Suntour’s Epicon X1 gets significant weight saving and suspension tweaks for 2012 to create an adequately controlled and very cost effective mid-price fork.
The smooth lines of the Epicon chassis are unchanged but it now gets a hollow crown for reduced weight in either standard or tapered steerer formats. The damping cartridge is slimmed down and the clever push-through, pop-out QLoc 15mm axle gets titanium trim to save 60g.
You’ll need to have smooth sleeved hub internals to stop it getting stuck partially in/out, but it’s generally obedient until you start hammering it across rocks or knobbly root spreads. Weight is reasonable for a travel-adjust fork and the remodelled remote control for the 140-100mm drop is neat enough to sit unobtrusively on your bars.
Tweaked spring curves mean less dive when you’re slamming it into stuff or braking hard and feel is usefully fluid and consistent straight from the box. Manual lockout and low speed compression damping are easy to reach on the fork top. Long term Epicons have always held up well even in bad weather, which isn’t always the case with cheaper forks.
This article was originally published in What Mountain Bike magazine, available on Apple Newsstand and Zinio.
