IMHO: Magura Durin SL

I recently had the opportunity to service a new Magura Durin SL suspension fork and thought I would post some of my impressions and give you my honest opinion as it sits now. A customer brought the bike the said fork after having only ridden it a week. The fork had developed a lot of stiction and felt like sand in the sliders. Interesting for a new fork. Some lengthy research revealed that these suspension forks require some break in period as well as depend on oil in the lowers for lubrication (not uncommon at all). This fork did develop an oil/dirt mix on the top of the seals.


Disassembly revealed very little oil in the lowers of the fork. So little, in fact, that the fork could not possibly have been lubricating. Magura technical stated that indeed some forks did not have enough oil in them and we simply needed to add more. I looked at the rest of the fork just for good measure; everything looked good. Put some new oil in the bottom, left the fork upside down overnight to lubricate the seals, reinstalled the next day. The fork did feel better the next day but, honestly, it didn't feel great. After another day of sitting, just when the customer came to pick up the fork, it did feel even better. Apparently the fork still required a longer break in which was being hampered by the lack of oil. Time will tell if it improves but here are my impressions from this service.

1. Magura Durin SL is very light and stiff. Stupid me forgot to weigh it. Listed as 3 pounds.

2. Magura fork parts are very well made with mostly forged and machined aluminum bits. Very few plastic pieces. Parts are precise, pretty, and they fit very well together. Even the rebound adjusting knob held a very tight fit into the lower of the right leg. The long, nearly two inch, rebound adjusting knob shaft was nice to see too; it placed the adjustment higher in the fork and keeps if from damage.

3. The separate sealed damper is nice in that it reduces the possibility of oil leaks from the damper. The oil leaks from the seals are simply from the bath which is a very small amount of oil. Forks that leak from oil from the damper have a lot more oil which can make a bigger mess and, even worse, affect disc brakes if unattended.

4. The downside to the sealed damper is the lower oil volume for the lubrication bath which apparently can "weep" out sooner and require additional oil.

5. Unserviced lubrication can seriously affect fork performance and cause severe damage. Of course everyone should service their fork regularly but people don't and I don't particularly like forks that basically stop working when not serviced. (I'm talking to YOU SID)

6. The damper is very smooth and adjustment is precise. 13 clicks for rebound offers excellent range for adjustment. This fork did not have any compression or lock out features.

7. Relatively low air pressure reduces the amount of initial bump force.

8. Service is rather simple and straight forward. The lubrication service can be done in 15 minutes or less.

9. Conclusion: if the fork breaks in and the bushings and sliders get along and smooth out, the Durin SL will work wonderfully so long as the lubrication oil is kept at an appropriate level and the dirt is removed from the seals.

10. BTW, you should expect a high performance suspension fork to be rather high maintenance. Durability and race performance are not always bosom buddies. So, please take care of your high performance bicycle equipment and have a qualified mechanic inspect it regularly.