Ohlins launch new enduro shock and fork with TTX dampers
Promise less friction and improved sensitivity
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Swedish suspension wizard Öhlins has updated its mountain bike suspension efforts with a new TTX Air rear shock and RXF 36 Trail fork, both of which promise improved sensitivity thanks to a range of friction reducing measures, amongst other things.
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While much loved and highly regarded in the motorsports world, it's safe to say that Öhlins first mountain bike efforts didn't meet with universal acclaim, with the air sprung units proving particularly tricky to get right.
New TTX Air shock
However, this refresh of their trail and enduro product line is claimed to put right some of those issues. The TTX Air shock is still based on the coil-sprung TTX 22 M unit with a twin-tube damper design but with added bushing overlap for better side load management, lower friction seals and an air spring that's said to be 'more robust' as well as having less friction all-round.
In terms of adjustment, they say they've tried to keep things simple, with a low-speed compression,adjustable rebound, high-speed compression adjuster and a climb mode, along with the ability to adjust progression via volume spacers. Metric and trunnion mounted options are available in a number of common sizes for trail and enduro bikes.
It's got a price tag of £730, which puts it at rather a premium against Fox's £599 Float DPX2 and £669 Float X2 units and RockShox's £476 Super Deluxe. Availability is said to be from December 2018.
New RXF 36 Trail fork
The RXF 36 fork now uses a damper design similar to that found in their DH Race Fork (yes, that's its name...) with a cartridge that uses a smaller 18mm piston that increases damping pressure over the old design for claimed improvements in sensitivity.
Interestingly - and uniquely when it comes to forks on sale today - it also uses a twin tube damper design rather than the single tube cartridge more commonly seen on high-end forks. You get a full set of adjustments, with low and high-speed compression plus rebound damping and climb mode all being externally adjustable.
The chassis has also been tweaked to give greater tyre clearance - up to 2.8" on the 27.5" fork while you can fit 29x2.8" or 27.5+x3.2" on the longer legged chassis, with 46 mm and 38 mm offsets in the former and 51 mm and 44 mm offsets in the latter. Fork travel is adjustable from 130-170mm on the coil sprung unit, while air is available from 120-180mm.
The air spring has also seen some tweaks, with a retuned twin piston three-chamber air spring system allowing you to tune how it feels from the initial movement through to bottom out, plus there are unspecified claimed improvements to overall friction.
The price is £1,170, putting it head to head with Fox's Factory 36 FIT GRIP 2 at £1,139 and RockShox's cheaper £989 Lyric RC2. It's slated to be available from March 2019.
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