SR Suntour might not be the first name that comes to mind when looking to upgrade your enduro fork, but the Durolux proves that it can compete with the best suspension forks on the market on performance as well as price. You might be surprised to see what’s essentially an enduro fork in a trail bike fork test, but with a hollow forged crown and magnesium lower legs, this 36mm stanchioned Durolux is almost identical in weight to Suntour’s trail-focussed Auron 35mm fork.

But, after Suntour’s engineers in France pointed out it’s possible to run this fork in 140mm mode (with added stiffness and leg overlap), the Durolux made more sense than the brand’s skinnier-legged trail model, especially since that fork is being replaced with an all-new fork next year anyway.

SR Suntour Durolox fork

The Durolux is also great value, despite packing tons of external adjustment with both high and low-speed compression adjustment and low speed rebound via premium alloy dials. The damper is the same basic design as Fox and RockShox’s latest fork too, in that it’s a spring-backed floating piston that compensates for damper oil displacement, separates air and oil and maintains back pressure to resist the ‘vacuum effect’ that causes bubbles to form in fluids.

SR Suntour Durolox fork

Other Suntour features similar to top-dollar brands include lower leg air bleed ports at the seals. The ones here do need an allen key to release excess pressure, but they also double up as grease ports. This allows syringing lubrication in to ensure everything stays buttery, without having to do a full lower leg service. The RC2 fork here also uses a stiff hollow-crown forging to hold the stanchion legs, which saves a further 35g over cheaper models.

SR Suntour Durolox fork

Suntour PCS (Piston Compensating System) damper mentioned sees high-speed compression and rebound circuits flowing through shim-stacks and the low-speed compression using a needle/orifice style design. Everything is housed in a sealed cartridge to minimise cavitation (foam building in the damper oil). One thing PCS doesn’t share with the new Pike is being silent though – this was the noisiest fork on test (on rebound especially) with a distinct whoosh as oil flowed through the system.

The RC2 version is externally adjustable via anodized dials on both high and low-speed sides of compression and overall on the rebound side. The brand also offers a more expensive R2C2 damper with four-way tuning (with high and low speed rebound) for £70 extra.

The broad adjustment range delivers perceptible changes from a sensible base tune – we ended up in the middle on the rebound side and almost full open on the compression side – this was to strike a bit of a balance between tracking and sensitivity on the low-speed compression side to  run as much damping and support as we’d prefer.

Suntour’s Durolux EQ air spring self-balances positive and negative chambers via an internal transfer port: basically, you set sag and the system automatically sets the right amount of negative air pressure in the lower chamber. This then ‘sucks’ the fork into the first portion of travel to better absorb bump edges and trace undulations.

And, being essentially an enduro fork, there’s a noticeable push into the travel and a floaty ‘deep’ feel off-the-top tracing micro-bumps and vibrations, especially compared to the Pike or Öhlins new RXF 34.

SR Suntour Durolox fork

Suntour’s air spring feels very supple in 140mm travel guise – there’s plenty of fast/free movement in the initial part of the stroke to follow contours and dull stone-flecked trails, without ever lifting off the floor or feeling too washy and vague.

Even if you’re a heavier or harder-charging rider, the compression damping veers to the firmer side of the spectrum though, so there’s enough support and stability for hard-hitting terrain at the expense of ultimate vibration reduction. For £630, the damping performance is still quality, although there’s not quite the totally smooth control or sophistication of the Charger 3 or GRIP2 when handling successive heavy hits or deep punches where the fork bottoms out in rough G-outs.

Weight is another area where the Suntour trails behind the more expensive forks – it’s almost half a kilo heavier than Öhlins RXF 34 – and that counts when plodding uphill, lifting over obstructions and even steering. For the moment at least, that’s because Suntour has a bit of a gap between its Axon Werx XC fork with carbon crown that Tom Pidcock rode to Olympic gold and this beefier fork.

• Best mountain bike forks
• How to ride wet, slippery trails with style
• Best mountain bike lights; handlebar mounted, helmet mounted and eBike