Saturday, October 3, 2026
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Öhlins RXF36 m.3: the all-mountain fork, explained

The third generation of Öhlins’ 36 mm fork keeps the race-derived TTX18 damper and reworks the chassis and air spring. Here’s what changed, how to set it up, and what testers think.

ProductÖhlins RXF36 m.3
Price$1,369.50 (Öhlins US)
Editorial teamOctober 3, 2026 · 2 min read
Stanchions36 mm
Travel140–170mm, depending on wheel size
DamperTTX18twin-tube cartridge
Weight2,050 gclaimed, from
Price$1,369Öhlins US · £1,299 · €1,520

What’s new in m.3

The m.3 is the third generation of the RXF36. The TTX18 twin-tube damper — which Öhlins says is adapted from its DH38 downhill race fork — carries over. The work went into the parts around it.

  1. 01New lower casting. Around 60 g lighter than the m.2, with more internal bushing overlap for smoother telescoping and a reshaped arch.
  2. 02Less friction. A new stanchion surface treatment and a floating 15×110 mm axle aim at better small-bump tracking.
  3. 03Retuned air spring. The twin-piston, three-chamber spring has a new default setup: the negative volume spacer is gone and the main chamber spacer is larger.
  4. 04Ready for more. The fork is approved for eMTB use and prepared for a coil spring conversion.

Setting up the air spring

Unlike single-valve forks, the RXF36 has a separate ramp-up chamber. It lets you tune bottom-out resistance without changing the linear feel at the start of the stroke — but the order of inflation matters.

1Pump the ramp-up chamber first
2Then set the main chamber for sag
3Fine-tune ramp-up for bottom-out

Damping adjustments

Low-speed compression16 clicks
High-speed compression3 positions
Rebound16 clicks

Fine-grained low-speed and rebound control, but only three high-speed compression positions — the one area testers most often wish had more range.

Specs

Wheel size
27.5" / 29"
Travel, 29"
140 / 150 / 160 mm
Travel, 27.5"
170 mm
Offsets
38 / 44 / 51 mm
Axle-to-crown
573 mm (29"/160)
Axle
15×110 mm floating
Rotor
180–203 mm
Max tire
29 × 2.6"
Spring
Air, 3-chamber · coil-ready
Weight, claimed
from 2,050 g
Weight, tested*
2,100 g

*29" / 160 mm, as weighed by MBR. Specs from Öhlins.

Weight: claimed vs weighed
Öhlins claim (from)
2,050 g
MBR scales, 29"/160
2,100 g

Lower is better. Source: Öhlins, MBR

What testers say

Supple, but asks for patience

MBR9/10

Found it “markedly more supple and sensitive than its predecessor”, but noted occasional harsh bottom-outs on big hits and a more involved setup.

Read the review →
MTB-MAGNo score

Praised its sensitivity and how high it rides in its travel, without the mid-stroke sinking of earlier versions; wanted finer high-speed compression adjustment.

Read the review →

+Strengths

  • Most supple RXF yet over small bumps
  • Bottom-out tunable without changing initial feel
  • Lower-friction chassis with more bushing overlap

−Weak spots

  • Multi-chamber air setup takes experimenting
  • Only three high-speed compression positions
  • Less external adjustability than some rivals
Sources
#suspension#forks#öhlins
Editorial team · Editors

[Short bio: who writes here and what they ride]