I was wondering how big of a difference there is between these forks. Both seem to be only for OEM so it’s hard to know what level they are on. Anyone know what would be the respective price for each? Is a Reba similar to a Recon Gold?
RS Recon Gold RL vs Suntour Raidon 32 Air
Sam56
1 - 5 of 5 Posts
I was wondering how big of a difference there is between these forks. Both seem to be only for OEM so it’s hard to know what level they are on. Anyone know what would be the respective price for each? Is a Reba similar to a Recon Gold?
Joined
·
1,497 Posts
The Raidon is a solid fork, I'd take that over a Recon any day. The Reba is the best choice overall. Prices have gone up but the Reba is going to cost a few hundred more than the others, $320 verses $520 depending on the seller. Another choice will be a Manitou Markhor, a better damper than the Reba. If OEM then the Suntour Raidon is a good choice.
Oh ok. I thought for sure people were gonna say the Recon is on a different level. Good thing I asked then.
From what I gathered though, the Recon Gold has a Debonair spring and should be pretty close to a Reba. Or maybe like the previous Reba.
Someone on here complained that the Raidon doesn’t have good small bump compliance. I think that was posted in 2019. So I don’t know wether this is a new model. I have a friend that has the older Raidon with gold stanchions. This one comes on a new bike and is the one that’s all black. I don’t know if there’s a difference.
I also read somewhere that there are different versions of the Raidon. How do I know which version I am getting? Like there should be different levels of adjustments.
These are both forks which come on new bikes. That I am choosing from.
Joined
·
1,497 Posts
My bad, you did say Gold. The Recon Gold is on a different level, like the new Judy Gold (rebranded 30 Gold). Recon Gold is closer to a Reba with Motion Control damper. Unless it says Debonair then it isn't, it's usually etched on the crown as well. Even so, if you check the Rockshox Trailhead guide it may be upgradable to the Debonair seal head, pretty inexpensive upgrade and gives the fork much better mid-stroke support. I did that with my Reba, a big improvement. Check for the capability of tokens for improved bottom out as well. The Reba accepts tokens and you can improve on bottom out in that area, especially on big G-outs, jumps!
trailhead.rockshox.com
There are differences in all forks, mostly travel adjustment internally, and axle specifications, and other slight differences in models depending on price. Newest standard is straight axle over quick release skewer axles. Boost 110 and Non-boost 100 widths. You can get straight axle with quick release but most new forks come with straight axle, but can be changed to quick release aftermarket. I've gone to straight axle with the 6mm hex wrench on both my new bikes because that's what they came with. My 2018 Reba came with a quick release straight axle, Maxle. Old hard tail had quick release skewers, those are slowly going away.
Most lower end forks don't have the low compression adjustment for small bump compliance. Many people complain about that but there is a trade off in that area. I forgot to mention the Marzocchi Z1 also, another fork to consider in addition to the Markhor if you ever upgrade. Both have better dampers than the Motion Control. Most all the new forks are now coming with the black stanchions, black stanchions are not new, but the faded gold stanchions are slowly going away as well.
Most modern forks are pretty good out of the box compared to what was available ten years ago. Usually you get what you pay for, and I really like Rockshox for their ease of maintenance. If it comes down to choice, choose the bike with the most modern specs overall, because that bike will be the easiest to upgrade in a few years. Hope this all helps. If you list the bikes that you're looking at then I can critique those choices. Maybe start a thread for bike choices in General Discussion, many other members can throw in some additional choices and I've often seen better ones. At least you'll get a good vibe that way. Cheers!
RockShox TrailHead
A suspension specialist in your pocket! Get personalized setting recommendations for the perfect ride.
There are differences in all forks, mostly travel adjustment internally, and axle specifications, and other slight differences in models depending on price. Newest standard is straight axle over quick release skewer axles. Boost 110 and Non-boost 100 widths. You can get straight axle with quick release but most new forks come with straight axle, but can be changed to quick release aftermarket. I've gone to straight axle with the 6mm hex wrench on both my new bikes because that's what they came with. My 2018 Reba came with a quick release straight axle, Maxle. Old hard tail had quick release skewers, those are slowly going away.
Most lower end forks don't have the low compression adjustment for small bump compliance. Many people complain about that but there is a trade off in that area. I forgot to mention the Marzocchi Z1 also, another fork to consider in addition to the Markhor if you ever upgrade. Both have better dampers than the Motion Control. Most all the new forks are now coming with the black stanchions, black stanchions are not new, but the faded gold stanchions are slowly going away as well.
Most modern forks are pretty good out of the box compared to what was available ten years ago. Usually you get what you pay for, and I really like Rockshox for their ease of maintenance. If it comes down to choice, choose the bike with the most modern specs overall, because that bike will be the easiest to upgrade in a few years. Hope this all helps. If you list the bikes that you're looking at then I can critique those choices. Maybe start a thread for bike choices in General Discussion, many other members can throw in some additional choices and I've often seen better ones. At least you'll get a good vibe that way. Cheers!
ive Serviced a few raidons for customers and they’re built well, very similar to fox who I have heard bought suntour, the damper on the recon Gold is a bit better but you probably wouldn’t notice much if any difference on the trail. The Recon gold will be more upgradable most likely if that’s your intent down the line. I would probably go with rockshox over suntour just cuz the service is easier and parts are easier to get, if you scratch a stanchion or something its always easy to get rockshox parts.
1 - 5 of 5 Posts
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
