i mean you can easily get the zeb for 900 or 800 bucks
Considering you can get the mainstream brands for that price on sale, this doesn't seem worth it at all.
you can purchase lyrik or zeb ultimate for the same amount of money in some discount, and its miles difference.... if you are heavy and ride hard, suntour shock is blown in a day, forks few days....
I know them. Thr cheap coil forks from SR are definetely problematic though.
If i cant service it myself i am not buying it
Trouble with suntour is they do unfortunately make so much of the budget entry level forks that so many brands use and to be completely honest they are absolute rubbish. So it's really going to be hard for suntour to compete with rockshox and fox for that reason. I personally wouldn't buy one
The Duro is no where near the level of Fox 36. Quite far off in terms of neg spring and plushness. You get what you pay for. I liked it on my budget bikes but won’t go back to one ever. Good entry fork
Ha. Have you tried the newer EQ? I like it so much better than a factory 36. Much stiffer too.
850 is a lot
Everyone has heard of it... nobody buys them, and for good reason.
Looks wise I think the fork looks awful, first thing id do is respray them, decals ruin the look imo.
Sr suntour has ruined its brand name with all their cheap trash coil forks
Rockshox did better but they too had chepa forks like Dart, Tora, plastic nut cap at the damper side. . Bad idea. But damper was nice. But they took out those forks of the lineup, and cleaned dup their line up. So now pretty much all are decent forks.