After years of crafting fine bicycles in aluminum, Turner started a new journey with their first carbon bike in the Czar. As much as we all love the made in the USA aluminum rigs Turner has been turning out, the allure of carbon is hard to resist.
After setting the stage with the XC oriented Czar, Turner aimed their sights at something with a little more travel. Specifically, the rebirth of the legendary RFX. First introduced in 1999, a lot has changed since the RFX helped to redefine what was possible on a mountain bike. Now built with 160 mm of travel and 27.5″ wheels, Turner’s bigger carbon bike turns out to be pretty light on the scales…
Continuing Turner’s love affair with the DW Link suspension design, the RFX utilizes some new suspension links with a burly profile. Initially, Dave Turner mentioned he wasn’t sure how the design of the links would be received but now that it’s real the response seems to be very positive. You’ll notice that with the exception of the dropper cable routing, everything on the RFX is routed externally. Dave wanted to make the bikes as easy to work on as possible and with modern cables and cable housing, full routing doesn’t become an issue.
One key change to the cable routing is the addition of clamps on the head tube. This is to keep you from hitting your knees on the cables when you’re out of the saddle climbing. The carbon frame includes a bolt on down tube protector as well as a molded chain stay guard. Frame specifics included a non-boost 142×12 rear axle, a lower seat tube to allow for 150 mm dropper posts, a removable direct mount front derailleur tab, 49/62mm tapered head tube, and a pressfit bottom bracket.
On the scale, even this modest build with a SRAM GX drivetrain came in at an impressive 26.68 pounds (12.1 kg). Pricing for the build with DT Swiss E1900 wheels and a KS LEV Integra post will run $4573.80, and other builds will be available as well. Frames will be available for $2,995.
