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Fork Travel

gthanggthang Posts: 293
edited November 2007 in MTB beginners
How much fork travell should I look for in a front suspension fork on a hard tail MTB?

The bike I like the look of (the cube Ltd Race 2008) has only 85mm, am I better off getting a bike with 100mm as my friend recommends, will I really notice the difference? I weigh 87kgs. Does this 85mm travel mean the bike is designed more for racing? I want a XC / all mountain bike for about £800, the only thing stopping me clicking confirm order is the front forks apparant lack of travell.

What do you reckon?

Any help here would be most welcome. :?
My Bike

Posts

  • dh_nissedh_nisse Posts: 13
    If you want a AM / XC bike you should go with the 100mm fork. The reason is that when riding am you will appreciate dose 15mm more than you think. And when riding XC it wont be a problem=) I have a 140mm fork on my am/xc bike, and it works really good. You should go for a bike with 100 / 110mm tarvel and poplock system or lockout, think that will be quite suitable for your riding.

    sorry for grama and spelling misstakes, still a beginner when it comes to this language :wink:
  • Dan.hkrDan.hkr Posts: 68
    as a guide i would say
    85mm is XC/Race
    100mm - 120mm is xc/am
    130mm+ am

    hope this helps abit, im sure their will be more opinions on this matter tho.
    :D
    Enjoy the simple things in life
  • supersonicsupersonic Posts: 82,708 Lives Here
    Quality of travel is just as important. A well controlled 85mm fork will perfrom far better than a poorly damped 100mm fork.
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  • papasmurf.papasmurf. Posts: 2,382
    or get a bike like the GT avalanche (the only one i can think of hand) that has a uturn fork that can adjust from 100 (for ups)-130 (for the downs)
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  • gthanggthang Posts: 293
    All good points, yes I have looked at loads of other bikes, I have an old solid frame GT at the moment. I have to say the cube bikes (in my eyes) look really cool. think I might look into asking the shop if they will swap the fork for a more suitable one for me, if not its going to be another model with more travel.

    The cube comes with a Rock shox Reba SL 85mm.... cant seem to find an exact match on the net anyone know how much this fork costs to buy on its own / its retail value?
    My Bike
  • MarvintheAndroidMarvintheAndroid Posts: 409
    Nice bike. However as already said, this is really a race / xc machine. For all mountain you may want to tweak the component spec - or go for something similar with a longer travel fork - for example the Trek6700 is similar but has a 100mm Recon.

    Supersonic is right - I have been amazed what my 85mm Rebas will cope with :twisted:

    Marv
    What tree ? ...........

    Trek 8000 ZR XC hardtail.
  • dh_nissedh_nisse Posts: 13
    papasmurf. wrote:
    or get a bike like the GT avalanche (the only one i can think of hand) that has a uturn fork that can adjust from 100 (for ups)-130 (for the downs)

    I ride a RS PIKE 95-140mm travel... Just love that fork, works exelent when climbing, and even better with the remotecontrol (that thing on the bar), the lockout is a f*cking dream. Have it for XC and AM, tought that it wouldent work that well when riding XC but i was quite wrong, if I might say so :D And when going downhill with it, it's even better! Best fork ever! Strongly recomend it!
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