Suntour suspension...any good?

[MOTO13]

Looking at a bike with full Suntour suspension and I have real reservations about it. The price is decent for the bike, but just can't get past the ST stuff. Fork is a 36RC2 and the shock is a RS129 Trailair 3CR, of which I have zero knowledge of this stuff. Just know that ST is put on as a budget friendly suspension. Any opinions wb appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Paulquattro]

Hi
You have sort of answered your own questions
Its budget suspension and it really depends what your style of riding is
If your doing a bit of woodland trails etc then its fine for use
But if your going out and hitting bike parks etc its not going to be good at all
Hope this helps a little im sure others will be along soon to throw some more at the thread

 

[MOTO13]

All wooded single track is what I ride here in Wisconsin. No huge hits, just semi agressive trail stuff.

 

[Ian222]

Ok so what’s the bike and price?
I would have thought it would be fine for what you need it for but if you start to go for more demanding rides then you may regret it.

 

[MOTO13]

Bulls AM4...3500

 

[mustclime]

I have a bit of a rep with my riding buddy’s for being good with fork rebuilds. I have torn down 2 different suntour forks to try to get them to not feel so stiff. The guts on the suntour forks look like early 2000 fox forks. The forks I worked on were very primitive, they are ether to stiff and have no small bump feel or they blow through travel and bottom every where….. there may be some good suntour forks, but I have not seen them.

 

[lovespicyfood]

I test rode that exact bike as potentially my first e-bike. Short ride, but the suspension surprised me, it felt pretty darn good. I'm no suspension expert by any stretch of the imagination, but this isn't cheap Suntour suspension...I believe it's their top of the line.
I ended up going for a Spectral ON CF8 for $900 more, mostly because of the bigger battery, full CF frame, and to a lesser degree, mainstream Fox suspension.

Bulls Copperhead EVO AM 4 750

Low prices on Bulls Copperhead EVO AM 4. 0% APR financing available. Excellent customer service. Click now to learn more.

flyridesusa.com

 

[steve_sordy]

I am CERTAIN that I read a very good review of a Suntour fork. It was a while ago and I'd have to look for it. It was in one of the bike mags, MBR, or What Mountain Bike. Sadly, WMB is now defunct, but MBR is still extant and I just found this:

You searched for - MBR

www.mbr.co.uk

That link gives four Suntour reviews, two of which are the RC2, which may prove to be helpful.

 

[Neeko DeVinchi]

Suntour Durolux forks are pretty decent. They are on the heavier side compared to other brands. But on a full-fat emtb, I don't think it matters as much.

I've got no experience with the Zenon, Auron or Aion Forks or the Triair shocks.

But the Suntour Durolux and RUX forks are decent.
One of the easiest and quickest forks to service

 

[skinnyboy]

But the Suntour Durolux and RUX forks are decent.
One of the easiest and quickest forks to service

Agreed, easy to service the Durolux, damping more challenging to alter. The Triair is easy from both perspectives, and well made.

Cheers.

 

[2WHLFUN]

I had a Suntour XCT fork and it locks up solid at 40°f and below. I saw a review for a higher level one and that was doing the same thing! These didn’t use oil in the lowers but grease. The dampers were not serviceable but cartridges similar to what dropper posts use.

 

[John Beedham]

Interesting question .... I have asked myself similar question .... are the higher end ....Fox/Rockshox etc ..... forks offering bang fo thee the buck compared to SR's high end forks??? I haven't ridden SR air forks , only coil?? But suspension forks .... you really pay for higher performance .... marginal gains maybe but noticeable gains .... what can you afford and you can always upgrade .... and there's another quagmire ..... the 'worth' of upgrading air springs and dampers .... just ask me!!

 

[skinnyboy]

I had a Suntour XCT fork and it locks up solid at 40°f and below. I saw a review for a higher level one and that was doing the same thing! These didn’t use oil in the lowers but grease. The dampers were not serviceable but cartridges similar to what dropper posts use.

The fork dampers are serviceable, but it seems that Suntour wants to make the forks super easy to maintain, and swapping a damper is much easier than rebuilding it. Not everyone is into or wants to work on suspension bits. I don't want to either, but it's a necessary evil

NSMB.com - Suntour Durolux R2C2 Teardown

"The Durolux R2C2 claims to be what a lot of riders claim to be looking for; a durable, no-nonsense, easily-serviced, affordable, and great performing fork..."

nsmb.com

Cheers.

 

[longpete]

I have a 120mm Suntour Aion 35 boost. I bought it in covid times because it was the only fork available in that time with tandem allowance. It costed back then 110 Euros. On the tandem the maximum allowed pressure proved to be too low for our system weight. (too much sag, we need 145 to 150PS). The fork is very stiff(stiffer tha Rockshox and Fox). I noticed that on the tandem with 184 kg of system weight and 20.3 rotors. Changed to 140 Lyrik in tandem. The fact that the Suntour is stiifer is alsoproven by the almost equal left and right wear of the tyre. I bought a second hand specialized carver frame for wintertime rides. Put the fork in that frame. I ride that bike a lot (not only in winter)because I like the geometry. In the beginning of the travel the fork is less sensitive than the lyrik, pike and fox 34 I ride in my other bikes. I get full travel without bottoming out with 28% sag. On real steep decents the fork dives a bit more, but not problematic. The damping and the return are fast enough. The fork is better than the cheap rockshoxes. Easy maintenance.Cheap replacement parts But a 2021 2022 and 2023 Fox and Rock shox are better. But on most rides I do not notice the differnce. And even now it's hard to find an Ultimate Rock Shox under 300 EUR. The suntour is easy to find for 150. A lot of people riding tandems use the Durolux and are happy with it. I'd say suntour is Underestimated and ubeatable in price quality. The sevice center als reponds very fast.

 

[CaptKirk]

Looking at a bike with full Suntour suspension and I have real reservations about it. The price is decent for the bike, but just can't get past the ST stuff. Fork is a 36RC2 and the shock is a RS129 Trailair 3CR, of which I have zero knowledge of this stuff. Just know that ST is put on as a budget friendly suspension. Any opinions wb appreciated. Thanks.

Just remember when your flying downhill at "Break your neck" speeds that you saved alot of money on your suspension and helmet. You can use that extra money to buy top of the line coloring books and crayons. Okay enough bashing, The fork is passable , and will provide decent control for the above average rider. Bottom line is when you finish riding are you good with the performance?? Quit trying to find approval in others for your own choices. And ride that bike like you feel you should. A good rider can ride a cheap bike to its full potential, a inexperianced rider can destroy a great bike. Choose your line and ride it.

 

[MOTO13]

Yeah, decided against getting the Bulls even though it's at a really good price. Just can't get past the suspension. Pretty sure a busted face or broken arm isn't worth the risk. And, it may be just fine or it may be horrible suspension. Either way, not worth it.

 

[Thrön2]

Heard about Pauline Ferrand Prevot or Tom Pidcock? Olympic gold, wc wins? Megaavalanche? Mick Hanna? SCOTT SR Suntour is the international Enduro Racing Team of SCOTT Sports. Not sure if it's the suspension brand that will make you brake your arm

 

[lovespicyfood]

Yea, I decided not to go with that bike mainly because it’s pretty heavy at 59 pounds.

 

[MOTO13]

Heard about Pauline Ferrand Prevot or Tom Pidcock? Olympic gold, wc wins? Megaavalanche? Mick Hanna? SCOTT SR Suntour is the international Enduro Racing Team of SCOTT Sports. Not sure if it's the suspension brand that will make you brake your arm

I highly doubt the suspension they were on is anything resembling what is on that Bulls bike. Possibly the same ST sticker and that's about it.

 

[Thrön2]

I highly doubt the suspension they were on is anything resembling what is on that Bulls bike. Possibly the same ST sticker and that's about it.

Sure thing, but neither is most stuff put onto much pricier bikes. It seems that you have to get over 5k £ to get anything close to something that is called a "proper" fork in most discussions on the forum. Suntour have a bad rep due to lots of cheap stuff on cheap bikes. Their more expensive stuff is far from bad.

Only manufacturer that give you a choice with hsc and lsc on a 500£ fork

"Lacks either sensitivity or support" can be said about a lot of forks, still 4 of 5 stars.

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/components/forks/suspension-forks/sr-suntour-durolux36-eq-r2c2-fork-review

From nsmb
The SR Suntour Edge Rear Shock.
Min-maxed on a tight budget and lined up on the World Cup XC circuit, SR Suntour's inline Edge rear shock is a high-quality, simple, and effective option

 

[R120]

SR Suntour are like every other major suspension company, they make everything from cheap OEM spec entry level forks to super high end kit for WC racers - they make some very good products.

At a more budget price point some of their forks are better than the Fox/RS equivalents, where you are paying for the name over the specification.

 

[lovespicyfood]

Just watching a mtn bike vid and they are touring DVO suspension in Taiwan, embedded in a Suntour factory...

 

[Mrj35]

Just remember when your flying downhill at "Break your neck" speeds that you saved alot of money on your suspension and helmet. You can use that extra money to buy top of the line coloring books and crayons. Okay enough bashing, The fork is passable , and will provide decent control for the above average rider. Bottom line is when you finish riding are you good with the performance?? Quit trying to find approval in others for your own choices. And ride that bike like you feel you should. A good rider can ride a cheap bike to its full potential, a inexperianced rider can destroy a great bike. Choose your line and ride it.

LOL I just realized this when I bought a cheap ''shimano disc" off aliexpress. I looked at it and thought hmmmm I dont think I will test fate with this one . Then it just made me realize why theres so many cheap ''brand new shimano discs'' for sale on fb marketplace for super cheap.
The main part of the icetech disc looked like it was 3d printed, it was quite a bit thicker.

 

[mustclime]

I have now pulled down 4 different models of sun tour forks, I said it before and I will say it again, these forks look like fox forks in 2012-2015 inside. At the shop I pt at I have become “ Mr sun tour “ . Out of the box they really are crap compared to today’s forks. They are the definition of sticky but with enough lube and a 5wt oil you won’t need hand surgery after every ride. They are so close to old fox forks it might be worth trying to swap parts.