SunTour XCR vs .....

[motoroil]

So it seems Suntour is really trying to change their reputation and be a decent components maker. Good for them.

To that end, what is the Suntour XCR analogous to? (Not the XCT or their other shocks, the XCR.)

It has preload, rebound, remote lockout, 30mm stanchions, and some kind of magnesium lowers.

I hear it often said to be analogous to RS Tora's. Is that true?

I have a Dart 3 with poploc. It has preload, rebound, remote lockout, but with the piddly wimpy 28.6ish stanchions and not magnesium lowers.

Is seems the only advantage the XCR has to it is the bigger stanchions and magnesium lowers?

I had been thinking of putting my Dart 3 on my wife's bike (which has a plunky RST Capa), and upgrading mine to a Tora, but if the XCR is really that much better than my Dart 3 and on par with a Tora, its much cheaper, maybe I should go with it instead.

So, XCR as good as Tora, yes or no?

[mullen119]

Damper wise, (assuming the XCR has the speedlock damper), It would have similar performance to a Tora with the TK damper. Tora's have 32mm stanchions which is going to be stiffer that the XCR. Suntours customer service isnt that great either, and parts are almost impossible to find if something breaks or the fork needs service.

Its worth it to spend the extra money on a Tora for customer service alone, but you can also upgrade it to a motion control damper if you wanted to(huge performance increase), and the increased lateral stiffness make it a no brainer IMO.

[DeeEight]

Rockshox is re-adding a 30mm stanchion fork to the lineup for 2012, presumably to compete with the Suntour forks which are stealing OEM sales from them. The Dart 3 did in fact have magnesium lowers which is why its half a pound lighter than a Dart 2 (which could be had in OEM versions with the same damper, adjustments and travel options as the Dart 3).

The Dart and Tora models are being replaced by the XC 28 and XC 32 forks, and the XC 30 comes in between them. They all get the Turnkey dampers, and they all have magnesium lowers at least in the aftermarket versions as standard. Also all run aluminium crowns and steel stanchion tubes. The 28 and 32 models will also be offered in a 29er version for aftermarket sales.

So... basically the Suntour XCR is equivalent to the new Rockshox XC30. They're part of their RTR (Recreational Trail) fork series, which from top to bottom goes XCR, XCM, XCT. Above the XCR comes the Raidon which is an XC/AM fork, above that is the Epicon which is in the same categories, and finally at the top is the Axon which is a pure XC fork category (and in fact world cup and world championship winning).

[mtnbiker72]

It would appear to compare to the Rock Shox XC30, assuming they are using real bushings and not plastic ones like Suntour has done in the past on their "recreational" forks.

[motoroil]

Very helpful, thanks!!!

And it would appear I'm wrong, btw, the XCR, or at least the current XCR lacks rebound adjustment, and instead only has preload and lockout, which is a pretty serious disadvantage I think.

[Pangram]

I have the Suntour SF11-XCM-V3 on my 2012 Giant Yukon FX, came stock
Would would be a good upgrade, mind you I'm mostly trails and hashes

[DeeEight]

I've rarely ever met a buyer of a bike that these levels of forks come on that actually ever touches the rebound adjuster if the fork actually has one. Hell they barely bother to read the fork manual to understand how the preload dial works.

[glfbll]

Suntour hands down IMHO. I'm no expert bike rider by any means, but the customer service with
Suntour has no equal. I have had to get help from there customer service twice now and both times
they had my part labled for UPS shipping within the hour. Both times it was obviously the bike manufacturers fault but Suntour made good on both bikes with no questions asked.

[David C]

Suntour hands down IMHO. I'm no expert bike rider by any means, but the customer service with
Suntour has no equal. I have had to get help from there customer service twice now and both times
they had my part labled for UPS shipping within the hour. Both times it was obviously the bike manufacturers fault but Suntour made good on both bikes with no questions asked.

How often did you had "problems" with their forks ?

[glfbll]

Never broken any parts but 2 new bikes that I have purchased, both Diamondbacks were missing
the remote lockout lever on the handlebars. One was a 2010 Response Comp and just this week the
same part was missing on my new 29er, Overdrive Comp. Probably the last Diamondback I'll buy because of their customer service, but in both instances I emailed Suntour and both times they asked no
questions at all, just supplied me with a UPS tracking # for the part, with no charge at all.
That's pretty good customer service in my opinion, hard to find that anywhere anymore.

[David C]

Never broken any parts but 2 new bikes that I have purchased, both Diamondbacks were missing
the remote lockout lever on the handlebars. One was a 2010 Response Comp and just this week the
same part was missing on my new 29er, Overdrive Comp. Probably the last Diamondback I'll buy because of their customer service, but in both instances I emailed Suntour and both times they asked no
questions at all, just supplied me with a UPS tracking # for the part, with no charge at all.
That's pretty good customer service in my opinion, hard to find that anywhere anymore.

Gotta say I'm impressed. Good service from what you said.

I had similar service from an RS dealer when I bought my Dart 2 fork on eBay last summer. Preload adjuster got stuck to death, so I contact him and he got a new one, updated version (my fork was a 2009, the new ones were 2010, and I bought the fork new in summer 2010), shipped it to me at no charge and told me I didn't had to ship him back the defective part.

I guess we all get good service from time to time, better then some and worst in some cases.

But now, how those forks holding up so far ? Just in comparison, my Dart 2 (80mm) as gone through daily commute everyday since summer 2010, and now going for it's second full winter riding in a row, plus a few 100's km on the trails. I've throw a lot at this fork and did the first oil change at 1 000 km's last month and still rolls smooth. This is a good fork in his price range (I paid it $100) and I would be curious to see how good a SR Suntour fork of the same price range would perform and hold on. I'm 110 and 5'6" and ride aggressive XC on a S bike with this fork if it matters.

I knew Suntour being a great manufacturer in the 90's, but since they've been bought by SR, I wonder how long it's gonna take to get back to a quality MTB fork with an according price tag.

David