# Review of the new 2016 SR Suntour XCR Air 24" Fork



## Spectre (Jan 23, 2004)

I've just posted a review of the new SR Suntour XCR Air fork redesigned for 2016 at Product Review: 2016 SR Suntour XCR Air 24" Fork ? DIRT MERCHANT BIKES


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## stom_m3 (Jun 28, 2011)

Have you taken the fork apart? I'd be interested to know the size differential of the new cartridge. The previous cartridge was too small to effectively change spring rates. Changing the negative spring allows them to get more travel out of the fork. You can see my analysis in my Scott 24" build thread.

Can you take apart the fork and take pics of the internals? It would be interesting to see what was actually changed from previous.


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## stom_m3 (Jun 28, 2011)

I just looked up the exploded view of the fork. Here's the Suntour XCR Air



For comparison here is the RST F1RST



Kudos to Suntour for making a better fork though still prefer the open bath design of the RST. Next step for both companies will be to reduce weight. No reason why a 24" fork should weigh 1835gm vs say a Rockshox 26" SID at 1355gm. That's over a pound differential.


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## POAH (Apr 29, 2009)

RST F1RST air 24 is only 1600g


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## FREAKAH (Sep 11, 2013)

Thanks for the review Spectre! Now I'm really intrigued by the new XCR fork. If I do end up getting one, I'm hoping that the stock lowers from the DB Sync'r 24 fork will swap over to the new fork. It's pretty much the same sans the air cartridge, and the negative springs. I thought about purchasing the new 2016 XCR nessesary guts separately, but I don't see the negative springs listed. Plus, I won't have a complete fork to sell off later.

While I don't like the weight of the XCR air fork, it is the only air sprung 80mm travel option with a 430mm A2C to match the stock Sync'r 24 fork's 430mm A2C. At least the aftermarket XCR fork has a alloy steerer compared to the stock steel steerer, which should make the aftermarket XCR fork a few ounces lighter. 

Cmon Suntour, make a alloy stanchion'd version! That should bring the weight down a few ounces.


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## Spectre (Jan 23, 2004)

stom_m3 said:


> I just looked up the exploded view of the fork. Here's the Suntour XCR Air
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Let me know if you are still interested in having me take the fork apart. I'm willing to do so, but the fork is working great so I'm hesitant to mess with it until I need to do maintenance.


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## FREAKAH (Sep 11, 2013)

Please do take the fork apart and take pics, but only when you do maintenance. Don't want to mess with a good thing.

Btw, is the fork that's available at Dirt Merchant the new 2016 version?


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## Spectre (Jan 23, 2004)

Yes, it is the 2016 version which seems to work much better than the 2015 and earlier versions. I am able to run very low fork pressures. Currently running about 45psi for my 74 lb son. I have one currently in stock but can probably get more from SR Suntour depending on their stock on hand.


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## Spectre (Jan 23, 2004)

Also, one way to tell which is the new 2016 version versus the prior versions is that the 2016 version does not have v-brake mounts, just a post-mount 160 mm for disc brakes.


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## maleonardphi (May 19, 2006)

I'd love to see a comparison of this fork with the RST F1rst. When it says 63, 80 mm for travel, is that internally adjustable? Or is it one or the other?


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## Spectre (Jan 23, 2004)

Travel is changed from 80mm to 63mm by adding a spacer on top of the negative spring assembly. I believe it can come from the factory preset to either 63mm or 80mm of travel.


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## T_Lundell (Feb 23, 2007)

I'm in the market for a new fork for my son's 24" bike. Good to know that this fork has improved. I've also looked at the RST F1rst, but have no idea where to purchase one. Any ideas?


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## Erock503 (Oct 20, 2014)

This looks very promising. I missed the price though, how much does this fork run? Do they make a 20" version, and I wonder if this can be used with the suntour upgrade program?



T_Lundell said:


> I'm in the market for a new fork for my son's 24" bike. Good to know that this fork has improved. I've also looked at the RST F1rst, but have no idea where to purchase one. Any ideas?


I've bought 2 from this place, takes a bit if you are in the states, but they are legit. 
RST F1RST Air 24" MTB Suspension Fork black | MTB Fork Shop


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## Spectre (Jan 23, 2004)

T_Lundell said:


> I'm in the market for a new fork for my son's 24" bike. Good to know that this fork has improved. I've also looked at the RST F1rst, but have no idea where to purchase one. Any ideas?


We can get the Suntour XCR Air forks in several days and I was going to get more stock in for my inventory starting in March. Of the RST, Spinner and the Suntour 24" forks, only the Suntour is easily purchased in the US to my knowledge.


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## POAH (Apr 29, 2009)

T_Lundell said:


> I'm in the market for a new fork for my son's 24" bike. Good to know that this fork has improved. I've also looked at the RST F1rst, but have no idea where to purchase one. Any ideas?


the RST is a much better fork. its lighter and more adjustable to the user. It has adjustable compression and rebound damping. I got our old one from bike-discount.de.


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## SRvancouver13 (Aug 25, 2011)

Hello All.

Yes, the XCR Air 24 has gone through a major revision and utilizes the same concepts of design as our other Air forks. The air chamber is completely serviceable and you can even change the progression by adding or reducing the oil volume in the air chamber.

The air system is a complete redesign from our 2 in 1 cartridge that we used previously. Unfortunately the previous version suffered slightly from too strong of a negative spring and a high volume air chamber.

The lockout cartridge is still a modular non serviceable design but it will have a long service life based on our cartridge design and principal.

The lower casting is a single monocoque magnesium design and the steering column and crown are both of aluminum.

We chose to use a steel stanchion to help reduce cost and keep this as an option for kids bikes that people are generally buying at $400-500. 

SR SUNTOUR NORTH AMERICA will be adding this fork to our already popular upgrade program so you will be able to get into a new fork at a discount if you already own a SR SUNTOUR fork.

Cheers. 

Nick

BTW. Nice write up from the original poster. The cartridge however employees a more on off type function. It isn't intended to work as a "compression type adjustment". By rotating the lever clockwise a valve is slowly closed allowing less nitrogen to pass through the porting system.


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## Erock503 (Oct 20, 2014)

SRvancouver13 said:


> SR SUNTOUR NORTH AMERICA will be adding this fork to our already popular upgrade program so you will be able to get into a new fork at a discount if you already own a SR SUNTOUR fork.
> 
> Cheers.
> 
> Nick


That is awesome news! This should make people really excited, as there are so many heavier coil OEM Suntour on kids bikes. Thank you!

if you have the 20" version of this available, I'm ready to place an order yesterday.


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## Erock503 (Oct 20, 2014)

Hmm, not really sure why I got neg rep'd for that comment, but I'll stand by it. I still think it's awesome of Suntour to offer, and people should be aware it's available.


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## T_Lundell (Feb 23, 2007)

Thought I gave you positive rep for a comment. So, if it was me, sorry. I don't know how to fix.



Erock503 said:


> Hmm, not really sure why I got neg rep'd for that comment, but I'll stand by it. I still think it's awesome of Suntour to offer, and people should be aware it's available.


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## Erock503 (Oct 20, 2014)

T_Lundell said:


> Thought I gave you positive rep for a comment. So, if it was me, sorry. I don't know how to fix.


Hey sorry man, it was my misunderstanding. I didn't realize what the grey comment/rep meant. I was going to delete it, but you replied too fast.


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## T_Lundell (Feb 23, 2007)

POAH said:


> the RST is a much better fork. its lighter and more adjustable to the user. It has adjustable compression and rebound damping. I got our old one from bike-discount.de.


Did you have to pay customs when the fork was shipped? I'm debating whether to purchase from bike-discount.de, but I'm not sure how it will all work.


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## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

T_Lundell said:


> Did you have to pay customs when the fork was shipped? I'm debating whether to purchase from bike-discount.de, but I'm not sure how it will all work.


I bought about $300 worth of parts off bike-discount.de last year and did not pay any import duties. YMMV.


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## Erock503 (Oct 20, 2014)

T_Lundell said:


> Did you have to pay customs when the fork was shipped? I'm debating whether to purchase from bike-discount.de, but I'm not sure how it will all work.


No customs for me either. Took a bit of time after the handoff to us customs, but no customs Fee.


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## GSJ1973 (May 8, 2011)

SRvancouver13 said:


> *The lower casting is a single monocoque magnesium* design and the steering column and crown are both of aluminum.
> 
> *We chose to use a steel stanchion to help reduce cost* and keep this as an option for kids bikes that people are generally buying at $400-500.
> 
> ...


Nick,

Thanks for this info. You guys to my knowledge are the only ones with a 24" fork with magnesium lowers! It's a shame you offset the weight savings with steel stanchions though and personally don't see this as an upgrade when a magnet sticks to it. 

Most of us are trying to reduce weight of our $400-500 kids bikes as a priority while still having good suspension performance. I think most would agree and pay a bit more for an aftermarket aluminum stanchion fork if you can get it in the 1500 gram range.

Cheers!


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## Spectre (Jan 23, 2004)

GSJ1973 said:


> Nick,
> 
> Thanks for this info. You guys to my knowledge are the only ones with a 24" fork with magnesium lowers! It's a shame you offset the weight savings with steel stanchions though and personally don't see this as an upgrade when a magnet sticks to it.
> 
> ...


Just out of curiousity. How much would you be willing to pay for a 24" fork with aluminum stanchions in the 1500 gram range? I think getting a big enough customer base for a 24" kids fork could be driving target pricing down when considering construction of these forks.


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## Erock503 (Oct 20, 2014)

Spectre said:


> Just out of curiousity. How much would you be willing to pay for a 24" fork with aluminum stanchions in the 1500 gram range? I think getting a big enough customer base for a 24" kids fork could be driving target pricing down when considering construction of these forks.


Yeah, that's the big question. If the bike itself is in the $400-500, are people going to be willing to pay near that cost for a fork alone? It's tough in a market where they outgrow stuff so fast.

I just weighed my sons stock hotrock OEM Suntour 24" fork. With nothing attached, it weighs 2270g. My younger sons 20" OEM hotrock suntour is 2120g. If this fork is coming in at 1835g, that's a substantial weight difference along with the performance difference. I'll definitely be interested in this when my youngest moves up.


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## Spectre (Jan 23, 2004)

That has been my experience as well with the fork on my son's bike. In theory, it would be nice to make the bike lighter overall. In practice, he is quite fast already on both climbs and descents with the bike set up as it is. Could he be even faster on an even lighter bike? Maybe. Am I willing to spend another several hundred dollars to get the bike to that point? Not really.The CFO approved a certain budget for my son's bike and I'm pushing that budget already.

I think weight is important up to a certain point after which there are diminishing returns. In my opinion, bike geometry might actually be an equally important if not a more important factor. I believe a lot of folks key in on weight mainly because weight is something that can be quantified whereas handling is more subjective.


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## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

Spectre said:


> In my opinion, bike geometry might actually be an equally important if not a more important factor. I believe a lot of folks key in on weight mainly because weight is something that can be quantified whereas handling is more subjective.


Weight is something you can actually do something about and there are a lot of ways to go about reducing it (though the benefits gained are not necessarily proportional to the cost). The only way you can change geo is with a different frame.

I agree with you though, weight is probably over-emphasized. I haven't 100% made up my mind yet what my son's 20" bike is going to be, but geo is my #1 consideration.


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## Spectre (Jan 23, 2004)

RMCDan said:


> Weight is something you can actually do something about and there are a lot of ways to go about reducing it (though the benefits gained are not necessarily proportional to the cost). The only way you can change geo is with a different frame.
> 
> I agree with you though, weight is probably over-emphasized. I haven't 100% made up my mind yet what my son's 20" bike is going to be, but geo is my #1 consideration.


BTW, Marins are pretty good for an affordable option.


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## stom_m3 (Jun 28, 2011)

Spectre said:


> BTW, Marins are pretty good for an affordable option.


Right now Spawn Cycles has a sale on their Savage 20 @ $510. I'd go that route for an extra $100 over the Marin and gain so much more cool stuff. Legit freehub and cassette, disc brakes, good tires, etc. The Marin is a fine bike and I built my son one 4 years ago but a lot has happened in 4 years. Kids bikes have gotten so much more cool with a lot more options.


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## GSJ1973 (May 8, 2011)

Spectre said:


> Just out of curiousity. How much would you be willing to pay for a 24" fork with aluminum stanchions in the 1500 gram range? I think getting a big enough customer base for a 24" kids fork could be driving target pricing down when considering construction of these forks.


Well, I paid about $300 for and RST F!rst 24 close to 2 years ago with shipping (exchange rate was way worse) on a $470 bike. So If I am buying stuff from Germany, I am sure others are as well and there must be a market, though small one. Looking at the specs, it looks like the RST 24 is magnesium lowers as well. I thought they are aluminum.


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## POAH (Apr 29, 2009)

T_Lundell said:


> Did you have to pay customs when the fork was shipped? I'm debating whether to purchase from bike-discount.de, but I'm not sure how it will all work.


no cause I'm in the UK


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## POAH (Apr 29, 2009)

Spectre said:


> Just out of curiousity. How much would you be willing to pay for a 24" fork with aluminum stanchions in the 1500 gram range? I think getting a big enough customer base for a 24" kids fork could be driving target pricing down when considering construction of these forks.


$190 given thats the cost of the RST F1RST air 24 @1600g alu steerer,crown and stantions with magnesium cast lowers, adustable rebound and compression damping. That price includes delivery charge


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## SRvancouver13 (Aug 25, 2011)

I'll answer your question in 3 parts.

First. We wanted to make a fork ultimately that was affordable (this is our general goal with 99% of our fork line) and we don't see end users spending much more than $250.00+ on a new fork for a $650.00 or less bicycle. Hitting a sub $200.00 was the goal. So the cost vs. performance was to great to meet our goals. The aluminum construction would add significant cost to the fork but only save 100g. We are using a light weight steel here for strength and cost. As the kids market grows we will offer more options down the road but this is what we feel to be a good balance of weight, performance and value.

Second. We do offer a sub 1450g fork. It's a Axon WERX 20. To get the fork down in such a low weight we had to use our carbon fiber lower casting, aluminum butted stanchions and a hollow crown. We made a small batch and these forks sold for well over a $1000.00. The XCR has the same air spring assembly giving great rider adjustments in a usable range for light weight riders.

Third. In all my years of riding with kids, never have they asked or whined about a bike being too heavy. Especially with all the newer bikes that have dropped excessive frame weights. Cleary is one of those brands. Worrying about weight and component specs is only for us older kids to complain about : ) In my personal experience kids are more interested in getting dirty and not shifting their gears!

Cheers.

Nick.
[email protected]

BTW. These forks are leaving Taiwan for our distribution center early next month and we plan to be able to ship at the end of February.


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## Spectre (Jan 23, 2004)

Nick,

Two questions:

1. Is the Axon WERX available in the 24" wheel size? My understanding is that it was only for the 20" wheel size.

2. When you say 'These forks are leaving Taiwan for our distribution center early next month and we plan to be able to ship at the end of February.', do you mean the Axon WERX forks or the XCR Air forks?


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## SRvancouver13 (Aug 25, 2011)

@dirt merchant

I should have mentioned the Axon is only available in 20" and that further points to how difficult it is to shed grams. Even with a smaller wheel size we were only able to get it below that 1450g mark. Granted it includes an uncut steerer and a 68g thru axle but you get the general point. 

We'll have a very limited run of Axon Werx 20" forks. We only manufacture them 100 at a time due to cost and overall demand.

SF16 XCR LO DS AIR 24 wIll be here as well for deliveries to take place end of February. 

Cheers.


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

SRvancouver13 said:


> @dirt merchant
> 
> I should have mentioned the Axon is only available in 20" and that further points to how difficult it is to shed grams. Even with a smaller wheel size we were only able to get it below that 1450g mark. Granted it includes an uncut steerer and a 68g thru axle but you get the general point.
> 
> ...


Forgive the responding to an old thread but,
you know, I have gotten some conflicting info on the availability of this Axon Werx 20 fork. For one, it has been more like vapor-ware. Not to be found. The same redundant 10 or so biased reviews on it which really didn't say much. Except for how rad it was and the Spawn riders were. Despite that, pretty much any search for a 20 inch suspension fork brings this fork up...all hits of which date back to the same release hype of around April of 2015.

Calling you guys (again) has resulted in being informed (today) that the fork was only produced in quantities of 50, that being 25 for here, and 25 for Europe...there are none left, and that they were distributed through various marketing channels. I take that to mean that they were hooked up to those who knew somebody. Because when I called about them back in April of this year, the guy I talked to said there were a slew left and they'd consider letting one go at cost as they "weren't selling". But when I attempted to reach out to purchase one, no one responded. The guy that offered the idea of cost wouldn't even answer his phone.

This fork was impossible to buy, and worse, it was and still is hung out there as a friggin carrot in the face of those who wanted to stupidly shell out the money for it because their kids were riding well enough to warrant it.

You guys REALLY pissed me off with this fork and I won't be buying anything else of yours for my son despite the domestic availability.

And frankly, you're dead wrong...I would in a second shell out $300-$500 on a fork for my son. If the fork was built well, and looked the part, and wasn't a pig that weighed 1800 or more grams. Kids are riding well these days because they are being born to parents that get them into this awesome sport, start them early, and obsess over how to dial their rigs as best as we can.

If all you can see in your marketing outlook are the folks that are frugally looking for something to fit in with their retirement planning, you aren't looking. Plenty of us are spending stupid money on our kids, and with out regrets. My son rips. And I would have paid retail on an Axon Werx 20. Too bad I couldn't get one despite trying for months.


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## Spectre (Jan 23, 2004)

jochribs said:


> Forgive the responding to an old thread but,
> you know, I have gotten some conflicting info on the availability of this Axon Werx 20 fork. For one, it has been more like vapor-ware. Not to be found. The same redundant 10 or so biased reviews on it which really didn't say much. Except for how rad it was and the Spawn riders were. Despite that, pretty much any search for a 20 inch suspension fork brings this fork up...all hits of which date back to the same release hype of around April of 2015.
> 
> Calling you guys (again) has resulted in being informed (today) that the fork was only produced in quantities of 50, that being 25 for here, and 25 for Europe...there are none left, and that they were distributed through various marketing channels. I take that to mean that they were hooked up to those who knew somebody. Because when I called about them back in April of this year, the guy I talked to said there were a slew left and they'd consider letting one go at cost as they "weren't selling". But when I attempted to reach out to purchase one, no one responded. The guy that offered the idea of cost wouldn't even answer his phone.
> ...


I checked with my SR Suntour rep and it does seem that the 20" Axon Werks forks are available. I would agree that some limited-edition items in the bike industry are difficult to get without a connection to the right folks since these items are not necessarily available through the normal distribution channels. But, if you look at the car industry, there are a lot of parallels with respect to limited edition models. Take the new Porsche 911R as an example of a real product that has all been spoken for: The Retro Racing Porsche 911 You Didn't Know About Is Already Sold Out I'm not exactly sure why Porsche didn't make more but I think the 911R was intended as halo product and the unobtainable nature of the product generates more hype and interest.

I'm not saying this is the right thing to do, but just sharing that other industries can have this same pattern. It certainly is a jarring change from the rest of our 24/7 connected world in which everything is available on demand, but perhaps this type of pattern comes up in "enthusiast" types of activities in general such as cars, camera, audio equipment, etc.


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## cakemonster (Sep 30, 2012)

Two things:

1. Axon Werks look nice, but check out the new Spawn/Brood Brothers Fork. Not Vaporware. Sic cranks too. My 4 year old might get one when he gets big enough.

Parts - Gear - Born to Ride | The World's Best Kids Bikes!

I wonder if next years Kotaris etc will come with them, not just on their full suspension bikes...

2. My other son's bike has an 2016 24 XCR Lo and it works well, but I think it is set to 63 travel. Anyone out there know how to convert it to 80 travel?

Details - SR SUNTOUR Cycling


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## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

cakemonster said:


> 1. Axon Werks look nice, but check out the new Spawn/Brood Brothers Fork. Not Vaporware. Sic cranks too. My 4 year old might get one when he gets big enough.
> 
> Parts - Gear - Born to Ride | The World's Best Kids Bikes!
> 
> I wonder if next years Kotaris etc will come with them, not just on their full suspension bikes...


Those do look really sweet. I think Flow is planning to sell their forks a la carte eventually too so that may be an option down the road.

The cranks are only listed on the Canadian site, so they may not be available in the US yet. I'm tempted to buy a pair for my wife's bike!


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## Spectre (Jan 23, 2004)

cakemonster said:


> Two things:
> 
> 1. Axon Werks look nice, but check out the new Spawn/Brood Brothers Fork. Not Vaporware. Sic cranks too. My 4 year old might get one when he gets big enough.
> 
> ...


To convert to 63mm, you need to remove part 5j in the diagram located at: http://www.srsuntour-cycling.com/fi...016/SF16-XCR/SF16-XCR-DS-LO-air-24-63-(1).PDF


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## cakemonster (Sep 30, 2012)

Spectre said:


> To convert to 63mm, you need to remove part 5j in the diagram located at: http://www.srsuntour-cycling.com/fi...016/SF16-XCR/SF16-XCR-DS-LO-air-24-63-(1).PDF


Thank you very much! I think it is set to 63 now and I want to get to 80, but I may just be undermeasuring.

This is the fork/bike. It is a 2016. It looks different than your's (air in bottom of fork), but no V brake attachments. Kinda a hybrid.

https://www.cube.eu/en/products/kids/kid-240/cube-kid-240-sl-action-team-blue-2016/

I am hoping it is the 2016...

Details*- SR SUNTOUR Cycling

But how can you tell it from the 2014?

Details*- SR SUNTOUR Cycling

His air port is in the bottom and when I look closely that looks like it is a 2014 which is a bummer. Am I correct?


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## cakemonster (Sep 30, 2012)

RMCDan said:


> Those do look really sweet. I think Flow is planning to sell their forks a la carte eventually too so that may be an option down the road.
> 
> The cranks are only listed on the Canadian site, so they may not be available in the US yet. I'm tempted to buy a pair for my wife's bike!


I am pretty sure Flow's forks are modded Spinner Air Grind.


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## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

cakemonster said:


> I am pretty sure Flow's forks are modded Spinner Air Grind.


That's correct. Same thing Lil Shredder does for their branded forks.


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## cakemonster (Sep 30, 2012)

The approach Spawn and Lil Shredder seem to take at 24 inch is just setup the frame geometry to take a 26 inch fork. Tons of options etc.

At 20 that Spawn(Brood Bros) fork looks like the way to go especially if they spec it on a bike. 

The Cube is a solid bike, we made it 1x with a Zee rear derailleur so it is 1 x 10, but the fork is lacking. Looks like a 2014 which bums me out on a 2016 bike. 

Could someone who has one take a look to confirm? Thank You in advance.


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## R80RidesAgain (Jun 17, 2017)

*my 2016 suntour XCR has a sealed air cartridge, no adjustments available.*

My son's 24" SR Suntour XCR air fork travel is non-adjustable. It has a sealed air cartridge. The fork is very nice with magnesium lowers, but now way to swap to 80mm travel, I'm stuck at around 60mm. Still this fork is awesome, my 7 year old no longer tops out all the time..... Huge improvement.


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## Spectre (Jan 23, 2004)

R80RidesAgain said:


> My son's 24" SR Suntour XCR air fork travel is non-adjustable. It has a sealed air cartridge. The fork is very nice with magnesium lowers, but now way to swap to 80mm travel, I'm stuck at around 60mm. Still this fork is awesome, my 7 year old no longer tops out all the time..... Huge improvement.


You can adjust it to 80 mm of travel by adding in part 5j in the diagram at: http://www.srsuntour-cycling.com/fi...016/SF16-XCR/SF16-XCR-DS-LO-air-24-63-(1).PDF


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## R80RidesAgain (Jun 17, 2017)

*cartridge is sealed in it's own juices for life*



Spectre said:


> You can adjust it to 80 mm of travel by adding in part 5j in the diagram at: http://www.srsuntour-cycling.com/fi...016/SF16-XCR/SF16-XCR-DS-LO-air-24-63-(1).PDF


Hi Spectre,

The cartridge is sealed. No cap or threads. It's crimped at the end. One will have to buy the 80mm version. I've tried to upload my dissasembly pics but I ran into issues. I'll try again soon from my computer (not the phone).


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## Spectre (Jan 23, 2004)

R80RidesAgain said:


> Hi Spectre,
> 
> The cartridge is sealed. No cap or threads. It's crimped at the end. One will have to buy the 80mm version. I've tried to upload my dissasembly pics but I ran into issues. I'll try again soon from my computer (not the phone).


Ah, got it. Maybe there is an OEM version sold to manufacturers.


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## aaronrryan (Jan 16, 2012)

Can a 2016 Suntour XCR 24" 80mm COIL be converted into AIR?

I have the SF16-XCR-DS-LO-24-80, can i change parts to convert to Air
SF16-XCR-DS-LO-air-24-80?


Explode PDF of COIL:

Explode PDF of Air:

I just got my son a 2017 Diamondback Sync'r 24, and he can barely compress the fork with his 55lbs of body weight. I'm hoping the Air will allow more compression adjustment.


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## Steve-XtC (Feb 7, 2016)

Dragging back an old thread... but perhaps to the benefit of AaronRryan ...

and back to how much will people pay ??

The whole OEM vs retail is a huge difference.... I just bought a new SID a month ago (albeit half price at GB£300 vs £600) and whatever that is today in the UK's plunging currency....

The price of the original "donor" bike for upgrades is immaterial... you can buy a brand new Commencal HT frame for $100 (don't know shipping) or strip any number of used donor bikes ..

Now on non-hypothetical question to Suntour US.... if they are still listening?
Lets say I buy a bike and it has a non-functional heavy fork from manufacturer A... due to the manufacturer hitting a price point ... I decide to upgrade to a functioning fork ... do you think I will stick with the manufacturer that made the non-working/heavy version if I have a choice?

Steel steerers ?? Seriously??? Oh and RST steerers are USER changeable and $20-30 for a new alloy one...



> And frankly, you're dead wrong...I would in a second shell out $300-$500 on a fork for my son. If the fork was built well, and looked the part, and wasn't a pig that weighed 1800 or more grams. Kids are riding well these days because they are being born to parents that get them into this awesome sport, start them early, and obsess over how to dial their rigs as best as we can.
> 
> If all you can see in your marketing outlook are the folks that are frugally looking for something to fit in with their retirement planning, you aren't looking. Plenty of us are spending stupid money on our kids, and with out regrets. My son rips. And I would have paid retail on an Axon Werx 20. Too bad I couldn't get one despite trying for months.


I'm in the UK but I can say that there are ZERO podium places in the kids racing with Suntour Forks.... RST on the other hand gets a podium in every race my kid attends ...

AFTER the races when the kids and parents socialise there are plenty of interested parents ..and my 7yr old can and does take them through a bike check... mentioning the RST forks and how they transformed his riding... I should be asking them for sponsorship!!



Suntour said:


> Third. In all my years of riding with kids, never have they asked or whined about a bike being too heavy. Especially with all the newer bikes that have dropped excessive frame weights. Cleary is one of those brands. Worrying about weight and component specs is only for us older kids to complain about : ) In my personal experience kids are more interested in getting dirty and not shifting their gears!


Do you happen to have any frame weights to hand? 
I don't see much difference AT ALL even the high end Titanium frames in 24er don't drop as as much weight over a standard alloy frame as your forks ADD let alone the mass produced middle range frames.

24er mid range weights have gone down due to component choice NOT frame weights... most specifically cassettes and wheel choices.

However... *even if this was the case * why on earth would someone then opt for a more expensive high end bike with a heavy fork?
It sounds like manufactures making lighter bikes is an excuse to produce a crappier fork not a better one?

In my more limited experience riding with my kid and friends those on heavy bikes complain on every uphill.... and those on lighter bikes complain having to wait at the top whilst the other push...

As to not changing gears .... then I can't really say how these kids have not been given an opportunity. Most of them wouldn't be able to read and write if they hadn't been taught either. Sure they like getting dirty .. my kids bike/cycling kit will usually have double the amount of dirt on the same ride... however at least the quality components keep working when covered in mud.

The 7yr old recently did a more technical than average XC race and was convinced he would be faster on his Full Suss with SID/Monarch ... I told him to do 3 laps practice but he only needed one lap to feel the weight difference and decide on the lighter XC bike with RST F1rst's... and even on more technical there were still rigid's on the podiums up to age 12... but NONE with crappy heavy forks which are in the DNF's.

The race aspect of this isn't the big deal... it's just a place where lots of kids bikes are all gathered together.... the rest of the weekends these are kids out riding with their parents on the trails..


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## Spectre (Jan 23, 2004)

aaronrryan said:


> Can a 2016 Suntour XCR 24" 80mm COIL be converted into AIR?
> 
> I have the SF16-XCR-DS-LO-24-80, can i change parts to convert to Air
> SF16-XCR-DS-LO-air-24-80?
> ...


XCR Air will solve that problem, but I don't believe the coil version can be converted to the Air version.


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

Steve-XtC said:


> Dragging back an old thread... but perhaps to the benefit of AaronRryan ...
> 
> and back to how much will people pay ??
> 
> ...


Great post Steve. And thanks for the quote in getting your point across. I was quite irritated by this apathy in producing decent suspension for smaller wheels when I wrote that...made even worse by a particular fork being produced in miniscule quantities and dangled like a carrot, made unattainable.

On that note, all the companies need to be offering something better. RST gets kudos, but the First Air 'SHOULD' be lighter and needs to lose the canti mounts. The Snyper that was waited for about a year is a plum pig. Why these forks both weigh more than most 29, 27.5 and 26 forks at moderate prices is beyond me.

I think bike manufacturers need to do a better job of leaning on these suspension companies to produce something 'real' for the 24" (and 20") market, rather than settling for building their offering around a too tall 26 fork. As long as they keep that up, the suspension co's will have no reason to make anything else.

Same issue with tires. How many 'real' options are out there?? Not many.


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## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

jochribs said:


> I think bike manufacturers need to do a better job of leaning on these suspension companies to produce something 'real' for the 24" (and 20") market, rather than settling for building their offering around a too tall 26 fork. As long as they keep that up, the suspension co's will have no reason to make anything else.
> 
> Same issue with tires. How many 'real' options are out there?? Not many.


For 20", the Brood fork on my son's new Rokkusuta is 100% legit. Zero stiction, it feels like a mini-Pike.

Spawn also told me they will have the 20" and 24" Brood tires that are spec'ed on the Yama Jamas available in the US in 1-2 weeks. Those look really good, too.


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## aaronrryan (Jan 16, 2012)

*No option to covert COIL to AIR, only upgrade program*

I opened a ticket with Suntour to see if I can convert my COIL fork to AIR, and the answer is no. However they offer an upgrade program. Here is what the Suntour tech said:



> The other option would be to replace the fork with a air fork which we offer through our upgrade program at $149.95 instead of the $199.95.
> 
> There are other parts between the 2 forks that are not the same and it does not allow for the fork to be converted over to a air spring fork.


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

RMCDan said:


> For 20", the Brood fork on my son's new Rokkusuta is 100% legit. Zero stiction, it feels like a mini-Pike.
> 
> Spawn also told me they will have the 20" and 24" Brood tires that are spec'ed on the Yama Jamas available in the US in 1-2 weeks. Those look really good, too.


I think I'd seen those tires when skimming their site a few weeks ago. Decent looking, but I can't see any details about them. Probably due to having a US IP address. My guess is they'll be pretty heavy though. Still though, at least they're trying to get something out there.

That's pretty nice to hear about the brood fork. There should be more than one option out there though. And why no 24"? Because everyone is busy building around a 26". Works for pointing things down, but just ain't optimal for a more xc oriented bike. Would be like putting a 29er fork on your 26 or 27.5. Just seems like a 'make-do' hack to me.


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## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

Totally agree about 26" forks being a kludge and that there should be more options at both sizes. At least there is _something_ now.

The bike industry's approach to kids bikes is pathetic all around. Giant doesn't have single performance-oriented 20" or 24" bike in the lineup at all. Trek has little else besides the Fuel EX Jr, which sells at basically the same pricepoint as the Rokkusuta 24 despite having inferior geo, component spec and suspension travel. Specialized's only "performance" bike in their youth lineup is the Hotrock 24 XC Pro, which they charge a stunning $1550 for even though the geo and component spec are decidedly inferior to the Yama Jama 24 _that costs $400 less_. My son has parking lot-demoed Norco's 20" FS--the rear suspension simply does not function properly, the standover is really high and they use the 24" RST F1RST fork. They should all be embarrassed.


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## GSJ1973 (May 8, 2011)

RMCDan said:


> Totally agree about 26" forks being a kludge and that there should be more options at both sizes. At least there is _something_ now.
> 
> The bike industry's approach to kids bikes is pathetic all around. Giant doesn't have single performance-oriented 20" or 24" bike in the lineup at all. Trek has little else besides the Fuel EX Jr, which sells at basically the same pricepoint as the Rokkusuta 24 despite having inferior geo, component spec and suspension travel. Specialized's only "performance" bike in their youth lineup is the Hotrock 24 XC Pro, which they charge a stunning $1550 for even though the geo and component spec are decidedly inferior to the Yama Jama 24 _that costs $400 less_. My son has parking lot-demoed Norco's 20" FS--the rear suspension simply does not function properly, the standover is really high and they use the 24" RST F1RST fork. They should all be embarrassed.


Yeah holy thread bump!

The RST F1RST air fork is still the best if you are looking at the XC fork route. The new Suntour is still 230 grams heavier than an RST. It is a bummer the RST has v-brake mounts, but that is purely aesthetic and I can look past that for an air fork that is still around 1600 grams and 60-ish mm travel for a kids XC bike.

The problem I found with the 26" forks on a 24" bike is the taller axle to crown height. To negate this, you have to drop down the travel to 80mm to help compensate for the increased front end height. An 80mm travel 26" fork still has an axle to crown of about 460mm a-c vs 410mm on the 24" RST. That 50mm of increased A-C over a 24" fork is a lot, especially if your kid is on the small side of 24". That's like bars at shoulder height in some cases!

By looking at the other 24" bike threads on this forum, not many people are considering Specialized, Giant, Trek, Cannondale, etc. if your kid is really into riding bikes. What's the point? They are heavy and have poor spec. I don't think they can ever get the volume they need so they just let the little guys make the better 20 and 24" bikes. This is also why we don't have a proper 1300 gram 24" fork. Sure you can buy a used SID, but then you still have an old, tall fork that isn't much lighter than an RST.

That Hotrock 24 XC Pro...our local shop had one on the floor for 2+ years. It hasn't changed spec in at least three years. It was over 24 pounds for $1550! You can get many bikes under that weight for way less $$$ now.


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

Awesome posts RMC and GSJ. I totally agree that they should be embarrassed. Especially these days when kids are clearly riding more and there are enough niche parents buying gear that it really isn't a niche anymore. 

I think things like the mini plus bikes are ridiculous. Why are they putting their effort into those tires and frames when there is nowhere to go upgrade wise with them? Different tires? Nope. Different wheels? Nope. Still the same bunk suspension on the front end (if it even has any)? Yup. Just seems like another platform/standard that has no support. And no real point. 

And if Specialized pulled their heads out of their ivory towered bums and offered their Big Roller tread pattern in a 2.4 or even a 2.3 they'd sell way more of them because they'd fit almost any bike and the tread pattern is pretty versatile. But nope. Only 2.8 and wired. Considering they just screwed up their tire line by dropping tpi, undersizing, and gaining weight like French duck, I don't see them doing any better than what they already have. But that leaves every other tire company...who have almost entirely dropped the ball. 

Currently, as far as suspension goes I'm running an older Judy on my son's Orbea. I removed one sides stack, got my hands on some left over stock Sid lowers so it was disc compatible, and they are surprisingly supple with a 425 a2c. And light at about 1350 grams. But I shouldn't have had to do that. If I didn't have my old first Judy just sitting in the basement to weigh and screw around with I never would have figured this setup out. 

We should have at least three forks to choose from that aren't a compromise. Maybe some day.


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## max.zorro (Mar 27, 2007)

Hi guys. Any real information about a2c length of xcr air 24 in 63mm?

I found that is 415mm somewhere.... Is it for 63 or 80mm?


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## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

RMCDan, do you know if Brood/Spawn is going to make a 24" fork? The 80mm for their 20" is a dream man. (We have the YJ with 80mm...I wonder if its adjustable up to 100mm? Know anything about that?)

What is wrong with the RST Sniper at 100mm? I'll be interested in the TrailCraft Maxwell 24" FS bike someday. It uses that fork.


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## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

I have no idea. I only knew about the Brood tires becoming available because I had emailed them and asked. My guess is that they're going to keep working with X Fusion, but who knows. I would also guess that the 80 mm Brood fork is not adjustable up to 100 mm, but it never hurts to ask. If you're comfortable pulling apart a fork you could always just disassemble it and see for yourself, or if an LBS near you has a suspension guru you could see what they could do.

I'm sure the Snyper will be, at a minimum, better than the F1RST. But, that's a low bar. It's kind of an unknown quantity right now since reviews don't seem to exist. It's hard to get excited about an open bath damper and 9mm QR dropouts.

Everybody in this thread loves to hate 26" forks on 24" bikes because of the longer A2C length, but I've never seen actual measurements of bar height on bikes that are equipped a such. Everyone here with a Pineridge 24 and/or Yama Jama 24, please measure the bar height and report back!


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

max.zorro said:


> Hi guys. Any real information about a2c length of xcr air 24 in 63mm?
> 
> I found that is 415mm somewhere.... Is it for 63 or 80mm?


I'm going to make an educated guess and say that's at 63. Could be wrong. Have you looked at Suntours site?


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

RMCDan said:


> I have no idea. I only knew about the Brood tires becoming available because I had emailed them and asked. My guess is that they're going to keep working with X Fusion, but who knows. I would also guess that the 80 mm Brood fork is not adjustable up to 100 mm, but it never hurts to ask. If you're comfortable pulling apart a fork you could always just disassemble it and see for yourself, or if an LBS near you has a suspension guru you could see what they could do.
> 
> I'm sure the Snyper will be, at a minimum, better than the F1RST. But, that's a low bar. It's kind of an unknown quantity right now since reviews don't seem to exist. It's hard to get excited about an open bath damper and 9mm QR dropouts.
> 
> Everybody in this thread loves to hate 26" forks on 24" bikes because of the longer A2C length, but I've never seen actual measurements of bar height on bikes that are equipped a such. Everyone here with a Pineridge 24 and/or Yama Jama 24, please measure the bar height and report back!


RMC, you can add the headtube to the a2c. Remember to take into consideration the BB height.


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## max.zorro (Mar 27, 2007)

jochribs said:


> I'm going to make an educated guess and say that's at 63. Could be wrong. Have you looked at Suntours site?


Opps... found in original review, a2c = 430 at 80mm


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## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

jochribs said:


> RMC, you can add the headtube to the a2c. Remember to take into consideration the BB height.


Trailcraft doesn't list headtube length in their geo chart and Spawn doesn't list BB height in theirs.


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## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

I've seen some "stack" calculators out there. Would that be appropriate here? This is a good conversation.


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

RMCDan said:


> Trailcraft doesn't list headtube length in their geo chart and Spawn doesn't list BB height in theirs.


I've always written a quick email or given a jingle when co's don't have the dimension I'm looking for. Usually they have the data, it's just not posted.


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

svinyard said:


> I've seen some "stack" calculators out there. Would that be appropriate here? This is a good conversation.


Yeah, Bikegeo.net is a good one.


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## autoduel (Feb 2, 2004)

Building up a ns clash Jr and with a Manitou Mars 80mm fork, the center of the bar is 33.5" high.


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## melchionda (Sep 25, 2012)

Hi Folks, 

Anyone know how to service the older SunTour XCR Air Fork?

Ours needs servicing because even when there is no weight on the fork it doesnt extend fully anymore unless you actively pull on the fork lowers. 

Before I attempt to pull it apart I'd like to find some info on how to service it.

This fork came off our Specialized HotRock 24 XC Pro. Specialized describes the fork as follows:
Custom SR Suntour XCR-AIR, custom Multi-Circuit Damping, air spring, 63mm of travel, preload adjust, 1-1/8"" steerer, mag lowers, Hi-Ten 28mm stanchions, disc mount

Its got a schrader airvalve sticking out the bottom of one of the legs. I havnt been able to find a video on Youtube that shows anyone servicing this fork and dealing with the airvalve at the bottom of the fork.

Any help would be awesome!

Sean


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## rabitoblanco (Feb 21, 2017)

Hey all, 
I'm looking to replace the RST Cappa on my son's Specialized FSR with something that he can compress.

So just looking at our 24" air fork options here-- 
Suntour's XCR Air 24 seems easily available 
RST F1RST (only 60mm travel?) seems to only be available at discount.de
Spinner Grind Air seems to be available even more spottily on eBay only 

Is that really it? 
(Out of these, the RST still seems to be the lightest)


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## SactoGeoff (Aug 11, 2017)

rabitoblanco said:


> Hey all,
> I'm looking to replace the RST Cappa on my son's Specialized FSR with something that he can compress.
> 
> So just looking at our 24" air fork options here--
> ...


RST F1RST can be had a variety of places. I think you can buy them from Trailcraft.
The X-Fusion 24" fork is also available and has more travel @ 80mm. But it's heavier.

When looking for this stuff you can always call the mfr directly and just ask for a retailer referral. I've done that in the past.

Those are the best 2 shocks out there for 24" IMHO. My twins have X-Fusion on their Spawns and they are really nice. But the RST is nice and it's light.


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## Ausable (Jan 7, 2006)

Warning - the RST F1RST is a horrible fork - unless I got a lemon it has way too much stiction, almost useless for a 50 pounds rider. 

I have already tried to fine tune the front hub spacing (the friction was getting worse when the QR was tightened), added syn oil in the lowers but not much improvement.
I will take apart the lowers this week to better understand the root cause of the tremendous stiction - I believe it comes from the internal bushings, not from the air springs or dust wipers.

Ready to make the swap with a lowered SID I have in the parts bin. If somebody has a different experience or tuning suggestions - please share.
Thanks
Fab


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

I'm wondering if you got a lemon, because I don't think I recall anyone saying that before.

Interesting find, that you feel it's a problem in the bushings and it worsens when you clamp the skewer. I there a bit of space between the hub over-lock nuts and the drop outs? Have you measured both? 

Does the fork have stiction when you compress it out of the bike?


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## rabitoblanco (Feb 21, 2017)

@Ausable you're literally the only person I've heard say this about that fork, so I'm guessing it's a lemon-- probably just reach out to them without wasting the effort to fix. (Investigating for fun, that's a different story!)


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

rabitoblanco said:


> @Ausable you're literally the only person I've heard say this about that fork, so I'm guessing it's a lemon-- probably just reach out to them without wasting the effort to fix. (Investigating for fun, that's a different story!)


Agreed.


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## Steve-XtC (Feb 7, 2016)

Agreed again ... both my lads and his buddy have excellent experience and my kids other fork is a 100mm SID on his FS... much more hassle to set up


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

^^Is this the shortest post ever, by Steve-XtC?


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## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

jochribs said:


> ^^Is this the shortest post ever, by Steve-XtC?


Hah!


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## Ausable (Jan 7, 2006)

Hi all - thanks for the feedback. I wish I posted this before cutting the v-brake posts I could get a chance of a warranty replacement:madmax:

However the hub spacing is now correct, and the stiction is not getting worse after tightening the QR. (the lowers were getting squeezed by a couple of mm before the hub adjustment).

The stiction is also evident when the wheel is not installed, to point that the fork has the tendency to stay partially compressed after the load is released. 

The setup pressure currently is very low (my 7yo kid weighs below 25kg) and therefore the stiction is relatively more apparent, but during normal use the fork has zero small bumps compliance.... very disappointing


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## Steve-XtC (Feb 7, 2016)

> The stiction is also evident when the wheel is not installed, to point that the fork has the tendency to stay partially compressed after the load is released.
> 
> The setup pressure currently is very low (my 7yo kid weighs below 25kg) and therefore the stiction is relatively more apparent, but during normal use the fork has zero small bumps compliance.... very disappointing


I didn't weigh my kid lately but he's still somewhere under 25kg and that's 2 years into the fork. His buddy is really small, I doubt he weighs 20kg... but the fork works fine for both of them - I couldn't tell you the pressures... its gotten a bit higher in 2yrs but its still so low as to not be reliably measured on a shock pump... Yes sticktion is more apparent than on my Pikes at XXX psi and my 70kg but it's way better than on the unmodified SID though technically I think that more the damping/rebound not sticktion being designed to work against adult pressures.



> Hi all - thanks for the feedback. I wish I posted this before cutting the v-brake posts I could get a chance of a warranty replacement


I'm wondering if you perhaps introduced the problem here ??? (I just took out the bolts... the extra Alloy can't weigh much but heat/something during the process - not helpful now it's done but???)

anyway ... out of all the crap that's available for kids bikes the reason I'd defend the F1rst is because its the one thing really exceeded my low expectations....


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

Agree with Steve. Did you test out the fork, or do you remember how it felt before you cut the posts? The bushings are going to be close to the post area. I think that it's definitely possible that you could have altered the lowers a tiny bit by doing that. 

It's a bummer, sorry man. 

You could reach out to RST and see if you could get a set of lowers to replace and also see if that corrects the problem. If it does, it's most likely that it was the cutting that caused it the stiction. If it doesn't, you are due for a warranty replacement and a credit on your lowers purchase.

Just a thought, not sure if they'd be game for it.


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## thesmokingman (Jan 17, 2009)

Try some Maxima SC1 on the stanchions, might help. That said after checking the pics, those bosses are stupid long. However there's so much material there I doubt the minimal heat is the culprit. But regardless its time to strip the fork down and get medieval on it.


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

I dunno Smoking. He's saying that the stanchions are staying stuck down in some instances. 

I guess you have a point that stripping it and throwing the idea book at it isn't going to hurt anything anymore than has been...save for scratching things up and just generally buggering things up. (Ausable, don't screw things up more )

I'd still see if getting a new set of lowers from RST is a possibility. If it's possible and not too expensive, relative to a new fork, why not give it a go to see if that's the problem.


As an aside, and no insult meant to Ausable...I wouldn't be hacking the brake posts off of any fork in order to gain an aesthetic look. I can't imagine that looking clean.


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## thesmokingman (Jan 17, 2009)

I'd imagine that getting replacement lowers on a very boutique fork will not be cheap. I'd just deal with it and refocus in a year or two when he comes back to make the what fits my kid now thread, ie. 26er or higher.


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

Agreed. But he'll never know unless he gives them a call.


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## Ausable (Jan 7, 2006)

Hi all, thanks again for all the suggestions. 
I can confirm that the stiction was there since day one, I was hoping it would get better after some rides, but this didn't happen.
Just to resume the different checkpoints: 

0) stiction evient from day one with or without wheel installed. Originally, getting worse when the wheel was installed.
1) Fine tuned the hub spacing - slight improvement when the QR is tightened. 
2)Added 15w40 oil in the lowers little or no effect (I added a very small quantity - 5cc just to be on the safe side. I will try to add more and keep the fork upside down for some time to check for improvements.
3)While I wasa adding oil in the lowers I verified that the (unpressured) air spring and the damper cartrige were moving smoothly-
4) Lubricated the stanchions, no evident improvement. 

I think that the last detail to be checked is that the stanchions are paralled and that the stanchion spacing is the same as the lowers spacing. 
If that is the case, I will try to check if the bushing are correctly seated in the lowers.

And yes the magnesium brake posts weighed like 7 grams each .... really not worth the effort..... but the fork definitely looks better now


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## thesmokingman (Jan 17, 2009)

What kind of oil did you use? 15w40 is usually an engine oil right? Also, I would use a lighter weight fork oil like 10w or slightly lower like srams 7wt.


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

Give Finish Line's "Stanchion Lube" a try. I've found it to really free up wipers.


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## Steve-XtC (Feb 7, 2016)

Bit of a shame you'd cut them as a warranty return would have been better but *I'd probably have done the same.*.. you'll obviously find it difficult to insist it was there from the beginning now if RST want to play that way... but it's still worth a punt..
I understand why.. after all we all cut steerer tubes with the expectation the fork is going to free up... but it is going rely a bit more on their good nature after cutting off the mounts.

It does sound like you got a bad fork... but hoped it would free up.. hopefully its something you can fix though.

bike discount are selling at an all time slow in Euro's at the moment if you felt so inclined...


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

^Yes, and you can also check with TrailCraft domestically.


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## Ausable (Jan 7, 2006)

Hi All, I am based in Italy and the fork came fitted on Islabike creig24 I purchesed from the UK therefore any warranty work would have been complex anyway....

However: I am confident that the air cartridge and damper work OK so it should be something fixable. 
Hopefully the friction comes from very tight bushing that I could ream for proper tolerance. I will take the fork apart in the next few days and post an update.

Thanks again
Fab


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

I think I'd be keeping that fork for parts and getting another one from bike-discount, or maybe from Isla. 

I think the returns on tinkering have thoroughly diminished straight out the window at this point.


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## thesmokingman (Jan 17, 2009)

Ausable said:


> Hi All, I am based in Italy and the fork came fitted on Islabike creig24 I purchesed from the UK therefore any warranty work would have been complex anyway....
> 
> However: I am confident that the air cartridge and damper work OK so it should be something fixable.
> Hopefully the friction comes from very tight bushing that I could ream for proper tolerance. I will take the fork apart in the next few days and post an update.
> ...


What oil did you use?


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## Ausable (Jan 7, 2006)

Partial update - yesterday I found some time to take the fork apart; it seems that the bushings are *extremely* tight; this is something I can fix - i believe - using some emery paper wrapped around a tube or something like that.
I will figure out something tonight - will keep you posted
Fab


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

Ausable said:


> Partial update - yesterday I found some time to take the fork apart; it seems that the bushings are *extremely* tight; this is something I can fix - i believe - using some emery paper wrapped around a tube or something like that.
> I will figure out something tonight - will keep you posted
> Fab


Just logging back in here, but it seems no one else has chimed in to recommend against this.

I would advise against this Ausable. Why don't you try reaching out to RST for new lowers or bushings? I think you are going to fubar the things up with that approach.


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## Steve-XtC (Feb 7, 2016)

jochribs said:


> Just logging back in here, but it seems no one else has chimed in to recommend against this.
> 
> I would advise against this Ausable. Why don't you try reaching out to RST for new lowers or bushings? I think you are going to fubar the things up with that approach.


I kinda get it .... its not like its a $800 RS.... and the history is all a bit complex.

I know I had a Reverb that came on a used bike I bought... It went the way of Reverbs (specifically they really don't seem to like our weather) and after messing with the thing, investing in the bleed kit separately... etc. I looked at getting the post serviced, changing the barb and hose (which was maybe part of the problem) The bushings and keys needed replacing... all in all such and figured I could buy a brand new one for not much more or probably less. It all seemed like either fix what I'd got myself or just replace it.

Then I figured why get another and being XMAS and my mom wanting to know what to buy me I just went for a maintenance free cable operated one.


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

^I think it might be too early and I am in need of more coffee...'cannot compute'


No, you're right in that it's not an $800 fork...but it's going to be a $200 piece of scrap metal in a jiffy at this rate. 

Emory paper in bushings doesn't sound like an approach that I would ever exercise. 

One, it's not repeatable to a tolerance that's necessary. 

Two, that tolerance that's necessary is more than likely not going to be met on the first bushing, let alone the second one. (ie., one is going to be even sloppier than the other.)

Three, the finish left on the bushings is going to be a relatively rough one.

Four, have fun getting the sharpened grit that will be left in the lowers out. Don't miss a single bit of it when you clean them. 

Either keep the thing for parts and get another one or reach out to RST to see if another solution could be made. The wrong path was started down when the posts got hacked off in the name of enduro aesthetics. Now we're just adding insult to injury. Give up. Get another one, or buy a Snyper. 

Next posts are going to be that despite the bushings having a sloppy knock to them, the stroke is going to feel 'un-smooth'.


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## Steve-XtC (Feb 7, 2016)

jochribs said:


> ^I think it might be too early and I am in need of more coffee...'cannot compute'
> 
> No, you're right in that it's not an $800 fork...but it's going to be a $200 piece of scrap metal in a jiffy at this rate.
> 
> ...


I'm with ya and you're right about the probably next post....
If I was the OP I'd be getting a replacement from Bike Discount before they sell out... 
https://www.bike-discount.de/it/com...on-fork-51499?currency=1&delivery_country=190

as I don't have any import restrictions and $200 vs lost riding time I'd be cutting losses.

Delivery from Germany is 
spese di spedizione	7.95 € small items and
Merce voluminosa	27.95 € large items ... not sure

I'd not be holding out on RST Europe though ... but anyway they do give a phone number.

RST SUSPENSION EUROPE:
Hofenerstr. 114, D-70372
Stuttgart, Germany
+49 (0) 711.2588.221


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## donkeyboy (Jun 18, 2007)

Reviving an old thread.

Has anyone changed the travel on this Suntour XCR Air LO 24 fork from 63mm to 80mm? Earlier in the thread it was said that removing a spacer (5j in 63mm parts diagram) but that spacer is only about 12mm long. The other spacer (5i) is about 25mm long. Would I need another shorter spacer to replace the '5i' part in addition to removing '5j'? Thanks.

Parts diagrams for reference:
Exploded view 80mm
Exploded view 63mm


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## donkeyboy (Jun 18, 2007)

In case anyone is looking for instructions for the travel change, here is what Suntour sent to me. Great service on their part!

The travel adjustments in the XCR are pretty easy. Please review the following videos before starting the process:

Lower Leg Removal: 




Lower Leg Install: 




Here is an exploded view if you need it: https://www.srsuntour.com/fileadmin...ork/SF16-XCR/SF16-XCR-DS-LO-air-24-63-(1).PDF
Run through the following procedures to change the travel:

Remove all air from the fork. Remove the air top cap with a 27mm socket.
Under the top cap (inside the stanchion tube) you will see an aluminum sleeve (5o on the exploded view). This holds the air piston and the coil negative assembly. You will also see about 5cc of oil in the tube.
At the bottom of the stanchion tube will be the support tube that connects to the casting (5h). On this support tube is a plastic cone/dome stopper (4). This you can wiggle it a bit till it pulls off the bottom.
Push the support tube up through the stanchion tube. This will push the piston out the top of the stanchion tube. Set the piston aside.
Keep pushing the support tube until it pushes the piston all the way through the top of the stanchion tube. Grab it and remove it from the fork.
You will see a stack of coils in the negative coil assembly (5f and 5d with all the spacers). Above the stack of coils should be a spacer that is about 12mm tall (5j).
Carefully slide the coil springs off the bottom of the support tube. Remove the 12mm spacer by sliding it off the bottom of the support tube as well. The 63mm forks will have two white spacers. Be sure to remove the 12mm spacer. Not the larger one.
Reassemble the coil negative without the 12mm spacer. Install the coil negative assembly back into the top of the stanchion tube. The negative assembly will drop to the bottom of the stanchion tube.
Install the piston by inserting it back into the aluminum sleeve inside the stanchion tube. Pour about 5cc or 80wt gear oil on top of the piston after installation.
Grease the air top cap O-rings and install the top cap.
Continue to the "lower leg installation" video mentioned previously


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