X-fusion Slant 160mm

Anybody know when these are due into the country?

Look like a great fork for not a lot of money compared to Fox 34s.

Plus they look like they have a kashima type coating….

Freeborn have just sold the first batch and I understand the next batch will be coming in May.
I have a pair on order with 18 bikes with similar delivery time.
There are two options one with travel adjust and one fixed travel but internally adjustable.
R

Cool the reviews should be coming soon then

they are also interchangeable internally to accept either 26 or 650b wheels, unlike those scumbags at fox who deliberately reshaped the arch on the lowers on 2013 forks so they no longer clear 650b wheels.

unlike those scumbags at fox who deliberately reshaped the arch on the lowers on 2013 forks so they no longer clear 650b wheels.

+1 to that.

im tempted by these forks miself,as the price isn’t the ridiculous amount forks go for nowadays.

Anybody own up to owning a set from the 1st batch?

Any views on their performance?

waiting for mine from 18 to, told hopefully first week May having them set at 130mm, review to follow.

Try upgrade

Mine are probably in the bike, but I’m in Wales with the family on hols! bought a set for my Rocket and they look great. Performance wise… er can I come back next week? 🙂

Oh had the last set from Freeborn. Good advice and service from the shop on the phone.

Arrived and fitted.

[/url]
Cotic Rocket / X-Fusion Slants[/url] by Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr

[/url]
Cotic Rocket / X-Fusion Slants[/url] by Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr

Only ridden in the field behind the house so far. First impressions/notes

– nicely put together. Adjusters solid (plastic not metal) and positive
– Loads of rebound clicks must be 30, solid clicks
– Lockout on crown does just that!
– DLA is a 30mm drop like a talas (let’s hope it works better)
– Fork needs a 203mm rotor!
– Air spring on the bottom,about 50psi in mine currently (74kg), need to tune it later.
– 2.35 minion DHF on an arch ex rim looks tiny in there!

Feels super plush and responsive on the bouncing up and down test. Also fitted some 780mm bars at the same time and it just feels lairy! I was a bit worried about slackening the HA off even more and slowing the steering down with the wide bars, but it just feels carve-y.

Probably cut it down some more as front end quite high, but decided it’s better to try spacers either side first before comitting to hacksaw.

This is bike with 150 revs fresh out of the box. It’s a bit more run in now 😉

[/url]
Cotic Rocket 2012[/url] by Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr

Shall report back after weds.

Not sure if its the photo – but they dont seem to have the kashima like gold coating on the stanchions?

Do they or not?

The X-fusion site says it should and in the photos:

Specifications
Travel: 160mm/130mm
WT. LBS: (APR)4.5(15mm axle, 1 1/8 Steerer)
WT. Grams: 1995 (15mm axle, 1 1/8 Steerer)
Spring: Air
Steerer: Tapered
Adjustments: Lockout, Rebound, DLA
Stanchion: 34mm, Gold Hard Ano, Aluminum
Casting: Magnesium
Axle: X-15 tool-less axle
Wheel: 26”
Colors: White / Black
Axle to Crown: 545mm @ 160mm
Max Rotor Size: 203mm

It’s not fox gold, it’s more bronze, definitely a coating of some type.

Also the axle is not like a maxle, it’s solid so where it locks it stays which looks a bit odd but can’t see it unscrewing.

All these seem to look a lot more gold. Bar one photo that looks like RS/Fox standard stanchions ???

http://www.xfusionshox.com/product/forks/slant/2013-slant-rl2-dla

Nah they are about that colour. Bit dark now but will try and get a photo of the stanchion when it’s light and I’ve got a min.

Cool cheers – which colour do you mean the darker colour which in 5 of the 6 photos?

No I mean it’s a bit dark to take photos 😉

these look great value, very tempting!!!

These look ideal for me too….

Promised update after a couple of muddy/wet rides. I really do like these forks, they were plush out of the box and have just got plusher, definitely stiffer than the revs they replaced. What’s really noticeable is how much more ‘feel’ I’m getting from the front tyre – just feels like a more stable/less dive-y platform.

Travel adjust works well although I didn’t like what it did to the rocket on off road climbs. Good on the road. Also fitted wider (785mm) bars at same time so took me a while to get those plus about 20mm a-t-c increase dialled in.

The lockout is great. Just suggest you remember to turn it off 😉 Actually had two crashes in two rides but mainly due to over-exuberance with shiny new forks. First one was taking a jump a little bigger than I had before and finding the landing to be a mud pit. Cue pilot ejection.

I’ve ended up with about 10% less PSI than recommended for my weight which is giving up most of the travel on big hits but making the fork super plush and planted on wet roots/rocks. Rebound adjustment is mad, think I counted 28 clicks, currently running 16 off fast.

Only issue is I’ve already chipped the paint on the bottom of the lowers when being cack handed getting the wheel in. Heli-taped that area tonight.

So for £450 and based on two rides I’m very happy with them. Can’t wait for some drier weather to give them a proper beating and then the alps in June. I was chasing my fast mate in the Malverns and could stay with him on a descent he normally gaps me. I put this down entirely to having a front end that can match the back end of the rocket. When I crashed however, that was entirely my fault 😉

Oh it’s noticeably slacker. Not sure how much of the change of feel is wider bars. It’s all good though although on the limit of cotic’s a-t-c recommendation. Basically the same as a fox 36. Still can be husselled around with a bit of body english and feels very, very stable on the steeps. Did try it very briefly with 130mm downhill. Won’t be doing that again.

Thanks for the update Alex, sound like they could be a good option for me. Do they suit Malvern riding well? I’m a Malvern local and want something bigger to match my frame better (6.6″) without the weight sacrifice on ‘bigger’ forks..

They were pretty awesome down the beacon and the wyche… I tend to ride my solaris most of the time in the Malverns but get the big bike out when I know it’s less busy and we can get a nice run at the above + tank quarry and all the rocky stuff on the north side. For a small weight penalty over the revs, it’s definitely worth it in terms of for fork performance on the rocket. Front now feels as able as the rear.

got a set of the 1st batch of these aswell from freeborn, so thought i’d add some comments. agree with most of what alex says – they feel stiff and plush, although I can notice a little bit of notchiness on the 1st few compressions – I assume that’s because of the mid travel valving and/or travel adjust. Disappears though after a few bounces.

I’ve done a fair amount of riding on them now (1st proper ride was the afan enduro!), and the bit of stiction that was there at the start is still reducing. They aren’t quite as plush as the rev black box and 36 van R’s I’ve replaced, but they are more controlled I think, and seem to have a decent tune out of the box for aggressive riding. The pressure guide on the fork was all wrong for me – 65kg recommended 80 psi, but I’ve gone all the way down to 65psi, and that seems to match what the guide on the website says.

Of note is that I ordered the non-dla, but they didn’t turn up, so freeborn did me cost price of the dla version (so only £20 more). I was also surprised by the 203 only post mount (and so were the bike shop) – sounds like a 1st production run mistake to me. Overkill for an AM/enduro fork I think but something i’m prepared to live with.

For the price I think they’re really good value (half the price of a 34!).

Looking at these myself. How are they a month later?

Have a set on my Remedy, nice and plush and very stiff. As others have said, gone much lower than suggested psi, but also did with Lyriks.

Thanks

I’d love a set of these (the price is amazing) but the fact they don’t have any compression adjust is a bit concerning, I have some black box Revs which are working brilliantly but would like more stiffness. Can any Slant owners comment on how they feel under braking/weighting and large impacts?

On par with the Lyriks they replaced.

My buddy has a set on his Pivot, was hard to keep up.

Mine have been dispatched today!

I am 5 rides in on mine set at 130mm (mod) really impressed so far, running at 85psi at 93kg. They are stiff and plush, particulary good on small bump stuff and seem to hold up well in the middle of the travel. Paid £409 for them which is a real bargain only problem for some I can see is they are tapered only.

I’m going from a straight steerer to tapered, ditching my ’10 36 Floats. Hoping these are less prone to diving. Might be a bit less stiff in the legs (being 34mm) but doesn’t concern me too much.

Still very happy with mine. They don’t dive anywhere near as much as the (cheap) revs they replaced. Stiff, plush, faff-free. Looking forwarded to giving them a beating in the alps next month.

they look pretty smart them, and a bargain at £405

alex are they really like talas? i cant see anything that suggests they are travel adjust on the website, just internally changeable?

how much more do they weigh compared to the revs?

amazingly cheap though, makes you wonder just how much fox have across all their forks 🙁

fox are just ludicrous now the price they charge for a set of forks, 900quid for some pretty normal xc/trail type forks, back in the day that sort of money would get you a xt equipped bike with decent forks 🙁

the worlds gone mad, but nice to see a newish company setting up some nice forks at a reasonable price

you got any more pics of them too by the way? stanchions etc?

mine are 160/130 slants, more like ETA than Talas.

Thanks all, just ordered some 🙂

yeah 160/130,, I use it occasionally for climbing. As said the lockout works fine, but after forgetting to turn ut off on one descent I don’t bother anymore. Might have the lowers off before the alps, but I think probably not 😉

Weigh a bit more than the revs but not much. Surprisingly light. Not sure what but since they’re on my 30lb trail bike 1/2 a pound either way not a big gig. Way lighter than pikes, bit heavier than revs if that helps!

I bought the DLA version which give the travel adjust same as Alex after seeing his in action, they replace Fox 32 150 on my Remedy, amazingly they weigh the same as the 32’s, are just as plush with great small bump response and don’t blow through the travel on the bigger stuff.

Did five days riding in Scotland on them with no chance to set them up on local trails and was very very pleased I fitted them for the trip, one local ride since and will have to take some air out. Overall amazing value.

I think they’re only available with the basic RL2 damping cart though. No ‘dual flow’ rebound, adjustable hsc/lsc etc.

Of course what difference that makes to the average rider mincing down a techy section is anyone’s guess!

There are rumour of a version with the more expensive (HLA I think) damping cart being available later this year (sourced from mtbr)