Anyone know off the top of their head how much difference there is in weight between the Suntour XCM 650b and the Suntour XCR forks?

Looking at entry level mtn bikes for Hubby, if it's a difference of a few pounds then the extra $$ the next step up costs might be worth it.

TIA!

-makel

The research I did tells me the XCR might be somewhat comparable to the Rockshox XC30 but I read a message from someone saying he broke two Suntour XCR forks twice in 13 months. I just bought a Rockshox XC30 but I can't review them as I haven't tried them yet. (Will likely buy wheels this summer to complete that project.) Maintenance parts are also available on eBay for the Rockshox XC30.

Cheapest price I found for the Rockshox XC30 in black was from hibike.de. I haven't tried that site so I don't know their reputation. Mine were ordered from Acycles.fr but mainly because I wanted them in white.

The Suntour XCM isn't really recommended from what I've seen.

(You can also notice whether the forks you're looking at are for a tapered fork or straight, 9mm QR wheels, travel etc.)

EDIT: Oops, I forgot you're looking for 650b. The prices I was talking about were for 26 inch.

Here's a Solo Air XC30 on sale for $170: https://www.blueskycycling.com/produc...5-9mm-Fork.htm
(That's 120mm travel though, some frames only take 80 to 100mm travel.)

ANOTHER EDIT: You may be able to use 26 inch wheel forks for a 650b wheel. There might be a way to modify the one I linked up there to 100mm or 80mm but you'd have to check.

Thanks for responding. My wrenching abilities don't go to tweaking forks just yet.

I've been told and read that the suntour forks don't last long if they are used regularly as well. I haven't really looked at the travel consideration yet. I guess I will need to keep that in mind if we do get him a mtn bike with a suntour fork, because of the chance we might have to replace it. The suntour XCR29 has 100mm travel.

The XCR's look to be better then the XCM's.

https://www.srsuntour-cycling.com/bik...M%22,%22XCR%22


Get a cheaper bike with a lower quality fork that might have a short life span.
or
Get a more expensive bike with a better quality fork that will last longer


Suntour has a upgrade program where you can buy one of their better quality forks at a discounted price.

https://www.srsuntourna.com/consumer/

Non upgrade program prices: https://emarket.srsuntourna.com/collections/forks

Here's a long ongoing thread on mtbr about the Suntour upgrade program, there seems to be a lot of people that are happy with their Suntour upgrades:

https://forums.mtbr.com/beginners-corner/if-you-want-upgrade-your-suntour-fork-830657.html


* You can find Suntour Raidon and Epicon forks on ebay & Amazon for cheap prices, these are often 'grey market' OEM forks from Asia that have lower specs then the aftermarket forks supplied to the North American market.