A junior Saxon is looking at a new mountain, and was impressed by the looks of the Scott Scale 730. Except that he read the specs on the Scott website that said it comes with a S<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">untour XCR 120mm Fork, and almost spat out his tea. </span>
Why would a company disadvantage itself by putting that fork on a £1350 bike, when you can get so much better elsewhere?
Or is the fork better than both he and I are assuming?
Go try the fork before complaining - if you havn't ridden it what are you judging it on
http://www.srsuntour-cycling.com/components/fork/XCR-27-5-5614.html
Though at £1350 it's fitting a budget, what else is the spec? What is tie compromise
Forget this bike and its Scott sticker, buy this instead and save yourself 670 Pounds although its is a 29er
Wow, that voodoo really does look like a silly amount of bike for the money.
Basically Scott know you're happy to pay extra for the brand name so they're not too bothered about what they bolt to it. The XCR isn't awful- it's probably about the least good fork out there that actually works, but it does work, for a while at least. But it belongs on a £500 bike.
Hitting their own price points.
However Muldoon gave the 2017my a 9/10 even with the fork which reviewed well, negatives were most expensive in category and no 1x11. 2018 is 1x11NX and is an absolute hooth with its 66.5deg ha and those 2.8 exo tr rekons.
That Suntour fork is a bare minimum air fork! A Raidon slightly better, but on a bike costing that much, not a chance, taking the royal piss. I'd want a Sektor, Reba or Recon minimum.
I'm building a full sus with Manitou Mattoc Pro 2, Rockshox Monarch RT3 for less than that! I've built five hardtails that have come in under complete bike costs with higher specs as well. It does require a lot of patience when buying frames and components though!
Rutland have that bike for 749 in medium and large.
Is that Junior Saxon #2 you're talking about?
That Suntour fork is a bare minimum air fork! A Raidon slightly better, but on a bike costing that much, not a chance, taking the royal piss. I’d want a Sektor, Reba or Recon minimum.
Beyond having a Rockshox sticker on them, are they any better though?
Beyond having a Rockshox sticker on them, are they any better though?
Nope, the same spec RS fork will be just as good/bad but costs more for the badge and black paint. You'd probably get Judys for the same money anyway, which are only 30mm stanchions instead of 32mm, but, you know, OMG RS JUDYs!!!11!!1!
Could be the cost of the bike is higher now because the pound to dollar exchange is shit? Looks like it's on 'sale' here-
It is indeed Junior Saxon 2.
Beyond having a Rockshox sticker on them, are they any better though?
I am reading the OP's post as much about how cheap a fork it is as much as the brand.
I would agree - forks are now silly daft money for anything with decent damping.
Comes down to real world testing in the end, branding does make a big difference in a consumers mind. this is a perfect example.
My experience of Suntour forks are that the stanchions can rust and you get a lot of forward / back play in the bushings. My wife’s bike has some barely used Suntours that look ok but feel terrible. They aren’t air forks though.
I’ve never had Rockshox or marzocchi that have gone like that.
<div class="bbp-reply-author">thisisnotaspoon
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Beyond having a Rockshox sticker on them, are they any better though?
Yes- Rockshox do make forks that are roughly equivalent to the XCR but it's their entry levels. A Sektor or Recon is a usefully better fork on day one and will almost certainly last better too- my XCRs needed constant loving and even then they were wearing out fast.
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The XCR is entry level as well, if you want better 32mm forks buy Raidons or Epicons that both have ally stanchions, good damping and weigh less than 1800g. Comparing XCRs to Sektors or Recons is a bit disingenuous, XCRs are more like XC 30s.
My experience of Suntour forks are that the stanchions can rust and you get a lot of forward / back play in the bushings. My wife’s bike has some barely used Suntours that look ok but feel terrible. They aren’t air forks though.I’ve never had Rockshox or marzocchi that have gone like that.
I bet that's because your RS or Zokes weren't 'entry level' forks and you bought your wife a cheap bike to get her into riding and because it's awful to ride she hasn't ridden it 😉 That's just your experience of cheap forks, any steel stanchioned fork would rust if it was left unused and unchecked.
To conclude, cheap forks are awful, regardless of the manufacturer. Try some decent Suntours (Epicon, Auron, Durolux & RUX) before you pass comment on stuff you haven't tried! I've got nowt to do with Suntour at all, I just think their good stuff is really underrated 🙂
<div class="bbp-reply-author">kayla1
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The XCR is entry level as well, if you want better 32mm forks buy Raidons or Epicons that both have ally stanchions, good damping and weigh less than 1800g. Comparing XCRs to Sektors or Recons is a bit disingenuous, XCRs are more like XC 30s.
That;s exactly the point though isn't it? It's a £1350 bike, it shouldn't have an entry level fork. It shouldn't have those entry level brakes either, or the NX drivetrain,or cheap basic rims. Look at a Vitus Sentier, practically every component is better and then they add a dropper on top, it's pretty absurd.
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But TINAS asked if besides the sticker, sektors etc are better- and that was my answer.
TBH I'd be looking at building from second hand and/or sale components if I were Saxon Jr
Just looked fully at the spec - it’s absolutely awful for full rrp. It’s not even great at the sale price of £950 I found. The bizango knocks it into a cocked hat - the Scott even has bad wheels to go with the cheap fork and low rent brakes.
So may other hardtails with better spec.
You'll find most Scotts are really under specced for the money, once you look past the name and the admittedly good looking paint jobs on some of them, there's not really anything to shout about.
NX isn't too out of place but that said Halfords managed to put a Raidon and a 1x11 nx on a £400 bike so..
The scale plus frame is brilliant though!
Not brilliant enough for that spec and hat price though. How many other brilliant frames are there that would build up something overall much better for that money? I’s rather buy a premium ish hardtail frame seperately and shop carefully for the rest of the bike.
Beyond having a Rockshox sticker on them, are they any better though?
Yes yes they are.
I'm not a big fan of RS either, some of their forks feel wooden and the turn key damper models are pretty shite! I'm also wary of chrome plated stanchions. Unlike motorcycle fork manufacturers, MTB fork manufacturers don't seem as bothered about doing a proper job of plating the stanchions.
That price that fork get teh ****!