ÖHLINS Introduces the RXF38 m.2

[Press Release] – 22nd July 2021, Upplands Väsby, Sweden: Swedish suspension expert Öhlins today announces the launch of the new RXF38 m.2 – the latest addition to the brand’s leading range of MTB forks. The new fork joins the range in replace of the RXF38 m.1, previously released in August 2020 and originally available on a limited number of partner brand MTB models. The brand new RXF38 m.2 is available for 29” bikes, with five different iterations offering a range of 160-180mm travel, and 44 and 51mm crown offset options built around Öhlins’ signature TTX18 damper and unique three-chamber air spring.

Developed for hard-hitting trail, enduro and e-MTB use, the RXF38 m.2 shares several key technologies with its dual-crown brother, the DH38. The newcomer to the Öhlins lineup brings 38mm stanchions to the brand’s single crown range, a chassis optimized for big-hit trail riding, confidence-inspiring TTX damping and unrivalled adjustability. It’s the product of Öhlins’ long-term close collaboration with the UCI DH World Championship-winning team Specialized Gravity, where milliseconds gained make for wins.

To achieve the best of dual-crown performance in a single-crown platform, Öhlins applied the lessons learned from the development of its World Cup-conquering DH38 m.1 fork to its latest addition to the range. The DH38 m.1, first launched in June 2020, was tested and fine-tuned throughout the UCI World Cup calendar in close collaboration with Specialized Gravity and their four-time UCI Downhill World Champion Loic Bruni. Bruni’s extensive insight as one of the fastest DH riders on Earth and personal product testing led to the creation of a ruthlessly-efficient dual crown fork, and, in turn, the RXF38 m.2 launched today.

The new single-crown RXF38 m.2 sports an almost identical iteration of the same race-proven damping system and air spring that elevated the DH38 m.1 to World Cup glory. With a beefed up chassis – adapted from the DH38 for trail use – equally thick stanchions and the same awesome adjustability as its DH brother, the new RXF38 m.2 doesn’t pull any punches when the trail turns downhill. Sharing this race-winning platform so closely means that the new fork has also already got the seal of approval from Öhlins athletes and hard-hitting gravity riders Fabio Wibmer, Nico Vink and Killian Bron. Here’s why…

38mm stanchions – bigger is better

The new fork boasts 38mm diameter stanchions that offer increased stiffness, for ‘point and shoot’ riding out on the trail. By ‘going big’ on stanchions, Öhlins has reduced flex where it matters. Stiffness shouldn’t mean harshness, and Öhlins has worked hard to find the perfect flex pattern – under braking, cornering and on impact – to provide more control over a broad spectrum of riding and terrain.

More control means faster and more free-flowing descents but it also means greater comfort too; the bombproof performance of the RXF38 m.2 makes light-work of DH shuttle runs and well-earned enduro descents, so you can go faster for longer.

What goes down must come up however, and as such, finding the best balance between bombproof performance downhill and featherweight riding uphill was a key focus during the fork’s development. Through extensive testing, Öhlins has met its target of creating an extremely well-balanced 38mm-stanchion fork for a very broad spectrum of riding.

Öhlins’ RXF38 m.2 tips the scales at a highly-respectable 2320g – just over 200g more than its more slender sibling, the RXF36 m.2. To achieve this, Öhlins shaved precious grams by entirely overhauling the lowers of its predecessor the RXF38 m.1 to find a happy medium between the DH38 and RXF36. The crown and stanchions have also been fine-tuned from test to test in order to maximise the fork’s stiffness to weight ratio. The end result is a fork that’s designed to float up the hills and hurtle back down them.

TTX18 damping rolls with the punches

The fork’s overhauled chassis and uncompromisingly stiff 38mm stanchions are complemented by Öhlins’ signature TTX18 damping system. Adopted from its DH38 m.1 big brother and adapted to fit a single-crown platform, the TTX18 damping system offers world-class, race-proven performance. Its increased damping pressure bandwidth enables improved damping valve response, with a trail-optimized 18mm piston providing superb small bump sensitivity to keep tires planted over technical terrain.

When it comes to bumps of the bigger variety, the fork’s highly capable air spring and TTX18 damper combine to swallow roots and rocks whole, maintaining speed and grip on the toughest lines. Between the big hits, the RXF38 m.2 makes light work of servicing too. Courtesy of Öhlins’ simple service kit – compatible across the RXF and DH range – the RXF38 m.2 can be maintained factory fresh year after year, so you can focus on the riding.

Awesome adjustability

The fork’s re-tuned twin-piston and three-chamber air spring system allows for comprehensive, simple and tool-free air spring tuning from the initial movement right through to the bottom out. And much like the World Cup-winning DH38 m.1, the RXF38 m.2 benefits from a huge range of intuitive adjustment. Riders can easily fine-tune the fork’s performance to suit any terrain, thanks to 15 clicks of low-speed compression and low-speed rebound damping and 3 clicks of high-speed compression adjustment, in addition to a climb mode setting. Setup is simple then, but for those who want to go even further, and adjust their fork like the pros, a race-proven setting bank is also available at Öhlins service centers for even more fine-tuning.