The new RXF 36 comes in 120, 140, 150, 160mm travel options with the wider stanchions will cost a negligible weight increase over the 34 RXF. The fork offset is 51mm whereas it is 46mm on the RFX 34. It’s an interesting move as Öhlins previously said its 34mm forks were equivalent in stiffness to current 35/36mm forks such as the Lyrik and the Fox 36 – that surely makes this one of, if not the, stiffest single crown forks in production.
Low and high speed compression are externally adjustable and fully independent. Thanks to the easy to tune, 3 Chamber Air spring and contrary to most of the forks available, the shape of the spring force can be adjusted, such as increasing sensitivity without bottoming out all using your regular shock pump. For those who appreciate (and understand) how to get the best from a fork these adjustments make perfect sense.
So yes, in action, the longer travel and the 36mm diameter legs make sense. Add in the (much spoke about but hard to confirm) stiffness from a wheel built around a 110mm wide Boost hub spacing and it’s the fork we would have like first time around. Like comparing a Fox 34 with a 36, when you stretch the travel you start to compromise, especially when the terrain turns ugly. For shorter travel bikes we’d be happy with the RFX 34, but on a longer stroke fork the 36 is very much the way to go.
These products now have servicing and warranty support by Öhlins trained specialist service centres J-Tech Suspension, Plush Suspension, Sprung Suspension, Sussed Out Suspension and TF Tuned.
PRICE: £995
ohlins.com
[monetizer101 search=’Ohlins RXF 36′]
