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X-Fusion Slide RL2

74K views 246 replies 72 participants last post by  huckleberry hound 
#1 ·
I read the reviews but there are only 2 on this fork.
I know it will be a hell of a lot better then the pogo stick on my bike now (lowest end suntour)
In general for a budget fork how is this?

Price wise, it compares to the Recon but feature wise, it seems to compare to the Reba.
If you were looking at price, would you rather have a Recon or a Slide.

Keep in mind, I am a beginner and do not want to dump a ton of money in this bike (Diamondback Overdrive) and hope to get a much nicer FS29er next year. I just want to make it a little nicer to ride until then.

Thanks
 
#2 ·
IIRC it is basically the 29er version of the Velvet and Enix forks. You can probably more information based on reviews of those forks. My impression of the Enix on my wifes bike is that it is a pretty nice well made single air fork, but I don't personally have any ride time on it. Other people I know in the bike biz are fairly impressed with what X-Fusion has to offer.
 
#3 ·
Seeing how it appears your at the beginner stages and want to progress and get another bike next year.

Maybe purchase a used steel rigid fork for around $40 and slap a 2.25ish or larger tire on the front. For a 100 dollar bill you have a better front end and far less dissapointment with the current Suntour. The money saved can go towards your next bike.

Do some research on rigid forks. As to how they make you a better rider. Theres enough info here on MTBR to write a half dozen books on the topic.
 
#7 ·
I get what you are saying but my area just really isn't suitable for rigid forks IMO.
Sure, there are a few that run them but very few and you don't see them on the harder trails. In fact, you mostly see full suspension bikes around here.

(I live in the mountains of Western NC near Asheville.)
 
#4 ·
I'm very happy with the Slide on my Scott. The bike came with a crap suntour fork and I weigh around 250 lbs, the coil fork with close to zero adjustment just plain didn't work for me.

For someone who needs the adjust-ability and control of an air fork without spending too much I'd recommend the Slide every time.

However, if you are planning to upgrade your bike in a year, I wouldn't bother as you wont get your money back (unless you plan to swap the fork to the new bike). I bought my bike knowing I was going to replace the fork after a few months, but was and still am happy with everything else on the bike.
 
#6 ·
However, if you are planning to upgrade your bike in a year, I wouldn't bother as you wont get your money back (unless you plan to swap the fork to the new bike). I bought my bike knowing I was going to replace the fork after a few months, but was and still am happy with everything else on the bike.
I don't plan on getting rid of the current bike when I upgrade.
Next bike will be a full suspension and I want to keep hard tail.

That being said, upgrade won't go to waste.
 
#5 ·
I just replaced the Fox Float RL (100mm) on my Trek HiFi, and I couldn't be happier. The X-Fusion is an upgrade in every aspect of the fork. The travel seems to be a true 120mm, whereas the Fox would struggle to give 80mm, let alone 100mm. It slackens the bike a little bit, but that's OK with me since it actually handles better now. The lock-out works great on the climbs I do here in Colorado, too. For $300, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger.
 
#9 ·
Just wondering what you ended up doing. I just finished installing this fork on my Spec HR and only riding it around the yard it seems stiffer but soaks up the real bumps 10x better than the suntour. I plan to trail it later in the week and hope to be pleasantly suprised.
 
#10 ·
Crashed the first bike and got a different hard tail with another crappy Suntour but not as crappy. Plan on getting the Rock Shox Reba when I get the fork but will still consider the slide or recon if I find a slamming deal.

Anything will have to wait til after Christmas.:thumbsup:
 
#12 ·
After a few rides I really like the fork, I am still fine tuning the fork but it is so much better than the Suntour it replaced. The Suntour would flex and twist so bad it never felt like I could be assured the bike would go where it was pointed, it seems much more accurate/planted now. I think this fork and good wheels would make a world of difference as now it appears most of my flex is in the wheels. For less than $250 I feel it was well worth it. This is without even pushing it yet, my last few rides were at a relaxed pace with my wife.

Forgot to add that the lower weight is definitely a plus, its easier to loft my 23" monster over stuff. I also changed out the bars and stem at the same time though (heavy stock steel bars were a joke).
 
#13 ·
A little update, I set the sag up to about 23mm (fork is set for 100mm travel) and went riding yesterday. We had one of our rare rain showers the night before so the trail was faster than usual. I hit a jump much hotter than usual and landed hard front wheel first and the fork took it like a champ. I compressed the fork to 94mm and it never flinched. I am pretty sure I would have folded my suntour I hit so hard. I did knock my front wheel out of round and loosened up a bunch of spokes but the fork was awesome.
 
#14 ·
I had a Reba (tuned by Push), but sold it when I sold a frameset. It was replaced by the X Fusion Slide. To be honest, they feel very, very similar--and the X fusion is quieter (the Reba always had some compression noise).

Price dependent, I would pick the X fusion.

Price independent, I would still probably pick the X fusion.
 
#15 ·
I really like my Slide, but I feel there's a bit of flex. I'm a big guy at 230 lbs and it's the 9mm qr version. The new ones with 15mm TA should be really great. Mine soaks up everything really well. Big hits and trail chatter alike. I'm converting my hub to a 9mm TA in the hopes it stiffens it up a bit. I'll report back after my rides this week.
 
#17 ·
I'm in Maryland and we have a mix of different terrain to ride. You will not go wrong with X-fusion. That is it, Period !

Of course Fox products are sweet, but for the same quality in many areas...and with X-fusion's innovative approaches to simplifying travel it is an Awesome Deal.

I'm dumping my Fox Talas off on my cousin...I ride X-fusion now.
 
#19 ·
I got a 2012 slide a couple weeks ago. Low $ on the 2012's now. It's a great fork. It's on my single speed, and with ~ 80 psi I don't really need the lockout. Very good value thus far. Very nice on the trial. (my only point of comparison is my 2006 WB Magic 100, which I also really like)
 
#21 ·
I just picked up a 2013 Slide 120 QR15 from Universal Cycles.
I would be saying DITTO right now, I ordered the same exact fork through UC, but QBP sent me a 2012 instead of 2013. Grrr. Oh well, still snow on the ground. Let me know how you like it. I couldn't wait around anymore for the Trace... seems like it is never going to be released, so went Slide. I've heard it is very comparable to a RS Reba, maybe better build even. I had a SID and didn't like it.
 
#25 ·
About the same weight... for same travel, but much stronger. Has 34mm stanchions over the Slide's (and standard) 32, and has a one-piece crown "that increases chassis strength at that junction by over 50%"

where did you get the slide , and how much ? , best I found was on Amazon for $299.00
Universal Cycles has both 2012 and 2013. AEBike also has them.

If you sign up for the Universal Cycles newsletter I think they still give you a 15% off coupon. If you sign up for AEBike you get across the entire website discounts which show when you log in.
 
#27 ·
Thats sounds weird to me... like QBP is just trying to get rid of the 2012 stock or something. Mine had the 2012 book and it was 2012 graphics, and 2012 on the box UPC. I don't actually think X-Fusion changed anything on the Slide from 12 to 13 anyway... just graphics? I really don't know though... I just like the 13 graphics better... I'm superficial like that ;)
 
#30 ·
Hey, did you get yours through Universal Cycles as well? SO... I just got off the phone with Universal and they are still trying to sort it out, but it wasn't a QBP error... it is an X-Fusion error. Supposedly a bunch of 2012 forks with manuals with 2013 boxes and/or item numbers. What a mess.

2012 Slide did have tapered option and 15mm axle. Not thrilled about my first experience with X-Fusion so far, hopefully the fork works better than their organization.
 
#37 ·
Heard from the distributor today. X-Fusion put 2012 decals on the 2013 Slide RL2's. This isn't cool of X-fusion, not fair to the customer or the distributors. I don't like the graphics on the 12 and only ordered the Slide because they have pushed the Trace release date back like 5 times. There's no way they should be telling people they will get the 13 fork the way it looks online and then send them one with different graphics. Call it trivial, but you don't advertise something for sale and then switch it or not deliver what the customer orders. Unprofessional of them and I'm really disappointed.
 
#40 ·
Just got off the phone again. I'm taking store credit and getting a White Brothers fork... done with X-Fusion. NOW the 2013 Slide forks that you see online and the RL2R's with the remote are pushed back to June! Universal Cycles told me they have 3 other people they are dealing with the same issue now, so 4 Slide forks returned to them. Not good.
 
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