Kind of OT: XC susp forks for MTB

[Gothard]

I am contemplating going back in the mountains off road. My MTB fork is badly outdated, and I can use more confort.
Which XC suspension fork is good, reliable and light? I would need 80mm travel, no more.

Any insight is welcome.

[gdw]

Check out the Rockshok SID or Reba and Fox32 F series forks. They are solid performers and easy to find and get serviced. The Cannondale Lefty has it's followers but requires a special hub and might be harder to get serviced in your area. I'm not sure if an 80mm version is available.
http://www.sram.com/rockshox/category/7
http://www.foxracingshox.com/bike/11/forks/32_F-SERIES

[DRZRM]

White Brothers Magic 80 is a great fork. They pop up used from time to time.

[Gothard]

I did not know the White Brothers. Looks nice
Quid of the Manitou R7?

[Lifecycle]

I just built up a 29er in the spring and went back and forth as well - after all the research I ennded up on an NOS off ebay rock shock REBA Race 80mm, and have been very satisfied with it , does as well as the FOX F29 and has the option to put your lock-out up on the Bars, also was half the $ the F29 was...


Best of luck.....

[Gummee]

I'll second the Fox recommendation.

They've always made fantastic stuff. Not cheap tho.

M

[xjoex]

I'm a fan of the fox gear . I have a RL100 on my Turner. Waiting for a deal on a fox for my 29er.

-Joe

[Kirk Pacenti]

The best value in forks today is the X-Fusion Velvet.

Imo, they offer about 90% of the performance of a top line Fox or RS at about 50% of price.

[vqdriver]

are you updating just your fork? if so, are you looking for 1" or 1 1/8?

[lonoeightysix]

As mentioned above, you should figure out your steerer diameter, the suspension travel your frame was originally designed around (adding too much travel will alter the bike's handling), and you need to make a decision on brake choice (disc or rim).

No experience with the x-fusion brand, but they seem to be getting rave reviews on the cost vs. performance front.

[Gothard]

Bike is a Dean Ti and was built when forks had 2 inches of travel, hence 80mm travel being enough.
Steerer is 1.125"
Brake should be either disc, or both bosses.

[vqdriver]

Well I leapfroged from an AMP fork to a Fox and have been happy so far. I can't speak to the x fusion but here's something I found across the street.

http://forums.mtbr.com/shocks-suspension/how-does-x-fusion-velvet-velour-compares-reba-628150.html

[HomardBreton]

I´m using the RockShox SID WC series for a long time - these forks are great and light as well. Early models ( e.g. 2006 ) are difficult in maintenance, so watch out for the 28mm tubes...And if you don´t want to get the actual ones you can get the pre-season models for a good rate. For one season I´ve been riding a K2 smart shock carbon - a good fork as well; same technical system like the AMP, very nimble and stiff but a little bit too heavy - for my opinion. As I´m remembering right, these forks are long OOP.

If you would like to go for swiss quality with an unbeatable weight, take the SWISS DT fork - but they´re available only with 100mm travel:

http://www.dtswiss.com/Products/Suspension/DT-Swiss-Forks/XRC-Forks.aspx

[floxy1]

I have a Fox and RS Reba and think I would lean towards the Reba. It's smoother and the lockout/compression control works better. You can't go wrong with either option, IMO.

[Kirk Pacenti]

Yep, XF is doing a pretty fantastic job. Again, as a value proposition (performance / cost) they simply can't be beat.

And fwiw, I would consider bumping the travel up to 100mm. It will do a lot to actually improve the handling of the bike. You'll just need to tweak your position relative to the BB a little bit. Lower the H'bars, raise the saddle and slide it forward a tad.

Cheers,
KP

[BillG]

Yep, XF is doing a pretty fantastic job. Again, as a value proposition (performance / cost) they simply can't be beat.

And fwiw, I would consider bumping the travel up to 100mm. It will do a lot to actually improve the handling of the bike. You'll just need to tweak your position relative to the BB a little bit. Lower the H'bars, raise the saddle and slide it forward a tad.

Cheers,
KP

Thanks for the tip on the XF.

[Gothard]

Thank you good people!
I just now came back from the Grand Raid, a very big MTB race here, and there was a dominance of Fox, followed by Rock Shox, and DT Swiss. A spattering of Manitous and Cannondale Leftys as well.

Issue is I don't think I need more than 80 mm of travel, even moreso because my bike is an early 90's Dean, from a time when forks had 2 inches of travel. Geometry could be thrown out of whack with a 100mm fork more than I want to adapt to.

Hence, Fox 32F and Manitou MRD/PRO are retaining my attention.

Next silly question: It seems it is a no-no to mix rear canti/V-brakes and front disc. What say the experts?

I know I could buy a new bike altogether but my Dean is so nice.... :)

[lonoeightysix]

V-Brake rear and disc front=Mullet. Totally OK with me, especially since you'll do most your braking with the front, anyway.

If you do find a 100mm fork to your liking, you could always convert it down to 80mm (via a spacer placed internally on the air spring side), and then have a potentially more versatile fork for a future build.

[jamesau]

I was in a similar situation last month; a 2000 Stumpjumper hardtail needing a new fork. Original was an 80mm Manitou Mars with vbrakes. Went to mtbr.com where multiple recommendations have been made for the Manitou Minute Expert as a good, value fork with same specs (80mm travel with studs). I've mounted it but have not ridden yet... seems like it'll do the trick for me.
Good luck.

[gdw]

100mm will probably be too much travel if you like a sharp handling bike but as others have mentioned it's pretty easy to convert the Fox and Rockshoks to 80mm. What fork is currently on your Dean? What's the axle to crown measurement?

[Gothard]

The Dean has a Pace RC35 fork, with supposedly 50mm of travel, in reality closer to 30mm.

[lonoeightysix]

I think you're going to be mildly blown away by the performance of a new fork!

[bicycletricycle]

FOX forks are best forks.

[Smiley]

Gothard,
I faced the same delima with my old Serotta TiMax, converted over to ridgid fork cause nobody made a suspension fork with the travel I needed 50 mm. Yeah the geo will get thrown out of whack and knowing you the perfectionist that you are you will not be happy.

So my advice is just buy a new 29 er and be very happy, I think 26 inch mtb wheeled bikes are passe :)
I can sell you a custom Ti Bedford too :banana:

[DRietz]

Please, for the sake of any mechanic that will ever touch your fork, get a Fox.

[lonoeightysix]

If you are mechanically inclined, that is one nice thing about Fox; they will sell parts direct to a consumer. Rock Shox/SRAM requires a dealer middleman.

[CPP]

If you are mechanically inclined, that is one nice thing about Fox; they will sell parts direct to a consumer. Rock Shox/SRAM requires a dealer middleman.

When you look up "mechanically inclined" in the dictionary, there is a picture there of George!

[Gothard]

:o

Love you too.... :D

[Gothard]

Now that I have determined/decided I want a Fox F 32 with lockout, can anyone direct me to a good reliable on-line seller for them?

[gdw]

Fox F100 RLC for $450.
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/sub/138-Components-Forks.aspx

[Ferrous (Fe)]

White Brothers (somebody else mentioned them earlier) is what I have been running for a few months now on my Niner and have been super happy with it. The feel is good and is nice to run something a little different from the standard RS and Fox options with just good, if not better, feel and durability.

[William]

.

[frenk]

I like my SID a lot. Avoid the older 28mm model, they are super flexy, but the newer ones are great. Mine has V bosses as well.

Great suspension, easy to service and travel can be changed with a simple plastic spacer. If you get more spacers (or build them) it should be easy to reduce it to whatever you like between 0 and 100mm.

I've heard good things of Fox too, but it seems to me that a Rock Shox' with dual air/Motion Control/Floodgate has more range of adjustment and can be more fine tuned to your liking. You can really completely change the way it behaves with different choices of positive/negative air pressure and slow speed dampening.

Maybe it's just because Fox's are already good out of the box without any tuning, don't know :)

Oh, and I've never heard good things about DT Swiss...

[Kirk Pacenti]

White Brothers (somebody else mentioned them earlier) is what I have been running for a few months now on my Niner and have been super happy with it. The feel is good and is nice to run something a little different from the standard RS and Fox options with just good, if not better, feel and durability.

Are you running the new "Loop" fork, or the older "Magic" fork?

Cheers,
KP