Upgrade forks for my FSR XC

javajuiced

Hello folks, new on here but have a question, I've owned a Spesh FSR XC comp 09 since last October, I ride regular trails in the south west mainly the mendips and around bristol, often pop over to south wales and test myself on the trail centres.

The bikes performs well, but the fork a Rock Shox Tora 302 SL are a bit pants to be honest they just dont take the hits as well as I want.

I used to run an Orange 5 around 5 years ago which had a set of Rock Shox Pyslo's (spelling ??) fitted which were adjustable and i often wound them down on climbs and they worked well.

So i'm looking to upgrade, i'm not too concerned about the make, I cant justify spending anymore than 350 ish perhaps a bit more but not much as I want to upgrade the wheels at some point.

Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated

supersonic

Tora is way better than the Psylo! Though the psylo was smooth, it was flexy with crude damping.

The FSR XC is, well, and XC bike so sticking to that theme, a reba would be a good upgrade.

blablablacksheep

the tora 302sl i thought was a good fork, but if you really want to upgrade like sonic said a reba be a good investment, merlin got some good deals on them atm.

REMF

if you have the medium/small frame you might try just changing the springs in the forks to the the stiff spring that comes with the large/XL frame size.

I have a large FSR-XC with the stiffer springs apparently and have no problems with the forks.

javajuiced

Thanks for the replies, the reba's at merlin look good value, what about other makes manitou ?? or marzocchi ?? would the springs make much difference ?? it would'nt help the adjustability ??I find the forks give a jarring ride.

I went for a ride on sunday morning on the mendips and found that on a rocky downhill section the jarring was almost unbearable, I also noticed that at the end of the ride i only had around 2 inches of clean stanchion with the rest covered in dirt?? surely if the are advertised as a 120mm travel fork this is what I should get ??

Would getting stiffer springs make any difference??

Also roughly how much would stiffer springs cost and what would be involved in fitting them ?? would i have to send them off or would a LBS be able to do it ??

Daz555

Put a ziptie on the fork stanchion before your next ride to check for certain how much travel you are getting.

Airienteer

It sounds as though your Toras aren't set up properly, because although cheap they are still a decent enough fork. Infact perhaps the best value for money on the market. If you do replace them though Rebas are a steal on Merlin at the mo (I say at the mo, they always are!)

supersonic

If you arent reaching full travel, you need a softer spring, not a stiffer one.

BoardinBob

Yeah, same problem with the Tora 302 SL forks here

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... 40&start=0


Daz55, you claim you're getting full travel with yours? If you are, you should only have 5mm of stanchion visible when the forks are fully compress. Is that the case???

Daz555

When simply forcing the bars down I can only get to about 70mm of travel. However, the most travel I have had out of them is coming down the black run at Whites Level - my ziptie was within about 10-15mm of the crown. I have the medium spring and weigh about 13st.

javajuiced

Folks, i'm definatley not getting full travel, i've done the downhill at cwmcarn a few times and still only around 50mm/60mm of travel, i'm 13.5 stone so not a light weight by anymeans.

I thought as much about the stiffer spring thing

Thanks for the link, interesting read that one, which is exactly the problem i'm getting, i'll ring my LBS where I got the bike and have a word with them and get it in the shop for them to have a fettle with.

I'll keep you posted, thanks for the replies

javajuiced

Just been to the garage stuck a zip tie around the stanchion pushed down as much as I could and got smack on 60mm, riding local on Thursday evening so i'll have a good look then.

Incidently I pushed down on the wifes retro scott kokomo with Indy c's while i was in the garage and i got around 50mm of travel

supersonic

You should not be able to get full travel shoving the fork down - if you could, it is way undersprung!

You should hit the full travel mark maybe once or twice on a ride at the top end of ehat the fork was designed for.

Waht sag are you getting?

javajuiced

by sag i guess you mean when i get on the bike and let my weight depress the forks ??? if thats what you mean i'm getting 35mm

supersonic

Sounds about right. Could be a fault with the damper - removing the spring and seeing if it compresses without it is a good test.

javajuiced

I'll give it ago over the bank holiday

javajuiced

Right then folks had a good ride last night with some big hits and only managed 80mm travel on the forks :roll:

supersonic

Have you taken the spring out yet?

BoardinBob

supersonic wrote:

Have you taken the spring out yet?

To be honest I don't think that's going to tell us anything.

Judging by the amount of reports I've read of people with similar problems there must be a problem with a batch of these forks. When I tried to order the medium spring to replace the stiff spring they originally came with, my LBS was unable to get one as the distributor had ran out. The distributor said a lot of people were encountering the same problems and they were trying a spring swap in the hope of solving it. I managed to buy a 2nd hand spring from someone who'd already tried it (but ended up switching to Fox Talas'). So...

Me: 15 stone

With stiff spring: 70mm travel

With medium spring: 70mm travel

Spring swap didn't cure it so there must be something in the damper that's restricting the travel.

supersonic

That is why I suggest taking the spring out, then compress the fork to see if there is a physical problem elsewhere ie the damper. You can even remove the damper too.

BoardinBob

supersonic wrote:

That is why I suggest taking the spring out, then compress the fork to see if there is a physical problem elsewhere ie the damper. You can even remove the damper too.

I've already tried that and it could compress fully.

supersonic

So unless the damper is spiking, or the bushings binding, then the spring seems like it might be faulty.

I would remove the Turnkey system, replace the top cap and see what happens. I know people who remove it anyway as it saves weight and makes the fork more supple.

BoardinBob

I would remove the Turnkey system, replace the top cap and see what happens. I know people who remove it anyway as it saves weight and makes the fork more supple.

I take it that's the lockout system on the top of the right leg?

Easy job to remove?

supersonic

Yep, top of the right leg. Not something I have done personally, but apparently you can remove the adjuster knob then use a 24mm socket to undo the cap and the whole assembly slides out. Wheter the cap comes off I do not know - may need a blanking cap like on the non turnkey tora.

Anyway people who have done it have reported good results.

BoardinBob

Aye I'll have a look tonight then. There are enough people who speak highly enough of the Toras to make me keep my faith in them and I had a shot on a tora equipped bike a couple of weeks ago and they were fine.

supersonic

I have 3 sets, all good! Coil 302 is so smooth for me! But is non turnkey.

javajuiced

Interesting stuff, but surely if theres a problem then the bike shop or manufacturer should pick up the tab and sort the problem out ?? not sure I want to take the forks apart myself !! it could be seriously dangerous if i cock something up putting them back together.

I think i'll have a word with the shop first and see what they say

Davy-g

what is the steerer length of the factory fitted forks?, or what points does one measure from-to :shock: (yeah..am a total NooB )

BoardinBob

javajuiced wrote:

Interesting stuff, but surely if theres a problem then the bike shop or manufacturer should pick up the tab and sort the problem out ?? not sure I want to take the forks apart myself !! it could be seriously dangerous if i fool something up putting them back together.

I think i'll have a word with the shop first and see what they say

Can't be bothered taking them back. It came from Leisure Lakes via halfords on C2W. I've got a race in 3 weeks and I couldn't gamble on not having the bike back in time. I'm a pretty decent mechanic so bikes aren't a problem,

Problem solved anyway: http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12621370

javajuiced

Thanks for that i'll give it a go myself next weekend