Building a budget Scott MC-30

shamone

Hi, I originally put this question in the MTB Buying Advice forum, but looking around think it should have gone in this one. I'm a newbie so sorry.

Want to get into mountain biking so bid and won a Scott MC-30 brand new frame on Ebay and am looking to build it up with middle of the range parts, not the original high end parts it would normally come with. I'm an engineer by trade and have Zinns MTB Maintenance book so am looking forward to building this.

First obstacle is the forks. It should come with Fox 32 Talas RL's that have 90-130mm of travel. I'm thinking of fitting Rockshox Recon 327's , but these only have 100mm of travel. Will this affect the geometry of the bike, or are they OK to use? Are there more suitable ones without spending over £200?

Any advice or tips appreicated

supersonic

I would say that 100mm (permanently) would be too steep for the majority of the riding you plan to do on this bike.

Plenty of Uturn Toras and Recons available for less than 200 though, or 130mm versions.

shamone

I think I must have misunderstood the difference..

I didn't realise that fork travel equated to length, I just thought it was the amount you could compress the fork.

Well I am a newbie lol

Do you know the corelation between the length and travel. Is a 100mm fork 20mm less in length than a 120mm fork?

BlackSpur

Shamone wrote:

I think I must have misunderstood the difference..

I didn't realise that fork travel equated to length, I just thought it was the amount you could compress the fork.

Well I am a newbie lol

Do you know the corelation between the length and travel. Is a 100mm fork 20mm less in length than a 120mm fork?

The length of the fork (measured by axle to crown length) varies between manufacturers and between models in the same manufacturer. For example, a 100mm Marzocchi MX Pro will not be the same length as a 100mm Rock Shox Tora. A 100mm Rock Shox Reba will not be the same length as a 100mm Rock Shox Argyle. Within the same manufacturer and model, the difference in travel will be the difference in length. For example a 130mm RS Tora is 30mm more than a 100mm Tora.

The Northern Monkey

Shamone wrote:

Hi, I originally put this question in the MTB Buying Advice forum, but looking around think it should have gone in this one. I'm a newbie so sorry.

Want to get into mountain biking so bid and won a Scott MC-30 brand new frame on Ebay and am looking to build it up with middle of the range parts, not the original high end parts it would normally come with. I'm an engineer by trade and have Zinns MTB Maintenance book so am looking forward to building this.

First obstacle is the forks. It should come with Fox 32 Talas RL's that have 90-130mm of travel. I'm thinking of fitting Rockshox Recon 327's , but these only have 100mm of travel. Will this affect the geometry of the bike, or are they OK to use? Are there more suitable ones without spending over £200?

Any advice or tips appreicated

Good luck with your build I'll warn you though, its tough to keep the build within budget...there's always something better thats "only" £20 more than what you originally wanted to buy it adds up, as i'm finding out hehe.

shamone

mmmm - I think finding the right fork is going to be hard with the lengths being different, or do you reckon if I go for a 120mm the difference won't be enough to ruin the geometry?

I do see the budget growing :shock:

shamone

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Rockshox-Tora-3 ... _18139.htm

Tora 318 U-turn Coil 2009 - These do look nice!

BlackSpur

120 or 130 mm would be fine. It depends what you can find really!

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=product&productId=49&categoryId=18

These are a bit of a deal! Available in a black coil version without poplock for a tenner less on the same site.

These forks are also very good, a fair bit more money though!

http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/id35029.html

shamone

Looking at the Rockshox Tora 318 air + Poploc it comes with Steerer tube lengths of 195mm or 205mm.

Looking on Scott's website the head tube length is 133mm. I think I need the 205mm, does this sound right?

Also with many forks they dont mention this length - Does that mean they are all plenty long enough and can be cut down?

supersonic

They usually come at 270mm length to be cut down - the ones Merlin have look like they were destined for the bike manufacturers (ie OE) and have been pre cut.

You need to know your headset stack height and stem depth for a more accurate measurement of what you need.