ÖHLINS RFX34 M.2 DOWNCOUNTRY FORK £1,185

Think Öhlins and you’ll probably picture Loic Bruni or Finn Iles coming across the finish line at a World Cup. Or perhaps a burly 38mmstanchioned enduro fork, or the yellow flash from a coil shock. But this is actually where it all started for Öhlins, at least on the mtb scene – when the Swedish brand released the RXF 34 back in 2016 it was the first time it had built a suspension fork from the ground up. And it impressed us with its smooth action and easy breakaway feel.

Now in 2022, it gets a complete rework, with new chassis, damper and air spring.

Gone is the triple-chamber air spring we liked so much on the cool original, with its positive, negative and third independently adjustable bottom-out air spring. Öhlins has decided it’s overkill on a short-travel trail bike fork and that it can save weight with a positive, and self-adjusting negative chamber, much like the ones that Rockshox and Fox use. It won’t be as easy to adjust during a ride, where a shock pump was all you needed, but it could well have saved a ton of weight – the new fork came in at 1,698g on our scales, in touch with the Fox 34.

The new chassis gets a closed-end outer tube design with a claimed increase in stiffness and impact resistance. There’s also a greater air volume in the spring because of those new lower legs, which should provide better tuning opportunities. Öhlins also adds the floatingaxle design found in the RXF36 M.2 and RXF38 M.2 forks that aims to decrease friction and boost stiffness.

Finally, and most importantly, there’s the new OTX18 damper the brand has developed off the back of the TTX18 damper from its gravity suspension line-up. Öhlins says it shares plenty of the benefits, but weights

27% less and is “optimised for faster and more fluid trail riding, striking the optimal balance between traction, control, weight and stiffness.” We hope that doesn’t mean it’s built for pedalling efficiency.

It’s as adjustable a fork as ever, with

15 clicks of low-speed compression and rebound adjustment, and three for high speed. The old model had a crazy 24 and five-click range respectively, which was overkill, so we’re happy to see the new fork rein it in some. The RXF34 is for 29ers only, it’s e-bike approved, uses a 44mm offset and you can spec it with 120 or 130mm travel.

Öhlins is this year’s must-have suspension – bike brands are falling over themselves to equip top-end bikes with those yellow-stickered forks and shocks.

We’re hoping the RFX34 M.2 is the fork where performance meets hype. ohlins.com

BAGGAGE RECLAIM

The Evoc Terminal Bag 40+20 is two packs in one: a 40L trolley for travelling that clips to a detachable 20L backpack for hand luggage.

The trolley has wheels with bearings while the backpack boasts a laptop compartment and padded straps. £254.99, zyrofisher.co.uk

MONKEY BAR

Last year Kids Ride Shotgun released a new ridealong seat. Now there’s a Pro Handlebar to go with it, featuring custom, undersized 19mm grips to keep small hands away from your brakes, and a quick-release mounting system. £70, kidsrideshotgun.co.uk