In the first part of this year's suspension fork test we compared the enduro and long-travel 29er forks. In part two, we look at the Race and All Mountain categories.
Race: Sprinter in 29 inch
Race forks with 100 millimetres of travel offer a minimum of comfort and cut a fine figure on both hardtail and race bikes. A lockout with an easy-to-operate handlebar lever is a must in the lightweight class. To check how well existing electronic systems already work, we tested two representatives of the 29er race forks with computer support: the Magura eLECT and the Fox iCD. Here is an overview of the race forks tested:
- DT Swiss XMM 100 29 One Piece (629 Euro)
- Formula Thirty 3 (999 Euro)
- Fox 32 Float 29 100 FIT iCD (1720 Euro)
- Magura TS8 R 100 eLECT (1349 Euro)
- Rock Shox SID XX Worldcup Soloair (1092 Euro)
- SR Suntour Axon Werx RL RC 29 (799 euros)
All Mountain: All-rounder in 27.5 inches
All-mountain forks have to work everywhere. Compared to the enduro forks with 160 millimetres of travel, the 27.5-inch all-mountain forks (135-150 millimetres) are on average around 150 grams lighter and have 13 percent less stiffness. Most manufacturers in this class do without a lowering function via remote lever, thereby saving additional weight. Only Fox and Rock Shox can each be lowered by three centimetres and therefore weigh a little more than the competition. The following models compete against each other in the All Mountain category:
- DT Swiss XMM 150 27.5 One Piece (609 Euro)
- Fox 32 Talas 27.5 140 FIT CTD (1059 Euro)
- Magura TS8 R 150 (859 Euro)
- Manitou Minute Pro (599 Euro)
- Rock Shox Revelation XX 27.5 Dual P. (857 Euro)
- SR Suntour Epicon TR LO RC 27.5" (539 euros)
The second part of the big BIKE suspension fork test can be found below as a PDF download.
BIKE is also available as a digital edition.
