X-Fusion 29er Fork – Slide 29 Gear Review -UPDATED

mountain bike gear
Belt drive, 29-inch wheels, singlespeed, eccentric bottom bracket - I didn't expect any of this stuff when I started riding.

The group-think that can plague mountain bike culture led me to the new X-Fusion 29er fork. Many riders think you have to ride a 29er; you have to be on Strava. And of course, you absolutely must ride a RockFoxZocchi. (SCROLL TO BOTTOM FOR AN UPDATE)

Table of Contents hide
Why Be Different”
Setting Up the X-fusion 29erÂ
Let’s Ride!
Niggles and Nitpicks
Where Do They Go Now”
X-FUSION 29er UPDATE NOV. 9, 2013
Share this:
Like this:

Which is ridiculous. There are great alternatives out there, and I’ve uncovered one of the best deals in mountain bike forks in the X-Fusion Shox Slide 29 RL2.

Why Be Different”

So, why not skip the X-fusion 29er fork and just get a Fox” Fox makes great mountain bike forks. I’ve ridden a Fox Float R for six years and had it rebuilt once.

Well, the cheapest Fox fork I could find was $600 – more than I wanted to lay out for building my Raleigh XXIX frame into a belt-drive singlespeed mountain bike. You can pick up an X-Fusion 29er fork for about $400 – a great deal for a mountain bike fork. That’s enough extra clams to get a GoPro Helmet Hero so you can make bad mountain bike videos.

A side view of the X-Fusion Slide 29 RL2 on my Raleigh XXIX, X-fusion 29er
A side view of the X-Fusion Slide 29 RL2 on my Raleigh XXIX

Setting Up the X-fusion 29er 

I have a good home shop. But no headset press. I turned to a local shop for installation. Good thing, too – the tapered steerer tube combined awkwardly with the Cane Creek headset I planned to use. There was friction while turning the handlebar, and we couldn’t adjust it out. The shop staff put in a Chris King NoThreadSet as an experiment. The result” No friction. A bigger hit in the wallet. But I at least wound up with a cool gold headset.

I guessed at air pressure based on the manual’s 50-150 PSI range. I put it at 100, figuring it might be slightly soft. Did I do the whole bike geek “put a zip tie on the stanchion tube and get on the bike and see if it sags 20 percent into its travel”” Hell, no. The bike stand isn’t real life. Make an educated guess. Take your mountain bike for a ride. Bring a shock pump. Fork blows through its travel” Add some air. You bounce around like a Ping-Pong ball on ice” Let some air out. Done.

Let’s Ride!

On my first ride aboard the newly built Raleigh XXIX, I had questions. Do I have the Gates Carbon Drive Dialed in” Did I install the Stan’s tubeless conversion right” And will this crazy X-Fusion 29er fork detonate into a thousand pieces”

X-Fusion-BIKE Mag Ad, X-fusion 29er

Eight rides in, I’m alive. Looking forward to my next ride. Happy that I didn’t shell out 30 percent more moolah for — a difference in performance that’s indistinguishable from my Fox FLOAT R. The 100 pounds of air pressure was on the money. I backed off a click on the rebound damping, and the fork was dialed.

Oil marks on the stanchion tubes tell me I’m getting a lot of the X-Fusion Slide 29 RL’s 100mm of travel (it also comes in 80- and 120-mm). But no harsh bottoming. No wiggly steering performance. What’s not to like”

Niggles and Nitpicks

The Slide 29 emits a conspicuous hiss when I smack it into a square-edged obstacle. It reminds me a bit of air-sprung shocks of an earlier era that were notorious for the hiss (Old-timers will remember  “Amp-physema”). But my air pressure checks show no noticeable drop in air pressure. So the air is staying put.

Also, the Slide 29 stanchion tubes attract gunk more than my Fox Float R. That might mean seals with a sloppier tolerance. Or I could be a fork hypochondriac.

The decals will look thrashed in a few months. I’ll probably wind up peeling them off, rubbing the residue off and winding up with a Spinal Tap “how much more black could it be”” look.

Where Do They Go Now”

After just short of two months, I like my X-Fusion 29er fork a lot. I hope I still like it as much after six months – if I do, I’ll say “Buy without Reservations”. It looks good now, but time will tell. Right now, I ride my Raleigh XXIX and come home happy. That’s what it’s all about.

A close-up of the X-Fusion Slide 29 RL2, X-fusion 29er
A close-up of the X-Fusion Slide 29 RL2

The hard part is in X-Fusion’s court. It has to make a case with bike manufacturers’ product manager to get spec’d on bikes. They need to make a performance case and a business case. With the brand loyalty and economic power of Fox, Rock Shox et al, that could be difficult.

X-FUSION 29er UPDATE NOV. 9, 2013

A problem cropped up with my X-Fusion Slide 29 RL2. Here’s what I sent to X-Fusion:

Hi there. I’ve been riding a Slide 29 RL2 since February. It’s been a great fork, but I have a problem and wanted to see what you’d recommend. 

Here’s the situation: I did some work on my brakes yesterday, and had to remove the caliper from the threaded mount on the fork. The problem occurred when I re-installed the caliper. As I was tightening one of the bolts, I felt it something give and I could tell that somehow the threads had stripped. I removed the bolt and sure enough had some metal come out. Before I started tightening, I had the bolt lined up properly and there was no unusual resistance that would indicate cross-threading. 
If this info helps, I was using an old set of Hayes 9 hydraulic discs. I’ve also attached some photos. Do you have any advice that can get this fork back on the trail”
X-Fusion replied with advice to use a longer bolt on the affected mount. That’s a workable solution since only a few millimeters of thread are damaged. If more of the threads were trashed, we’d be in real trouble. The mounts are molded into the fork’s lowers, unlike the mounts on my Rock Shox fork (its mounts bolt to the lowers). So if this problem gets worse, I’m looking at a new set of lowers. Not really ideal. My guess is that the molded lowers let X-Fusion keep the price a bit lower. But it might be worth a few extra clams to have removable mounts.
Oh, and X-Fusion responded to my question within hours. I deducted points for the molded-in mounts on the Slide 29 RL2 (a factor I hadn’t considered before). But the company earned points back for being responsive.
Related articles
  • 20 Signs You’re Addicted to Mountain Biking

[wp_ad_camp_5]

This post just might contain affiliate links. Fear not, they’re non-spammy and benign. Hey, I have to keep this thing running somehow!

By Wandering Justin

Writer. Traveler. Gastronomic daredevil. Fitness fan. Homebrewer. Metal dude \m/. Cat and dog lover.

6 comments

  1. Thanks for the insight. I am battling which fork to put on my xxix, which @present is betwixt the x fusion & a white brothers fork. Sounds like the x fusion may fit the bill a little better. Stoked to hear more as you gain more mileage.
    Cheers
    Brian

  2. Glad I could pass some first-hand info along, Brian. I don’t think you’ll ever go wrong with a White Bros. Everyone I know who’s had one loves it. If you do go with the White, consider yourself invited to write a review here. Whichever you choose, thanks for the comment and have a great time riding!

  3. Any updates on the xfusion I just ordered one to put on my Fugi Outland 3.0 mtn. bike, found a new one for $265 hope yours is still as great as you said. Thanks for the review.

  4. Jeff, I checked out the specs of your Fuji. This fork will be a huge difference for you. Mine is still holding up well, not a complaint. I have a video of it in action that I will post soon. You’ll be able to see how it moves over the bumps. If you have any questions about good upgrades, fire away. It’d be great for a future post! Thanks for the comment, and happy riding.

  5. I’m getting a SEVEN titanium SS with this X-Fusion 29er fork too. How is it in the lightness department?

  6. The frame is pretty light, but you could probably find a lighter fork. And honestly one that’s slightly better. The new Marzocchi Bomber fork would be high on my list. Have fun with that Seven! They make amazing stuff.

Sound Off!

%d bloggers like this: