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EB16: Magura Boltron upside down e-bike fork may come to enduro

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magura boltron upside down e-bike suspension fork could be reworked for enduro

At 2,200g (4.85lb), the Magura Boltron upside down e-bike suspension fork isn’t totally outside the weight boundaries of aggressive, big hit forks for traditional mountain bikes, but it certainly is hefty. And it needs to be – it’s purposely overbuilt to handle the increased weight and speed that electric motor assist MTBs are capable of. But, could it work for trail and enduro bikes, too?

The short answer is yes. The long answer is it’s not the perfect solution, but they might be working on something…

magura boltron upside down e-bike suspension fork could be reworked for enduro

Several things make the Boltron e-bike specific. For starters, it’s massively over built compared to traditional MTB forks, with a strong crown and upper assembly. They went with the USD (UpSide Down) design because their partner on this, WP Performance Systems, had proven the concept in moto. It uses a 20mm thru axle for maximum torsional stiffness.

magura boltron upside down e-bike suspension fork could be reworked for enduro

Inside, the compression damping circuit is stronger because the bike weighs more, and there’s no external compression adjustment or lockout lever. Those things are the biggest reason why you probably wouldn’t want it on your regular mountain bike…it would feel too firm and you wouldn’t be able to adjust it to your liking or lock it out on the climbs. E-bikes are speeding up the hill as well as down, so they need to keep the suspension active, which is why they didn’t bother putting a lockout lever on it.

You can adjust the air pressure to set sag, air volume to set the spring curve, and there’s an external rebound control knob on the bottom. And that’s a step in the right direction. We’ve been generally pleased with Magura’s right-side-up forks in the past, and it only makes commercial sense to put all of these development resources into broader use. So, when we asked if there’s a non e-bike version coming, they simply said: “Let’s see what the future brings…. ;-)”

Magura.com

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13 Comments
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Marten
7 years ago

Looks like this would make a great MTB tandem fork! Let’s ask Magura about this ……

ChknBreast
ChknBreast
7 years ago

Long live 20mm!

Matt
Matt
7 years ago
Reply to  ChknBreast

f&*ck yeah!

Tim
Tim
7 years ago
Reply to  ChknBreast

Indeed!

Colin M
Colin M
7 years ago

I love the name Boltron. Love it.

Tyler Durden
Tyler Durden
7 years ago

But I thought e-bikes were being marketed to the decrepit just so they could keep up. What’s with all of this increased weight and speed you speak of?

Note about the snarky comment above – given the typical motor/battery positions+weights relative to typical variance in rider weights, I’m assuming the added weight to the front of the bike by the (non-biological) propulsion mechanisms is approximately negligible.

JNH
JNH
7 years ago
Reply to  Tyler Durden

Front/Back weight distribution on a bicycle is roughly 30/70 unless you do extreme things with the geometry. Since the battery and motor are in the middle of most E-Bike the weight distribution should stay the same, but the loads on all the parts increase on account of the small child mounted in the frame.

Hankystar
Hankystar
7 years ago

I want that for my tandem mountain bike!

Kris
Kris
7 years ago

So what makes this “eBike” fork so special? Sounds like all the traits a guy like me weighing in at 230# wants in a fork.

Fred
Fred
7 years ago

I want one with 160 or more travel for my bike!

Haromania
Haromania
7 years ago

I always wondered why front thru axles weren’t 20mm wide all along.

Axa
Axa
7 years ago

Good to see USD fork development. Hard to se any good reason to not to offer it for trail and enduro bikes!?

I have been waiting for the X-fusion Revel USD fork. But now there is nothing but silence about it, and it’s suddenly gone from the website except for one single photo…

Will be interesting to se where Magura goes.

Duke
7 years ago

I just built up a new Haibike AllMTN 8.0 that has the new Magura Boltron fork, and it is not what they think it is! This fork is super flexy, it is like having a wet noodle for a fork, you can hold the front wheel between your legs and easily I mean easily turn the handlebars at least 2″ to the right or the left and watch the fork just twist, I did the same with a 2006 Fox Talas I have on a Nomad and it will only move about 1/2″ and I have to put much more effort into it. There is absolutely zero torsional stiffness to this fork. But maybe they designed it to be like that for an Ebike? but I think that this fork will not track well at all on a real MTB trail, I’m very disappointed with Magura and Haibike on this fork, and if you do not believe me on this go to your local dealer and do the same test I did on mine!

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