MRP Baxter

£950 Heavyweight fork for the harder hits

Weight 1,680g Travel 60 or 40mm Rake 45mm Axle to crown 455mm

The Baxter uses dual-chamber technology, which is older tech than RockShox and Fox’s systems but it does offer much more tuneability. Similarly, it has an open-bath damper rather than sealed cartridge. Despite this older tech, the Baxter is well put together with high-quality parts and impressive finishing. You can choose either 60mm or 40mm travel, although the fork can be internally adjusted with the included spacers if you later change your mind. Servicing is relatively simple so this is a user-friendly fork.

Setting up the Baxter involves balancing the pressure for the air spring according to your weight.

You also have external adjustment, thanks to a three-position, compression-damping control at the top of the left leg: with open/soft, mid-level and firm settings. The rebound damping offers 20 positions, so it’s possible to fine-tune the Baxter to your preferences.

MRP offers the Baxter in a ‘Shred Ready’ format (for an extra cost) where it is delivered pre-tuned with the steerer pre-cut and star nut and crown race installed. You can also customise the colour, finish and graphics, though this will increase the price further.

Set up with 60mm of travel, the axle to crown length is increased to 456mm, which also gives a huge 50c tyre clearance. And with 60mm of travel on tap, I was able to set up the fork with more sag than its rivals here, and the result is a fork that outstrips the rest on bigger hits and traversing rooty, rutted forest terrain. The downside is that it didn’t soak up smaller bumps so well, and it didn’t smooth chatter as well as the other forks. After adding a spacer to reduce the Baxter’s travel to 40mm, its chatter response and speed of movement dramatically improved.

The Baxter is heavier than its rivals but it handles its heft well. The fork has tons of stiffness to keep the handling tight and its stroke is silky smooth. It’s an excellent companion for twisty technical trails with its big-bump prowess coming to the fore. I found myself using the three-position control a lot. The open setting is best for lumpy, technical terrain, while the mid setting gives a smooth chatter and bump response for more wideopen gravel terrain, though it’s not quite as quick to react as the Rudy or Lauf. The firm setting is as close as it gets to a lock-out and is ideal for tarmac and out-of-saddle climbing.

I love the personalisation MRP offers. The tech may be older than some, but it’s well proven and user friendly. Just don’t expect to put together a super-light gravel bike with this fork plugged in up front.

Verdict Excels in the rough stuff at the expense of lighter performance