20" air forks for kids

There really is not much that's decent when it comes to 20" kids forks.  Most are heavy, oversprung and crappy performing el-cheapo forks. There are, however, a few good options:

SR Suntour Axon Werx 20"

Announced in June 2015, this fork tops the list of 20" forks.  It specification list is equal to anything in the adult fork market:

  • 80mm travel;
  • 32mm stanchions;
  • air spring;
  • cartridge damper;
  • 15mm thru axle;
  • carbon lowers with magnesium dropouts;
  • claimed weight of 1360g.

The bad? The fork will be a limited production run and carries an $850 price tag!

Spinner Air 20"

  • 50mm travel;
  • weighs 1500g;
  • lockout (what on earth for?);
  • relatively cheap.

Pics on info over on mtbr.

White Brothers RC80 / MRP Rustler

20" air fork made by White Brothers for recumbents (which often have 20" front wheels).  No made by MRP and called the Rustler

The bad? Fork carries an $749 price tag and weighs over 1600g.  Not as expensive as the Axon Werx, but still alot of money for a kid's bike fork.  Heavy for a 20" fork.

Meks Carbon AC

Note: this is not an air fork, it uses coil springs and MCU elastomers.  It gets a mention here because its a popular fork amongst the recumbent crowd and is fairly lightweight (1530g) even though it uses coil springs.

  • 50mm travel
  • carbon fibre reinforced lowers;
  • aluminium stanchions;
  • 340mm axle to crown.

Related articles:

24" air forks

There are very few air sprung forks for 24" wheels:

20" front fork build

There are many 26" forks out there but there is virtually nothing in the 20" size that is both good and cost effective for use on a kids MTB.

Fox 34 air cap tool

Fox 34 forks need a 26mm socket to remove the air cap.  A normal socket will typically have a taper at the bottom which needs to be ground off to give it a flat bottom so it will ...

Fox 32 RL fork

Rear of fork

Fork and shock oils

Just my quick notes on the fork and shock oils I have been using

Thermarest NeoAir XLite

This is a newer, lighter version of the original Thermarest NeoAir. This newer design has rounded corners and a tapered shape which is probably where most of the weight savings come from.