Öhlins RXF 36 M.2 Air Fork and TTX2 Air Shock Review

Once reserved for the top tier of Motorsport suspension, Öhlins has been gradually increasing their mountain bike product range since they hit the scene back in 2012. Applying nearly 50 years of experience in performance suspension components to the mountain bike world, their TTX2 & RXF36 air combo provides all mountain and enduro riders with a highly tuneable combination that’s built to offer the ultimate in control. We put the pairing to the test on board a Norco Sight to see how they stack up in the competitive world of mountain bike suspension.
THE DIRT
Having had many suspension set ups on the Norco Sight, I was able to get a really good feel for how the RFX 36 fork changed the way the bike rode across the range of ride situations. I’ve amassed a load of seat time on this bike both before and during the Öhlins testing period, so the differences were noticeable right away. At first, I was not satisfied with the small bump performance, but the story changed once I took some time to bracket settings and find the balance of air pressure and damping. I ended up running a little more sag than other forks, while relying on the ramp-up air chamber to keep me from harsh bottom outs. The mid-stroke support provided by the RFX was quite good, if not better than the rest, which allowed me to run more sag without an overwhelming feel of the fork diving. In conjunction with the smooth compression damping, I was able to find a perfect balance of ramp up and small bump sensitivity. The HSC pretty much stayed completely open at all times - very few times did I opt for a click and never more than one. It would be interesting to experiment with the shim stack to see if there was some wiggle room to make each click a little less impactful, however this is by no means necessary to get the fork to feel great. For LSC I was generally 7-9 clicks out from closed. The change in feel for the LSC is much less profound than the HSC circuit.
The change following a more in-depth setup on the RFX36 fork really made the bike feel livelier, yet retained capability at the same time. It’s responsive and supportive when pushing into the lips of steep jumps, yet very composed through rough terrain, which made me want to charge harder and harder through rough sections of trail. Finding the right set up for me did take longer than the likes of Fox’s 36, but once dialed in I felt limited need to modify the setup further. I had seen other reviews with riders complaining about a lack of small bump sensitivity, but I would suggest this is due to insufficient time focused on set up, as I really love a soft initial portion of travel and the Öhlins fork delivered this. The fork tracked especially well on off camber sections of trail that were littered with roots, perhaps thanks to a slightly more compliant chassis than the new crop of 38mm stanchion forks.
During the test period I had zero issues with the fork, with no oil leaks and all adjustments remaining in perfect working order. I performed two lower leg services at home over the long-term testing period, replacing oil and cleaning the foam rings while leaving the OEM seals in place as there was no evidence to suggest they needed to be replaced.
When it came to keeping the bike rubber side up in some hairy situations the Öhlins TTX2 air rear shock did a superb job. Just like the fork, this shock had a lively yet balanced feel. The compression circuits were very smooth when the going got rough. The LSC compression adjustment had no lack of options - while each click did not provide a huge change, there were enough turns of the dial to find a setup that felt right for the terrain and riding style in store for the day. The HSC circuit was quite the opposite, with each of the 3 clicks having a massive impact on how the bike felt. Just like with the fork I tended to keep this fully open for the most part, except for a small handful of times on sustained road climbs.
During the test I did run into an issue with the... [To Keep Reading, visit the site]:
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[@chawkins45ify]

When I had an evil wreckoning I ran a ohlins stx22 and was blown away by it, smooth dampening but kept the bike feeling lively. Ohlins makes great stuff and have been thinking of trying the ttx on my Levo

[@BrettSampson]

Here because I keep blowing my Fox X2 on my Levo and I’m hoping the Ohlins will hold up better. Did you end up getting one?

[@chawkins45ify]

@@BrettSampson I'm running the cane creek Kitsuma air and have been loving it. No issues with over 200 miles on it

[@Pienimusta]

Cool to see other suspension manufacturers also reviewed. More and more bikes are fitting Öhlins.

[@kentnilsson9757]

👍The front fork is easy to get adjusted correctly on whatever bike it is on, but the shock absorber is difficult to manufacture a shock absorber that will fit different linkage systems and their ratios, it is therefore important when ordering shock absorbers to name the bike brand so that ev can immediately get help with the right shock absorber, which then makes it possible to set it correctly yourself😊

[@rynolindz]

Really dig the TTX2 shock.. its crazy good! Great review!

[@TheLoamWolf]

Thanks! 👍

[@paul.p.smellthetruth2667]

​@@TheLoamWolf Guys, you can Turn the lower Body of every shock when the spring/pressure is removed. Then you would have Had easy Access to the airvalve

[@nothinglessness]

Would be useful to know your rider weight for the air pressures you are running as your ramp up pressures seem maybe 80 psi less than recommended? I am having trouble getting rid of the harshness on my Ohlins RFX 36 m2 on recommended psi and seem to need about 30psi less in main chamber and 80 less in ramp up???

[@robinraff1486]

Maybe you can 180° turn/twist the Air Part when you let all air out like its possible on the X2?

[@megatryn]

Love my RXF 36 m.2 on my Revel Rascal. Just wondering: Why don't you just rotate the lower part of the TTX2 180 degrees, so that the valve faces front and towards the drivetrain for much easier access?

[@szili76]

It will lose dampening force

[@megatryn]

@@szili76 no.

[@86309]

The shock doesn’t know which way it’s facing.

[@revjedmoto3867]

Thank you for saying this. I was about to comment the same

[@xLITTLESIMBAx]

Rear shock air valve orientation. Next time you can twist the shock eyelet 180 degrees to move the air valve location to an easier spot. Next time you'll get it!

[@iffy_too4289]

As far as the shock schraeder valve position goes, would it be possible to rotate the base 180 degrees with respect to the top or do it when its serviced? You can certainly do this with coil shocks and RS deluxe etc. thats all i have experience with.

[@paul.p.smellthetruth2667]

You can do this Wirth every shock wegen It IS depressurized. Strange the Theaters dont know that. What do they think how shocks come to live whih are used on Thais clevis mount Bikes With Only 90 degree rotation towards the shock body?

[@scottbooth6134]

@theloamwolf you can change the schaerder valve position

[@darrylkatz853]

Cool video. Helpful thanks

[@tomek6481]

I get crazy of the ohlins shock, have already like a year , every time try to setup and still don’t feel any changes. That is really strange. This shock is like black magic!

[@gaffney92]

In the video you said you keep the ramp up chamber at 125psi, Max is 285psi. Is this a mistake are are you actually running it that low?

[@JerrySpallone]

Curious as well. With where the support chamber is at, the recommendation on the sticker would have rampup in the 200s

[@5gb6]

I am confused by this as well

[@NiSE_Rafter]

I didn't even realize Ohlins made mountain bike stuff. I've known them mainly for motorcycle and automotive racing suspension.

[@TheLoamWolf]

Yeah pretty crazy and awesome to see them come over to the bicycle world.

[@emrhomeworks9979]

Thanks for this review, did you do this test with the Cascade Components link installed?

[@iL250]

You can rotate that shock body for easier reach to air schrader

[@StepXX]

Hi! Thanks for review! Do you mind sharing the geared (+-) weight of the rider? *Not related to the video: Your website for some reason cannot be accessed from Ukraine (I have to open every page as cash from Google search results). Already mentioned above it to your colleague on Instagram last year, but nothing has changed so far.

[@JinPheh]

You mention that you also had DVO on the bike previously. Is there any possibility of a similar video from the DVO centric point of view?

[@fullpullmtb]

I could do that for sure!

[@itskerbc]

So you want it fully opened when hitting jumps? Sorry, for some reason I thought you’d want it a little firm to prevent bottoming out.

[@bryanseare2704]

nice train horn in the backround

[@douglasreed5518]

what is your riding weight and how many clicks from closed on rear shock

[@idolhandsjabronie6517]

That’s a nice bike, I mean it looks very fucking pretty. Norco 👏

[@fullpullmtb]

Thank you! been an awesome bike so far

[@paulwolfram7774]

The Sight has a fairly low overall progression. I would have expected you would opt for the TTX Air 1 with max spacers to help with ramp up towards the end of the stroke, especially without the Cascade link? Why did you opt for the Air 2 instead?

Can't you just turn the lower part? Doesn't turn? I have my TTX Air 2 valve forwards...

[@njasicko]

Yes it can be done, I did on mine as well as rotate the compression adjuster 180 degrees to both work better with my frame.

[@ryanliversage]

Man what's the stoke volume spacers in the Shock. Thanks

[@yamahschector]

I need setup help badly🤣 my hardtail came with a 150 travel version and I can not dial it in yet

[@raivkka4313]

So yes, the fork and shock are home serviceable? Do they sell the service kits?

[@1Bigmac69]

Can't you just turn the lower shock body 180 deg. and the air valve would point forwards? They fork and shock sound real nice.

[@jeanboilard1624]

I have also a Norco Sight. Can you tell me what is your set up?

[@BogdanMiliu]

Just curious what is the on bike storage pouch is that above the rear shock?

[@trentvlak]

6:03 you have trains in the woods there?

[@addtext]

Wish it was easier to self service. We're you able to do a basic seal and oil service yourself or do you always have to have send into Ohlins?

[@kenww776]

Same as fox / rs service requirements...

[@snigs5T5]

Rotate air can end 180 degrees?

[@niallwaters9559]

What weight are you?

[@cencoast_7.340]

Why not rotate the lower so the valve isn’t against the frame?

[@trentvlak]

because he is dumb.

[@shepey10]

How much do you weight dude ?

[@marauder7412]

Not suspension related. What tool bag is on the bike? Thx

[@fullpullmtb]

It is a High Above Gemini

[@zacdavenport1476]

What happened to the Cascade link?

[@fullpullmtb]

I ended up liking the feel of the bike with the stock link. I also have a Range so getting more travel and changing the rate to be more plush really was not needed. When it was my only bike I liked the CC link for the extra travel and softer feel but with also having a range I did not see the need

[@4tego]

How much do you weigh?

[@noblesseoblige2365]

I would be super curious to know what the air pressure difference was between this and your fox X2. Apparently the ohlins runs less pressure then other equivalent shocks making it smoother.

[@fullpullmtb]

From what I can remember on the X2 was that I was using less pressure but I do not know exactly what that was. This comes down to the volume of the air chambers, there really is no right or wrong answer as they are totally different systems - Cole

[@KapuV]

öhlis

[@oliverarmedilla3710]

wat is that tool carrier? :D

[@fullpullmtb]

It is the Gemini from High Above!

[@bch1309]

The video shows TTX1 instead of TTX2 tho :|

[@thecount1001]

MM front and rear. my kinda guy.

[@fullpullmtb]

The best for corners! But the Big Betty out back is growing on me

[@jm_syd_kid]

You really should point out your video and website review are for the tttx1 not the 2. Bit misleading when you talk about ride feel etc.