CTD is just one of many abbreviations designed to sweeten the 2013 season for front-suspension customers. A lighter casting here, a new damping technology there or even an audacious combination of plain bearings and needle bearings running in an oil bath. The companies' marketing machines are spinning at full speed and are advertising as much as they can. But can these good-sounding innovations actually be convincing on the trail?
In the first part of our fork test, we tested nine models from the 2013 season in the lab and in practice. Five 29er race forks with 100 millimetres of travel and four all-mountain forks with 150 millimetres for 26 inches. Shorter 26-inch forks and 29er forks with plenty of travel follow in the second part of our test. And 650B? The number of fork models is growing slowly but steadily. However, as virtually no 650B bikes have yet reached customers and the function of the mid-range forks is no different from the 26 and 29 inch models, we have decided not to include this size for the time being. Marzocchi, X-Fusion and RST did not yet have any new models available and are therefore missing from this comparison. The Epicon from SR Suntour, on the other hand, was ruled out even before the first test rides due to a defect in the rebound adjustment.
Many of the new forks are old acquaintances, building on existing models that have already passed our tests several times.
You can find the test results of these models in the PDF download below:
- 26" all-mountain forks
DT Swiss XMM 150 TS
Fox 34 Talas Fit CTD
Magura TS8 R
Rock Shox Revelation RCT3 (BIKE Tip)
- 29" cross country/marathon forks
DT Swiss XMM 100 TSR
Fox 32 Float 29 Fit CTD (BIKE Tip)
Lefty Carbon XLR 100 29
Magura TS8 SL
Rock Shox SID WC
