Swedish outfit Ohlins Racing has announced the latest editions to its line of forks and shocks with a new coil sprung 29er fork, an air sprung version of its RFX 36 for smaller wheels and some new lightweight coil springs
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RFX 36 Coil
Coil Springs are making a comeback at the top levels of MTB racing, and not just when it comes to rear shocks.
The new RFX 26 Coil uses the brand's TTX damping system and steel coil springs, it's basically the front equivalent to the brand's TTX 22 M rear shock.
As with other coil sprung forks it will take a bit of tinkering to find the right weight of spring, but once you’ve nailed in the RFX 36 Coil it should very much be a set and forget deal.
Ohlins says: "The linear nature of the coil spring gives a predictable and reliable fork that performs consistently regardless of temperature, air pressure or wind direction.”
The RXF 36 Coil is internally adjustable from 160mm to 110mm travel, and with a spring range within 0.9 N/mm increments it should allow each rider to find the ideal spring just for them.
According to Ohlins, the external preload adjuster and floating spring piston design allows the ride height to be fine-tuned, without reducing small bump sensitivity. There are also no air seals, which should do away with a fair bit of friction as well.
Unfortunately this does appear to come at a cost on the scales, with the fork claimed to weigh 2,380g with full steerer and the heaviest rate spring.
RFX 36 27.5
Ohlins accepts that the 27.5 specific RFX 36 fork looks almost identical to its 29er counterpart, but insists the difference on the trail isn’t just marketing buzz.
The new fork is designed around smaller wheels and is available with up to 170mm of travel. It is based around the brand’s twin tube TTX technology, which is said to keep the pressure at ideal levels all the time.
Ohlins says the result is a fork that’s initially smooth but remains ready to take on big hits, which it says keeps you higher in the travel and your tyre planted on the ground when things get buck wild.
Like its 29er cousin, the RFX 36 27.5 allows for high- and low-speed compression as well as low-speed rebound to fine tune the shock's feel.
The new fork also sees a three-chamber air spring that Ohlins says allows you to tweak the shape of the spring curve on the fly.
The new RXF 36 27.5
Lightweight springs
The Swedish outfit has also announced a new range of lightweight springs sized for a specific shock stroke and with 4nm / 23lbs increments.
As the brand puts it: “Advanced technology featuring multi-step surface treatment process as well as cutting edge heat treatments and wire materials allows us to stress the wire harder without causing damage to the spring."