The Suntour Raidon comes with a compression dial, rebound adjust, and a proprietary axle—the Q LOC.
The rebound functioned appropriately and is the one adjustment that performed well.
The compression adjust is loose and light plastic; definitely feels “bare bones.” However, given the price point, it is reasonable.
Setting up the fork for proper support on bigger hits meant I had to pump it up far beyond recommended settings for my weight. At recommended settings, the fork was OK on rolling terrain, but whimpered on bigger hits and ate through travel fast.
This meant the fork was not supple–and almost fully rigid–for most of my ride time. I chose to set it up for steeper terrain and the low end directly suffered.
The alternative–recommended pressure with a more compliant low end but no support on bigger hits–was not something I was keen for. This is something air tokens may have resolved.
Bear in mind that I weigh 220 lbs. and in a more forward position on the hardtail, but this direct trade off was the first time I experienced this on any fork, including previous XC forks with narrower stanchions and shorter travel.
The fork was a lot of work because I had to shift my weight a lot to control traction. On bigger hits I just prayed the fork wouldn’t blow up as it compressed.
Hi there, enjoyed your comments on this fork. I recently purchased a 2021 Rocky Mountain Growler 40. It came with this same fork. This is my first hardtail in almost 20 years (was looking for something simpler and prices for new bikes are crazy).
I have a bit of a different take on this fork, possibly due to being a lighter rider (175 lbs) and riding in a less-steep area (Southern Ontario – mostly the Hydrocut, near Waterloo). I’m also comparing the Raidon to other low-end/entry level forks that I’ve had in the past (RS Recon RL, RS Sektor Gold). Overall, I think that the Raidon stacks up well compared to those two models in particularly. I can’t comment on how it would stack up to a ‘budget’ fork like a Z2. My thoughts:
Cheers
Pete
Pete,
Thanks a ton for this extremely detailed reply! This is all awesome, interesting info and really helps round out the performance of this fork for different kinds of riders.
I’m sure many others will find this useful when making their bike and fork decisions! Cheers