TPE15: SR Suntour Axon fork goes full carbon, Raidon gets 27.5+, new air shocks & more!

SR Suntour has tweaked almost all of their performance suspension forks, from the XC race-ready Axon to the trail oriented Raidon to the dual crown Rux DH fork.

None of the updated models is more lustworthy than the new Axon Werx F, which tops the line with a new full carbon crown and steerer. It slots in above the standard Werx editions that only have the carbon lowers, something they’ve offered for a few years. The “F” model gets a full carbon one piece steerer and crown, which saves about 50g.

The “standard” Axon Werx is now available in a 20″ model for very, very lucky kids. Yes, a carbon fiber air suspension fork with thru axle for 20″ bikes…

The Axon Werx F will be available in 29er and 27.5″ versions with 80 to 100 mm travel. The carbon crown is hollow and bonded to 32mm stanchions. Claimed weights are 1482g for the 27.5″ model, and anticipated weight for the 29er is around 1500g (final weight TBD).

The only alloy bit on the lowers are the dropouts, which builds in their titanium 15mm thru axle and saves 40g over the non-ti one!

Do your kids need a little spoiling? It only has the hollow alloy crown, but virtually every other detail other than the height is the same as their full size Axon Werx forks.

The Rux gets modified crowns to make it easier to adjust the height and with an adjusted offset for their new 27.5″ model. That version will share the same lowers, which they say will fit all but a couple tires out there, and it will get a new tapered steerer tube.

It also gets the black ano coating, which is the same smoothness as their regular coating, but is approximately 215% more awesome looking.

At Suntour’s request, we’re not showing you the upcoming Durolux. Why? Because they’ve got big things planned for it, with a launch scheduled this July. Suffice to say they’re very excited about it and things will be quite different from the current 35mm stanchion 26″ Durolux enduro fork.

Instead, we’ll direct your attention to the dropper post, something they’re working on for future release. It’ll come in 30.9 and 31.6 with 125mm travel. There’ll be a standard and stealth version with cartridge based internals. Other than that, there’s no ETA or details to be shared, but it’s there and it’s being developed.

The Raidon gets cosmetic updates to look higher end, but the bigger (pun intended) news is it adds a “plus” size model for 27.5+ that’s 10mm wider.

Note not only the wider spacing on the 27.5+ (left), but also the matte finish.

Not shown, the Auron was introduced last year and is now available. It’s a 20mm thru axle, 34mm stanchion big travel single crown fork. The Epixon, which is their mid-travel 32mm stanchion fork for 27.5″ and 29er, gets a few small changes to adjustment knobs.

Two completely new air shocks will debut for 2016 as the fruit of their French engineer Stefan that used to work for Marzocchi. The design uses a completely new piston and shim stack apparatus from anything they’ve used before. The shocks are reincarnations of the Epicon and Duralux shocks they’ve had in the line forever, and the outside looks similar, but the internals are completely new. Now called the UNAir and DUAir, they have new bushings and seals with better tolerances and fit for less resistance and better durability and consistency.

Then wanted them to be easier to change the compressions settings internally. The way the shim stack was set up before, you really couldn’t switch it out, mess with it, and put it back together. Now, it’s more accessible and hot swappable without special tools. This feature is more of an OEM concern, where bike brands will be able to more easily get a tune that’s right for their bikes. They said they invested heavily in testing apparatus and gathering bike kinematic data, too, with the goal of getting more OEM placements because they can offer data-driven adjustments. For aftermarket, it’ll have a medium compression and rebound setting, which is comparable to what you’d get from an aftermarket Rockshox Monarch.

The biggest improvement, though, is that they reduced the stiction, making them more supple off the front end of travel.

They’ll have the LOR versions and RC versions, which means LockOut/Rebound and Rebound/Compression, the latter getting externally adjustable compression beyond just open and locked.

The UNAir is a single can air shock and comes in three smaller sizes for 100 to 130 mm travel bikes. The DUAir gets a dual sleeve to add air volume in a secondary can that fits on the outside of the main can and can be swapped between different volume sizes from small to XL and is aimed at longer travel bikes.

The XCR and XCM crankets are updated as “value performance” pieces that’s a 2×10 system with a bearing preload system that helps it spin freely. It’s generally an OEM item that’s typically working on bikes in the $1,000 to $1,300, and now they look a little better doing it.

Wanna see more? Check out our factory tour to see how it’s all made.

SRsuntour-cycling.com