Trail forks

This year’s fork test inspects trail forks in the 120-140mm bracket. With less travel and thinner legs, these should be lighter than those used on burlier builds, but still share similar damping and air-spring design with their longer-travel siblings. As such, forks in this category benefit from technology that has trickled up from pro XC racing as well as down from top-flight enduro competition.

Having less squish helps keep shorter-travel bikes feel tight and snappy, and this can be accentuated by purposefully optimising the tune to give them a sportier and less cushy ride feel – think Lamborghini tautness, rather than Land Rover plushness.

Presumably this tuning is based on the assumption that riders will be more athletic and dynamic on the bike, seeking a less sloppy sensation where efficiency is equal to, or more important than, outright grip and comfort.

To put that theory to the test, and find out which brand has the ultimate short-travel option, we’ve pulled together five of the latest models to put them through their paces. From RockShox we have the completely redesigned Pike, with new chassis, damper and clever features such as bleed valves and vibration-reducing ButterCups.

Fox supplies its highly-respected Float 34 with highly tunable GRIP2 damper in boutique Factory spec. We’ve also pulled in the all-new Öhlins down-country model, Marzocchi’s budget Z2 and Suntour’s feature-laden Durolox. Let battle commence.

USED & ABUSED

How we test

We tested these forks on familiar trails in North Yorkshire in order to produce repeatable runs and best judge differences between models.

All forks were tested on the same 120mm-travel Evil Following and set up initially to manufacturer’s recommendations. Later, air pressures, air volumes and damping were tweaked in search of the ultimate performance.

At the end of the test we rode all the forks back-to-back using an uplift on a local gnarly trail-bike track. Testing was on baked-hard ground, meaning speeds and loads were high. A good mix of fast straights littered with small root webs; high-speed, beaten-up braking bumps; deep compressions and deep-dished berms provided a good workout on a track known intimately in terms of sections that work forks hardest and can cause potential issues.

JARGON BUSTER

Know your trail fork

OFFSET

Fork rake or offset has evolved as an important way of influencing steering response. Most brands now offer two different offsets in each wheel size, ranging from 37mm up to 51mm. Shorter offsets offer more stability and a ride quality that emulates a slacker head angle, while still keeping the bike’s wheelbase in check.

COMPRESSION DAMPING

Compression damping controls the rate at which damper fluid is