The Mighty Volt
1 MW
I have heard from some hardcore MTB people that Suntour components are generally inferior products.
Does anyone have any opinions on this?
Thanks.
Does anyone have any opinions on this?
Thanks.
Suntour Forks
- Thread starter The Mighty Volt
- Start date
They are generally considered entry level. RockShox, Manitou, and Marzocchi, (I think I got those right in ascending order), are higher regarded names. You see Suntour on entry Schwinns, Specialized and Treks. They do OK on roads with potholes and less demanding mountain bike trails.
It depends on the model somewhat, they probably make some higher level shocks with more features.
It depends on the model somewhat, they probably make some higher level shocks with more features.
boostjuice
10 kW
Yes the vast majority of their components are very entry level. Their only redeeming feature is that they make is this diamond in the ruff (Although i understand it's manufactured in Germany rather than Taiwan like the rest of Suntour's product):
610% gear range!!!!
610% gear range!!!!
Yeah, suntour makes a lot of crap. You will often find their suspension forks on cheaper MTBs.
They do make some good mid grade stuff though.
If you are looking for a mid-grade front suspension fork, check out the rockshox dart line.
They do make some good mid grade stuff though.
If you are looking for a mid-grade front suspension fork, check out the rockshox dart line.
MadRhino
100 GW
No order, they offer a variety of models, and their top of line are all very good forks. Fox, Magura, Kowa, X-Fusion and DT swiss are also high end manufacturers. The choice varies with personnal riding preference and style. Most serious mountain riders use many forks, and various combinations of suspension components. Some bicycle manufacturers have them produce specific, exclusive products for their various models, and some frame designs are optimized for specific suspension components.lfairban said:
Suntour and RST are low end manufacturers, they sell alot for the low price market. Some of the big names previously mentioned, also produce low end components.
dogman dan
1 PW
If entry level is considered inferior, then yes. Obviously a steel suntour or RST shock is not a marzocchi bomber. One costs $50, the other $500.
But if entry level performance is all you need, like to ride the street on a "mountain bike" then they are fine, and not really known for early breakage. Those cheap steel forks have some nice strong dropouts if you are looking to run front hubs.
But if entry level performance is all you need, like to ride the street on a "mountain bike" then they are fine, and not really known for early breakage. Those cheap steel forks have some nice strong dropouts if you are looking to run front hubs.
MadRhino
100 GW
You can pay 4 times that price for a top of the line Marzocchi, and most performance forks are between 1500 - 4000$.dogman said:
A Suntour for riding the street might be OK, but personnally I prefer riding ridgid than poor suspension. Their best models are not even considered entry level for mountain riding. They are sold on the 'fake MTB' market, on complete bikes that are priced lower, than a mid level fork alone.
Drunkskunk
100 GW
I had a sun tour fork on a bike. I went to take the tire off, only i'd forgotten about the "lawyer lips", so it didn't lift out. Thinking the tire was just hung on the brake pads, I gave it a good fast hard yank, and completely ripped the bottom half of the fork off the bike.
Suntour made the componants for my race bike in the 80s'. I prefered them to Shimano at the time. Their forks are crap, but some of there stuff is high end.
Suntour made the componants for my race bike in the 80s'. I prefered them to Shimano at the time. Their forks are crap, but some of there stuff is high end.
Jesus.. forks are so overpriced, it is really robbery. I will not 'fork over' for a good one because I know it.
I put 4 shocks on my compact car last year for $250 *total*. Those shocks have a 5-10 year lifespan and were good quality shocks from Japan. They are meant to damp 800 pounds a piece. A front shock needs to damp um.. 200lbs?
ludicrous O_O
I put 4 shocks on my compact car last year for $250 *total*. Those shocks have a 5-10 year lifespan and were good quality shocks from Japan. They are meant to damp 800 pounds a piece. A front shock needs to damp um.. 200lbs?
ludicrous O_O
MadRhino
100 GW
They are overpriced, because they are small series that change almost every year.neptronix said:
Then, they are not to be compared to the shock absorbers of your car. What makes a suspension expansive is not its weight resistance. In fact, the best MTB forks are much better than those that are stock fitted on motocross and enduro gazzers, for the quality of their action, their range/precision of tuning, and their weight. One just need to ride 6in potholes and bumps at 50mph with a Boxxer World Cup, then compare with a motocross, to realize how good those bicycle forks are.
dogman dan
1 PW
I won't dispute that. My best fork is a pretty old marzocchi bomber, that did retail for about $500 years ago. It's far and above better than any fork I ever rode on a motorcycle from the 70's. It really rides nice on the big stuff in the mountians.
MadRhino said:
That's their fault.. why would you need to continuously change their designs? this just leads to a reduction of efficiency in mass production... intentionally driving up the cost :|
MadRhino said:
I don't know about bikes, but i can buy a single shock for a Ferrari for anywhere between $100 and $700. If that is not a high end part, i don't know what is.
I think that some of the cheap suntour forks you see in department store china bikes are "not" suntour. I believe the same is stolen. If the part you see is not in the manufactures catalog, I say its pirated and isn't name brand. Look at the deraileurs on those bikes that say shimano on them. Total generic garbage. I say not shimano.
D-Man said:
You would be surprised. I have seen shimano and suntour catalogs with the same kind of parts that i see on cheapo bikes. I can buy the same riveted piece of crap shimano crankset from a catalog straight from the same company that sells a $500+ crankset..
Shimano and suntour both make low end stuff for manufacturers. The stuff you can buy at a bike store is usually higher quality to keep up their brand image.
As for suntour, it is surprising how low they are willing to go.
MadRhino
100 GW
Find a complete long travel suspension kit for one wheel in the automotive dirt racing, then you'll see what high end means.neptronix said:
Even with the very short suspension travel of a Ferrari (or any sport car), you should compare the complete suspension kit for one wheel, to a MTB racing fork that is not only a shock but a complete integrated suspension. Then, consider that the MTB suspension is 70% lighter, yet has a much longer (and progressive) travel, and is fully adjustable for high precision tuning.
auraslip
10 MW
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2010
- Messages
- 3,535
I really agree that bicycle parts are over priced in this country.
Follow with me though because this is interesting: Bike parts in other countries are cheap because economies of scale (millions of people riding bikes everday) allows them to be cheap. In the whole of America and the western world there are probably only a couple hundred thousand people who are interested in high end mtb equipment. These people do it as a hobby, and not as a lifestyle like bike commuters in other countries. They have disposable income and are willing to spend it on bikes. It's expensive to produce high quality, ever evolving components in such a SMALL market. Heck, the difference between a fork ten years ago and today is almost completely different and MUCH better. Do they have to be so expensive? No, but the rich hobbyist will pay for it so they can sell it for that much. You can see the same thing in the music world: How does a BOSS stomp box with a $5 worth of circuits sell for $90?
Yes yes yes, look at any department store bike and you will see a sticker that says, "not meant for off road use."
I'd also like to point out that mtb suspension forks are made for mtb riding. Not riding on the road at 30mph. Unless you have a front hub motor you really want to keep, I wouldn't even entertain the idea of a cheap (steel) suspension fork unless your willing to spend $300> Instead I'd just get some fat tires.
Follow with me though because this is interesting: Bike parts in other countries are cheap because economies of scale (millions of people riding bikes everday) allows them to be cheap. In the whole of America and the western world there are probably only a couple hundred thousand people who are interested in high end mtb equipment. These people do it as a hobby, and not as a lifestyle like bike commuters in other countries. They have disposable income and are willing to spend it on bikes. It's expensive to produce high quality, ever evolving components in such a SMALL market. Heck, the difference between a fork ten years ago and today is almost completely different and MUCH better. Do they have to be so expensive? No, but the rich hobbyist will pay for it so they can sell it for that much. You can see the same thing in the music world: How does a BOSS stomp box with a $5 worth of circuits sell for $90?
Yes yes yes, look at any department store bike and you will see a sticker that says, "not meant for off road use."
I'd also like to point out that mtb suspension forks are made for mtb riding. Not riding on the road at 30mph. Unless you have a front hub motor you really want to keep, I wouldn't even entertain the idea of a cheap (steel) suspension fork unless your willing to spend $300> Instead I'd just get some fat tires.
Gah, good point Auraslip.
I think our ridership hurts things a lot. Most people buy a bike and it collects dust in the garage. So cheap suntour forks work for most people just fine, lol. If someone was making mid-grade components and putting them in bikes, it would add to the cost of the bike so much that the 'garage ride' buyer ( ~80% of our population ) wouldn't buy that.
So we either have the low yield, real expensive stuff, or generic mid-low quality...
What i don't get is that we can't say.. find an agreeably priced quality fork for less demanding things like non-offroad high speed eBiking.
But i suppose that is just the nature of the beast for these bikes. I have had to customize every bike i have came across so far to get it ready for eBike duty.. and it has always involved hours of research, a dremel, or getting obscure used parts.
Ah, but it's always been worth it.
I think our ridership hurts things a lot. Most people buy a bike and it collects dust in the garage. So cheap suntour forks work for most people just fine, lol. If someone was making mid-grade components and putting them in bikes, it would add to the cost of the bike so much that the 'garage ride' buyer ( ~80% of our population ) wouldn't buy that.
So we either have the low yield, real expensive stuff, or generic mid-low quality...
What i don't get is that we can't say.. find an agreeably priced quality fork for less demanding things like non-offroad high speed eBiking.
But i suppose that is just the nature of the beast for these bikes. I have had to customize every bike i have came across so far to get it ready for eBike duty.. and it has always involved hours of research, a dremel, or getting obscure used parts.
Ah, but it's always been worth it.
dogman dan
1 PW
Not so hard to find mid grade stuff at all. the low end rockshoks for example. Often seen on a mid quality bike like a trek that retails around $500.
Not super sophisticated, but you still get rebound and preload adjustment. My mongoose blackcombs both have a fairly decent fork that's even cheaper, but has both adjustments. It's the RST capa.
No way either of those compares to 6" travel DH forks though. But excellent for street. For those that don't get it about FS on the street, you will when you blow out some lower back disks. Or you will go recumbent.
Not super sophisticated, but you still get rebound and preload adjustment. My mongoose blackcombs both have a fairly decent fork that's even cheaper, but has both adjustments. It's the RST capa.
No way either of those compares to 6" travel DH forks though. But excellent for street. For those that don't get it about FS on the street, you will when you blow out some lower back disks. Or you will go recumbent.
MadRhino
100 GW
Used racing forks can be found at a good price for E-bike build. The parts are easily available for high end forks, and will be for many years. Racers and serious mountain riders don't keep a fork very long. The pros ride the latest, and very few fast mountain bikers ride 3 year old models, they are dinosaurs already for the serious rider. Yet, used top of the line forks after 2005, are really the best suspension for performance E-bikes.
The last one I bought, is a 1700$ Boxxer World Cup that I found at 600$! I spent 130$ to rebuild it plush as new, and it's a wonderfull ride, ready for alot of abuse next summer.
The last one I bought, is a 1700$ Boxxer World Cup that I found at 600$! I spent 130$ to rebuild it plush as new, and it's a wonderfull ride, ready for alot of abuse next summer.
dogman dan
1 PW
No kidding, All my nice stuff is pretty used, but much much nicer than any new cheap forks. A real rider would say it's worn out, but for me it still kicks ass.
Drunkskunk
100 GW
craigs list is your friend. a fast 2 minute search found this thing in the dallas area: http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/bik/2182461700.html
I'm not recomending it, its a good fork, but its just the first I found. I've seen some tripple clamp Marzocci and Fox go for under 300 localy on craigs list.
I've also found take-offs at local bike shops. I've found a tripple clamp Rock Shox Judy from a LBC they had taken off in an upgrade for a customer.
I'm not recomending it, its a good fork, but its just the first I found. I've seen some tripple clamp Marzocci and Fox go for under 300 localy on craigs list.
I've also found take-offs at local bike shops. I've found a tripple clamp Rock Shox Judy from a LBC they had taken off in an upgrade for a customer.
Drunkskunk
100 GW
I'm out in allen. We should get a Dallas meetup going some time.
The Mighty Volt
1 MW
I was going to go with a set of Rock-Shox Dart III but they only have a 9mm QR axel which I have heard is an inferior choice, as against the 20mm axel.
Another thing which has me confused is the issue of wheel size.
I want to run front and rear discs with 24" wheel on a 21" frame.
How wheel-specific are these forks?
Thanks.
Another thing which has me confused is the issue of wheel size.
I want to run front and rear discs with 24" wheel on a 21" frame.
How wheel-specific are these forks?
Thanks.
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